Teal time: Brinkman shares ducks in a gravy recipe

Teal season closed Sunday, and Jon Brinkman has just the recipe for hunters who stocked up during the pregame to big duck season.
“It’s just ducks in a gravy,” Brinkman said as he cooked on a one -burner in front of his man cave behind his home in Eunice. “I’ve been using this recipe for 10 years.”
Brinkman started off the dish 24 hours prior to cooking it by marinating the meat in a mixture of spices including salt, red pepper, white pepper, black pepper and garlic. When cooking time arrived, he began browning 1 pound of sausage cut into half-inch slices in a large black pot. After the sausage was browned, Brinkman removed the meat from the pot and browned three cut up teal, adding a little bacon grease to coat the bottom of the pot.
“The sausage was a little lean, so I use a little bacon fat to help with browning the ducks,” Brinkman said. “We cook a lot out here, especially for football season.”
In addition to being a football fan, Brinkman is also an avid outdoorsman, and he hunts both duck and squirrel.
Once the teal meat browned, Brinkman removed the meat and poured in and browned the onions, bell pepper, garlic and celery. Brinkman soon added a few squirts of yellow mustard to the vegetable mixture and browned it for a few more minutes. After the vegetables browned, he added some chicken broth to the mixture to deglaze the pot, placed all the meat in the pot and stirred the dish.
“This is my secret ingredient,” Brinkman said as he held up a plastic shot glass. “It’s four liquid ingredients. I’ll tell you what they are, but not how much of each – broth, Pickapeppa sauce, hot sauce, and garlic sauce.”
Brinkman then brought the mixture to a boil before turning the fire to a low temperature and allowing the meal to cook for an hour.
Brinkman shut off the fire under the propane stove after the hour has passed and allowed the meat to rest for five minutes.
“I’ve been using this recipe for 10 years,” Brinkman said as he poured gravy from the pot over rice and added a scoop of cole slaw to his plate.
The gravy is rich and seasoned well, and the duck is tender and tasty. If you can perfect Brinkman’s secret ingredient mixture, it is well worth the effort.
Teal in Gravy ingredients: three cut up teal; salt, red pepper, white pepper, black pepper, garlic powder to taste; dash of yellow mustard; dash of hot sauce; one large bell pepper, chopped; one large onion, chopped; one stalk celery, chopped; three cloves fresh garlic, minced; one can chicken broth; 1 pound sausage cut into half-inch slices; dash of Pickapeppa sauce; and dash of garlic sauce
Steps
1. Season meat with spices and marinate for 24 hours
2. Brown sausage and remove.
3. Brown meat and remove. Add bacon fat if needed to brown meat.
4. Brown onions, bell pepper, garlic, and celery.
5. Add yellow mustard and brown a few minutes
6. Add broth to deglaze pot and then add all meat. Stir.
7. Add in broth, Pickapeppa sauce, hot sauce, and garlic sauce
8. Cover and cook till tender, about one hour.
9. Serve over rice.