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smoked duck/ goose brine

8K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  loudnerd 
#1 ·
hey guys, I'm new at the smoking techniques for waterfowl. I got a bradley smoker for my birthday last fall and now that the weather is turning for the better I'd like to start using it. Problem is I don't know what to use for brine for the meat. I'm looking at smoking some ducks, probably some whistlers and mallards. I also have some goose I'd like to do also. I did some chicken breast this winter just to try it out, soaked them in italian dressing and put them in for about 4 hours. It turned out great and it was deliscious, I just don't know what to use on wild game. I'm not much of a cook so any ideas are greatly appreciated.
 
#2 ·
I tend to brine all my birds even if I'm not running them through the smoker because it can help get rid of even the slightest hint of off flavors normally. Also I would use a food grade 5 gallon bucket and put all the duck bodies in and then make enough of this brine to cover them but I also have the advantage of an extra fridge I only use for storing kegs of homebrew and brine ducks.

2 gallons cold water
1 cup kosher salt or 2 cups table salt
½ cup brown sugar
4 bay leaves, crushed
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried sage
2 tbsps granulated garlic
2 tbsps black pepper

I wish my wife would get me a Bradley smoker for my birthday hahaha. I have experimented with my ECB ( el-cheapo brinkman) and normally leaving the birds to brine for about 24 hours. Also don't rule out making some amazing duck or goose jerky in that beast. Good luck! ~Jon
 
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