A recipe from Gemo

Home-Style Peking Duck

Name: Home-Style Peking Duck
Prep time: 1560 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 1650 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 2.5 kg Duck (neck and giblets removed); 30 g Salt (for skin and cavity); 40 g Honey (maltose preferred; honey is practical); 120 ml Water (for the glaze); 15 ml Rice Vinegar (white vinegar works); 7 pc Green Onion (Scallion) (2 pc for the cavity | 5 pc cut into thin strips); 1 head Garlic (halved crosswise); 2 pc Apple (quartered); 4 pc Star Anise; 2 pc Cinnamon Stick (cassia if available); 4 pc Bay Leaf; 90 g Hoisin Sauce (tian mian jiang preferred); 2 tsp Sugar (for the sauce); 1 tsp Sesame Oil (for the sauce); 6 pc Lavash (thin lavash cut into squares, as an accessible substitute for traditional Chinese (Mandarin) duck pancakes; or make the pancakes at home); 1 pc Cucumber (cut into thin sticks)

გემო (ოფიციალური გვერდი)Chef

1650 minHard6 servings

A practical home-oven version of Beijing's famous roast duck, with lacquered crisp skin, tender carved duck, warm pancakes, cucumber, scallions, and a sweet bean or hoisin-style sauce for wrapping at the table.

Method

01
Pat the 2.5 kg duck very dry inside and out, remove any visible feather stubs, and rub 30 g salt over the skin and inside the cavity. Set the duck breast-side up on a rack over a tray for 1 hour, then carefully pour boiling water over all sides of the skin to tighten it. Dry the duck again with paper towels.
⏱ 60 min
02
Stir 40 g maltose or honey into 120 ml hot water until dissolved, then mix in 15 ml vinegar. Brush a thin coat over the entire duck, refrigerate the duck uncovered on its rack for 1 hour, brush again, and leave uncovered in the refrigerator until the skin feels dry and slightly taut, ideally 24 hours and up to 48 hours.
⏱ 1440 min
03
Take the duck out 1 hour before roasting. Fill the cavity with 2 scallions, 1 halved garlic head, 2 apples, 4 star anise, 2 cinnamon sticks, and 4 bay leaves, then close the opening with skewers or toothpicks so the aromatics stay inside.
⏱ 60 min
04
Heat the oven to 220 C for a conventional oven or 200 C for convection. Place the duck breast-side up on a rack with a deep tray underneath to catch fat, and roast for 15 minutes to set and color the skin.
⏱ 15 min
05
Lower the oven to 180 C conventional or 170 C convection and continue roasting until the skin is deep amber and the thickest part of the thigh is cooked through, about 60-75 minutes more. Shield wing tips or dark spots with foil if they brown too quickly, and do not baste the skin.
⏱ 70 min
06
Rest the duck on the rack for 15 minutes. While it rests, warm the pancakes according to the package directions or steam them briefly, and prepare the cucumber and scallion strips.
⏱ 15 min
07
Spoon 1 tablespoon rendered duck fat from the roasting tray into a small pan. Add 90 g sweet bean sauce or hoisin sauce, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil, then warm gently until glossy and spoonable. If the sauce is very thick, loosen it with a small splash of hot water.
08
Carve the crisp skin and meat into thin pieces. Serve at the table with warm pancakes, sauce, cucumber, and scallions so each person can spread sauce on a pancake, add duck and vegetables, and roll it up.