- Two 4-pound to 4½-pound whole ducks
- ¼ cup crushed brown Sichuan peppercorns
- ¼ cup minced fresh ginger
- Dried, minced zest of 2 oranges
- 1½ tablespoons coarse salt
- 1¼ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 5 tablespoons black or oolong tea leaves
- 12 cups water
- 3 whole cinnamon sticks
- Peel of 1 orange, in large sections
- 1 tablespoon whole Sichuan brown peppercorns
- At least 10 hours and up to 24 hours before you plan to smoke the ducks, combine the paste ingredients with a mortar and pestle or in a food processor.
- Rub the ducks generously with the paste inside and out, and over and under the skin, being careful to avoid tearing it. Place the ducks in a plastic bag and refrigerate them.
- About 2 hours before you plan to smoke the ducks, remove them from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Prepare the tea for steaming the ducks, placing the tea leaves in a large bowl. In a large pan, bring the water to a boil, and pour it over the tea leaves. Let the mixture steep 10 minutes. Pour the tea through a strainer into a large saucepan.
- Place the leftover tea leaves in a pie pan or other smokeproof dish and add the cinnamon, orange peel, and peppercorns. Reserve the tea leaf mixture.
- Arrange a bamboo steamer over the saucepan of tea and place the ducks in the steamer. (If one steamer isn’t large enough for two ducks, make a double batch of tea and use two saucepans and steamers.) Steam the ducks over medium-high heat for 1 1/2 hours. Discard the greasy steaming liquid.
- Bring your smoker to its appropriate cooking temperature.
- If your smoker has dual grates, place the pan of tea leaves and spices on the lower one and transfer the ducks to the upper grate. If your smoker has a single grate, arrange the pan and the ducks alongside each other, with the pan closer to the heat source. Cook the ducks until they darken to a deep mahogany and their leg joints move easily, about 3¾ to 4¼ hours at a temperature of 225° F to 250° F.
- Serve the ducks hot or chilled.