Not For the Faint of Heart!

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Any Peking duck recipe is not a dish to commit to lightly. But this Chinese classic possesses flawlessly crispy, glassy skin that is more than worth the time if you have the patience. An electric bike pump (or manual with help) and fan are needed so prepare yourself well before you start!   Oh come on, be adventurous and try it!

Peking Duck

Serves 6

Total time: 3 hours, plus 24 hours hanging time

Ingredients

Peking Duck

1 whole frozen duck, about 6 lbs in weight

2 tbsp of sugar

Five Spice Salt

4 oz of Chinese five-spice powder

2 oz of salt

Maltose Syrup

2 tbsp of Shaoxing wine

2 tbsp of Chinese red vinegar

3 tbsp of maltose

To Serve

12 Chinese pancakes

1 bunch of spring onions, finely sliced

1 cucumber, finely sliced

Hoisin sauce, or plum sauce

Equipment

Bicycle pump

Electric fan

Meat hook or S hook

Preparation

On day one, defrost the duck and rinse well with cold water.

Make the five-spice salt by mixing together the five-spice powder and the salt.

Using an electric bike pump(or manual with help), insert the end of the pump just under the skin, entering from the bottom of the belly. When done correctly, the entire bird will begin to inflate as the air travels in-between the flesh and the skin of the duck.

Add 2 tbsp of the five-spice salt to a bowl and mix with the sugar. Use the mixture to season the inside of the duck.

Insert a hook into the back of the bird and hang it up over the draining board in the kitchen to dry for 10 minutes.

Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil. With the duck held over the pan, use a large ladle or small saucepan to pour the boiling water all over the skin of the duck, letting it fall back into the pan. Continue pouring the water over the duck until every inch of skin has had a good dousing. You will see the skin tighten up and change color slightly.

Hang the duck in a cool, dry place for 30 minutes.

For the maltose syrup, bring all the ingredients to the boil in a large pan with 3 1/4 pints of water.

Pour the boiling syrup repeatedly over the skin of the duck as you did with the boiling water in step 5.

Hang the duck in a cool, dry place (kitchen is fine) for 12–24 hours to dry out, placing an electric fan in front of the bird to accelerate the process.

On day two, check the duck to see if it is ready for roasting. The skin should be completely dry to touch. If so, preheat the oven to 250°F.

The idea is to hang the duck by the hook from the top shelf in the oven to roast, with the door slightly ajar, for 1 hour. However, it is probable that your oven isn't big enough to hold a hanging duck! In this case, aim to get the back skin to restaurant quality, which is a lot easier to bring to glass-like perfection anyway. Place the duck breast-side down on a rack set over a roasting tray and roast for one hour with the door just slightly ajar.

After 1 hour, turn the oven up to 400°F and roast for a further 15 minutes, again with the door very slightly ajar to allow any condensation/steam to escape.

Remove the duck from the oven and immediately start taking off the hard, lacquered skin, as the longer you leave it attached, the more likely the steam generated from the flesh will soften it into a limp, soft mess.

Plating/Presentation

Remove the duck meat from the carcass and thinly slice. Serve with the skin on one side of the platter and the pancakes, crunchy veg with sauce.

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