Smoked Tea Duck Noodles

Directions

1. For the duck and brine:
2. In a large pot, create a brine for the duck legs: Bring everything but the duck legs to a boil. Once it has reached boil, remove from heat and allow to steep and cool to room temperature. Put the duck legs in a container large enough for them and the brine, and pour the brine over. Allow them to brine for several hours or overnight.
3. When they are good and soaked, remove the legs and pat them dry. Discard the brine.
4. Heat a small, heavy skillet that is oven-safe over medium heat. (My 8-inch cast-iron skillet worked great.) Preheat the oven to 325º F.
5. Place the legs in the skillet skin side-down, and allow to slowly brown and render. The trick here is to get a deep golden skin and lots of fat without burning, which works well at a lower heat. Once the skin is golden brown and there is a good amount of fat in the pan, flip the legs over and cover the pan with foil. Pop the pan in the oven and roast the legs until very tender, about 2 hours.
6. You can stop here and finish the recipe the next day -- just save the legs and the fat, or continue to make the noodle bowl immediately.

1. For the duck noodle bowl:
2. Fill a large pot with water, add the salt and tea bags, bring to a boil, and turn the heat off immediately. Allow the tea bags to steep.
3. Meanwhile, put the duck fat into a large skillet and heat over medium-high. Remove the skin from the duck legs and fry it in the fat until crispy, then set on a paper towel to drain.
4. Add mushrooms to the pan and fry them until they begin to crisp up. Pull the meat off of the duck legs, tear it, and add it to the mushrooms. Add the pepper.
5. While the duck and mushrooms cook, remove the tea bags from the water, return to a boil, and cook the noodles according to package directions. They will be nicely infused with a subtle smokiness.
6. When the noodles are cooked, drain them, and add them to the skillet with the mushrooms and duck. Toss, add the liquid aminos (or soy sauce) and sesame oil. Taste the noodles and add more aminos if you'd like. Toss in the green onions to just wilt them.
7. Serve the noodles in two bowls and either crumble the crispy skin on top or serve it in chips along with the noodle bowl. That's all -- eat up!