Peking Duck, An Easy Home Version (北京烤鸭)
A legendary dish made easy, this Peking duck recipe doesn’t require any special equipment or advanced skill. But it still tastes so satisfying!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 duck about 2.5kg/5.5lb
- 2 tablespoon fine salt
For the syrup
- 2 tablespoon maltose see note 1
- 120 ml hot water about ½ cup
- 1 teaspoon vinegar see note 2
For the stuffing
- 2 stalks scallions
- 1 head garlic
- 2 apples quartered
- 4 star anise
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 pieces cassia cinnamon
For the sauce
- 3 tablespoon sweet bean sauce (Tian Mian Jiang/甜面酱) see note 3
- 1 teaspoon sugar
You also need
- Peking duck pancakes homemade or shop-bought, 18-24 pieces depending on the size
- Scallions julienned
- Cucumber peeled and seeds removed, cut into sticks
Instructions
Prepare the duck
- Pat dry the duck with kitchen paper then rub the salt over the skin and the cavity. Put the duck over a wire rack with a tray underneath to collect any drips. Leave to rest on the counter for 1 hour.
- Bring about 1½ litres of water (about 6 cups) to a boil, then gently pour it over the entire duck skin (remember to flip over and do the other side). You can use a deep tray to collect the water, or do it inside a sink. If there are feather ends on the skin, remove them with a tweezer.
- In a bowl, mix maltose with hot water and vinegar until completely dissolved. Brush a layer of the mixture over the duck skin. Leave to rest in the fridge for 1 hour then brush another layer. Two generous coats are enough, so discard any leftover syrup.
- Keep the duck refrigerated uncovered (over the rack and inside a tray) for 24 to 48 hours.
Roast the duck
- One hour before roasting, take the duck out of the fridge. Put all the stuffing ingredients (scallions, garlic, apples, star anise, cassia cinnamon and bay leaves) into the cavity. Use toothpicks or skewers to seal both openings of the cavity.
- Preheat a fan-assisted oven, aka convection oven, at 200°C/390°F (or 220°C/425°F if using a conventional oven). Put the duck over the middle rack of the oven with the breast side facing up. Place a roasting tray on a lower shelf underneath to collect any dripping fat during roasting. Leave to cook for 15 minutes.
- Then lower the temperature to 180°C/350°F (or 200°C/390°F if using a conventional oven). Use aluminium foil to cover the tip of the wings and the end of the legs. Continue cooking for a further 60 minutes or so (see note 4)
- With an instant-read thermometer, check the thickest parts of the breast and inner thigh, avoiding bone. Each reading should reach at least 74°C/165°F.
Serve the duck
- Take the duck out of the oven and leave it to rest uncovered on the counter for 15 minutes.
- While waiting, prepare the sauce. Add ½ tbsp of duck fat collected during roasting to a pan. Add sweet bean sauce and sugar. Mix and simmer over low heat until tiny bubbles appear. Transfer to a small serving dish. Whisk to fully incorporate the sauce and oil.
- Steam the pancakes for 3 minutes to warm up if they’re cold.
- Remove and discard the stuffing, then carve the duck into slices.
- When eating, spread a little sauce over a pancake, put the duck, scallions and cucumber in the middle. Wrap up into a cylinder and enjoy.
Cook a soup (optional)
- After most of the meat has been removed from the duck, boil the carcass in water to make a soup with Napa cabbage or winter melon. Simply add salt and white pepper to season.
Notes
1. It’s best to use maltose (Mai Ya Tang, 麦芽糖) but if unavailable you may replace it with honey. In this case, mix 2 parts of honey with 1 part of hot water.
2. You can use any type of vinegar available. Or use fresh lemon juice to substitute.
3. Sweet bean sauce (aka sweet flour sauce, sweet wheat sauce) is the classic choice. Possible substitutes include hoisin sauce, yellow soybean sauce, or plum sauce.
4. The roasting time may vary depending on the size of your duck and the performance of your oven. Please observe and check often. Adjust if necessary. If the skin browns too quickly, loosely cover it with foil and continue cooking until the duck reaches the required temperature.
