Duck Pastrami Recipe

Grilling

Fire up your grill and get ready for some serious smoke.

Joshua Bousel
Duck Pastrami Recipe
*
  • Yield:serves 8 to 10
  • Active time:30 minutes
  • Total time:3 days 5 hours
  • Rated: 5.0
This recipe appears in:
Grilling: Duck Pastrami

[ Photographs: Joshua Bousel ]

Building on past pastrami success, I changed things up by using duck instead of beef. The salty, peppery, and luscious fat is something to lust over.

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Ingredients

  • For the Cure:
  • 1/4 cup Kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground juniper berries
  • 3/4 teaspoon pink salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 4 pounds skin-on boneless duck breast (about 4 large breasts each)
  • For the Rub:
  • 3 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely ground coriander seed
  • 2 teaspoons coarsely ground juniper berries
  • 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1to 2 fist-size chunks of light smoking wood, such as apple or cherry
  • Type of fire: Indirect
  • Grill heat: Low

Directions

  1. 1.

    For the Cure: in a small bowl, mix together salt, 2 teaspoons pepper, 2 teaspoons coriander, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon juniper berries, pink salt, ginger, garlic, and cloves. Coat duck breasts entirely with cure and place in a large resealable plastic bag. Place in the coldest part of the refrigerator and cure for 72 hours, flipping bag twice a day.

  2. 2.

    Remove duck breasts from bag and wash as much cure off as possible under cold running water. Place breasts in a large container and fill with water and let soak for 2 hours, replacing water every 30 minutes. Remove from water and pat dry with paper towels.

  3. 3.

    For the Rub: mix together black pepper, coriander, juniper berries, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Coat duck breasts entirely with rub.

  4. 4.

    Fire up smoker or grill to 225°F, adding chunks of smoking wood chunks when at temperature. When wood is ignited and producing smoke, place duck breasts in, skin side down, and smoke until an instant read thermometer registers 165°F when inserted into center of breasts, 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

  5. 5.

    Remove from smoker and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve immediately, or store in refrigerator up to a week, slicing and serving as needed. For best results, steam slices to reheat.

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