How to cook Peking duck at home

In general, there are few traditional dishes on my New Year's table, except for the cold cuts, which I cook steadily from year to year. Each New Year's table is a new experiment, one of such experiments was Peking duck, which I gladly cooked for our wedding anniversary, and now I am happy to share with you the idea of a delicious holiday dish. I should point out right away that I by no means claim to be a classic cooking of duck. The more so that according to the rules Peking duck should be cooked in an oven, but it is not possible to do it at home, and one more peculiarity is to inflate skin with a special pump, which is also unreal for me. But still, a few rules for its preparation can be observed at home - scalding and long drying, and you have to bake it in the oven, well, what can you do. The duck should be of Peking breed, as it has less fat and a thinner skin.  

Main

duck 1 carcass

water2 l

Ginger root1 piece

soy sauce60 ml

rice vinegar60 ml

5 spice (five spices)1 tbsp.

badjan2 pcs.

salt1 pinch

honey3 tbsp

So, take a fresh gutted duck, wash it well, dry it with a towel, and trim off the fat from its neck and neck. Place the duck on a rack with a tray.

Prepare the marinade. To do this, pour water into a pot, add chopped rounds of ginger root, honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, a mixture of "5 spices" (Sichuan pepper, badjan, cloves, cinnamon, and fennel) and badjan stars. Bring the marinade to a boil and simmer for a few minutes.

Scald the duck with the marinade on all sides, the skin will shrink a little and darken.

Put a bottle full of water in a saucepan.

Put the duck on the bottle and put this construction in the fridge for 24 hours. If there is no bottle or space in the refrigerator does not allow to place such a construction, then put the duck on a rack, the most important thing is to have equal access to air to the entire surface of the duck, but still the vertical position is preferable.

An hour before cooking, take the duck out of the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Rub the duck with salt and place it breast-side up on a rack with a tray. Bake until tender, turning the skin brown and the juice is clear when piercing the duck. It took me 1.5 hours, but it all depends on the weight of the bird and your oven.

Finished duck leave to rest for 30-40 minutes. Then slice and serve with mandarin tortillas, hoisin sauce and sweet and sour Chinese sauce. Bon appetit!

 

1. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)