Peking Duck

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 3 tbsp honey (fir honey)
• 12 tbsp vinegar (sherry vinegar)
• 6 tbsp cane sugar
• 3 tbsp syrup (maple syrup)
• 1 duck(s), fresh, not frozen
• 30 ml soy sauce, dark
• 30 ml soy sauce, light
• 2 tbsp dry sherry
• 1 tsp oil (sesame oil)
• 1 tsp honey (flower honey), liquid

Instructions

Working time approx. 35 minutes; Rest time approx. 21 hours; Total time approx. 21 hours 35 minutes

When buying a duck, make sure the skin is intact. If possible, a piece of the neck should still be attached. To optimize the various necessary drying processes, you should have a cool, airy room where the duck can hang freely. This can be achieved, for example, in a refrigerator by placing a rack in the top drawer and letting the duck hang from the rack. I always construct a frame in the basement out of two chairs with backs. These are placed between a bowl, with the backs facing each other. A sturdy stick or large wooden spoon is then placed over the two backs. The duck is then tied to this. It now floats between the chair backs. The result is optimized if a table fan is placed in front of the duck. The little animal then floats like a wind chime. The drying processes are absolutely necessary to obtain a Peking duck. The skin only becomes so crispy and crunchy when the drying process was optimal and the skin has been separated from the meat. First, the duck is thoroughly washed, any fat is removed, and any quills are carefully and very gently plucked out with tweezers. The skin must remain as intact as possible. Then, a kitchen string is tied around the duck’s neck, and the duck is thoroughly rinsed inside and out. I always do this in the bathtub. Then it goes on the drying rack for about three hours. Now, the skin is separated from the meat. The best tool for this is a so-called lifting air pump. This is a kind of tube with a foot pedal, and the valve is attached to a flexible hose. A simple air pump will do, too. However, there is a greater risk of damaging the duck’s skin. Gently lift the skin at the neck, insert the pump valve, and pump vigorously. This will separate the skin from the meat. Then, using poultry shears, the duck is amputated at the first joint of each wing and leg. Otherwise, these parts will burn and impart an unpleasant taste to the rest of the duck. Once this is done, the skin is lifted. To do this, make a tiny cut between each wing and leg. Then carefully insert a chopstick into the first cut between the skin and meat, guide the chopstick to the diagonally opposite cut, and push out a small amount. Repeat on the other side. The chopsticks should now be placed crosswise under the duck skin, with the ends of the chopsticks resting on the legs and wings. Then the duck is scalded with boiling water. I dip them in a large pot of water for 5 seconds. You can also repeatedly baste it with boiling water. It is important that the duck comes into contact with boiling water all over and that the skin has turned an even dark color. Now the second drying process begins. It takes about 3 hours. Now boil a stock from the first ingredients that were in front of the duck and baste the duck evenly. If the duck skin was well dried beforehand, it can now absorb a lot of the stock. It is then dried for another 12 hours. Then preheat the oven to the highest setting. When it’s hot enough, place a roasting pan containing approximately 1 liter of water on the lowest oven rack. As soon as the water boils, place the duck, breast-side down, on a rack over the roasting pan. Roast for 10 minutes, turn over, and after another 10 minutes reduce the temperature to 90°C. Roast for another 180 minutes, turning every 30 minutes. To serve, mix the ingredients listed after the duck in a small saucepan and bring to a boil briefly. To serve, carve the duck, remove it from the bones, and cut into strips. Serve with the sauce and Chinese pancakes. The duck is eaten by spreading the sauce on a pancake, wrapping a piece of duck in it, similar to a wrap, and then eating it with some Asian salad.