Tandoori duck is so good made with wild duck.
Today I got to light up my new Traeger grill for the first time! This thing is amazing.
Luckily for me, the delivery of my Traeger coincided with a delivery of two freshly shot wild mallard ducks and two pheasants: a gift from my neighbour.
Tandoori duck… So good with wild ducks!
After completing the rather tedious chore of preparing them, I mixed up a simple tandoori marinade and rubbed it deep into the flesh of the ducks. You can get away with marinating the game for as few as three hours but I let tandoori ducks soak it up overnight.
Tandoori ducks – Wild vs. Farmed
When I make tandoori duck with wild ducks, I leave the skin on. That is something I don’t do with the fattier farmed ducks.
The charred skin on wild tandoori duck is delicious.
In fact, I could say this was tandoori at its best.
The smoky flavour of that the wood pellets used to fire the Traeger gave the meat a delicious flavour that really complimented the the tandoori duck and the pheasant as well.
What if I don’t have a Traeger?
If you don’t have a Traeger, you could still make this recipe in a conventional oven or over indirect heat on the BBQ you have. I chose to use Traeger’s Big Game pellets which are a combination of hickory, red and white oak and rosemary. Talk about gorgeous.
Traeger barbecues offer a no-fuss way of achieving delicious, smoky BBQ without all the work.
You just need to plug them in, allow the pellets to start burning and then adjust the temperature for whatever you happen to be cooking. I am going to be using mine year round!
The most difficult part of this recipe for me was feathering, skinning and cleaning the birds. I suggest asking your butcher to do that for you. It’s worth every penny.
A gift from our neighbour.
Having marinated overnight, these were ready for the Traeger!
In place and ready to cook.
Halfway through cooking. No need to check as the temperature was being monitored but I couldn’t help myself.
All cut up, plated and ready to serve.
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Tandoori Wild Duck and Pheasant
Ingredients
- 4 x wild ducks, pheasant - feathered and skinned
- Juice of two lemons
- 2 tablespoons garlic and ginger paste
- Salt
- 2 Tablespoons tandoori masala (homemade
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 200g Plain Greek yoghurt - whisked
- Lemon wedges or slices to serve
Instructions
- Make shallow incisions in the flesh of the ducks and peasants.
- Place the game birds in a large bowl and drizzle with the lemon juice. Then add the garlic and ginger paste and rub it all into the flesh.
- Season with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and then rub the tandoori masala into the flesh as well, getting it right into the incisions.
- Rub in the yogurt so that it covers the flesh and allow to marinate for three hours or overnight.
- When ready to cook, pre-heat your oven, Traeger or other Barbecue as hot as you can get it. The Traeger is made for indirect cooking which is what you will need to do with other BBQs.
- Roast the birds for 30 to 40 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 63c.
- Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for about ten minutes. Then serve as they are or cut into smaller pieces.
- Season with a little more salt if desired and top drizzle with the melted butter. I also squeezed a little more lemon juice over the top just before serving.
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I hope you enjoy this tandoori duck recipe. If you do try it, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.
Paul Bennett
Saturday 18th of November 2017
Dan, no need to feather the birds,, with the exception of the tail feathers, just skin them. Lot less fuss and not loads of feathers floating round Keep up the brilliant work. Love the recipes Paul
Dan Toombs
Wednesday 10th of January 2018
Hi Paul
Thanks. That is what I usually do. I hate feathering.
Cheers, Dan