November in Southeast Texas means duck on the menu
Traveling between Houston and Beaumont on Interstate 10 is a microcosm of Southeast Texas. There is a year-round convoy of 18-wheelers carrying drill pipe to service the petroleum industry and refrigerated box trucks carrying seafood from Louisiana to Texas. In the spring, dually pickups with big refrigerated boxes bolted to the bed ferry a never-ending supply of crawfish to Houston and points west.
In the fall, the stream reverses course and pickups loaded down with camouflage hunting gear drive east for duck-hunting season in the coastal areas of Southeast Texas, such as the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.
Officially sanctioned hunting in a “wildlife refuge” may seem like a contradiction, but the process is highly regulated and is part of an overall plan for resource management. A harvestable surplus of wildlife including ducks is usually a sign of a healthy population.
Though most harvested ducks are cooked at home by hunters, duck also starts showing up on restaurant menus in November. The duck served in restaurants is almost always commercially produced on farms.
Still, you rarely see duck on barbecue-joint menus. Perhaps the best-known duck dish in Houston barbecue is the smoked duck and sausage jambalaya at Pinkerton’s Barbecue in the greater Heights.
Why isn’t there more duck on these menus in the fall? For a lot of pitmasters, it comes down to the anatomy of the animal.
Did you know that if you release a chicken into the wild, the survival rate is essentially zero? Like dogs and cats, chickens are almost fully domesticated and have no survival skills. Over many centuries, chickens have been bred to be grown and harvested for human consumption. Tender meat, thin skin and a manageable amount of fat make chicken a favorite for pitmasters as well as diners.
Not so for ducks. Wild ducks, in particular, exist in cold, wet environments and migrate thousands of miles every year. Their anatomy — a thick skin and layers of fat and sinewy muscle — makes cooking wild ducks a challenge. In a typical roasting or smoking scenario, a home cook or chef might get the skin crispy and the fat rendered, but the meat will be tough and chewy.
Even if commercially produced duck is used, it will be a challenge for a pitmaster to cook the duck on a smoker. Duck can also be something of an acquired taste for barbecue connoisseurs expecting the mild flavor of chicken. Duck has a classic “gamey” flavor reminiscent of venison or rabbit.
One Houston-area pitmaster who occasionally features duck on his menu (call for availability) is Ara Malekian of Harlem Road Texas BBQ in Richmond. Malekian is a European-trained chef, so his embrace of duck is based on a deep education of the methods and techniques in cooking it.
Indeed, Malekian uses the best of haute-cuisine and smoking techniques to produce his version of smoked duck.
To overcome the issue of uneven cooking because of the duck’s anatomy, Malekian uses a “sous vide” technique to cook the duck with a consistent and even temperature. This involves vacuum-sealing one-half of a duck in a bag with white wine and salt, and placing it in circulating hot water for four hours. This technique ensures the duck is evenly cooked and flavored.
Malekian then removes the duck from the bag and finishes it in his smoker to crisp the skin and impart a smoky flavor. He serves it with a slightly sweet and acidic balsamic and pomegranate sauce on the side. It’s certainly one of the best versions of smoked duck in the city and well worth the drive.