Peking Duck

smak · October 2016

Had some friends over for dinner Saturday night. The wife wanted to do an Asian theme. I had a duck in the freezer. Peking Duck was the call for the appetizer. I have done this a few times in the past but I was really happy with the results this time.

Thawed and ready to get started

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/ka/zk43zll92zbt.jpg

Trimmed and getting a bath (water, honey, vinegar, sherry) to blanch the skin. Spooned over the water to get good coverage.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/vh/mojq3nllsp0y.jpg

Hang it up to dry for about 7 hours...

On to the grill. 350* indirect

1 Hours 45 mins later (with a flip and a turn or two)

Carved and ready to eat

-smak

Jstroke · October 2016

Looking solid right there. I'll shoot em. You cook em

CincyTiki · October 2016

Wow, I am drooling. Look's fantastic, did you coat or baste with anything during the cook?

smak · October 2016

@CincyTiki no coating or basting during the cook. Between the blanching and drying the skin afterwards it results in the nice mahogany color while it cooks.

bboulier · October 2016

Wow!

bhedges1987 · October 2016

The color on that is great.

theyolksonyou · October 2016

Wow. Just happened to have a duck in the freezer isn't something that would happen around here. Then to have a full day to prepare. Never happen.

CPARKTX · October 2016

Looks great. Peking duck on of our favorites, do it for New Years.

SciAggie · October 2016

The color is really nice. I'd be all over that.

Canugghead · October 2016

Nice, great skin colour and texture, thanks for sharing.

BilZol · October 2016

Nice cook! I've been wanting to try duck since a cruise a few years back. Family not in board yet but those pics might do the trick.

How long is is the blanching? How do you know when your done at that step?

JustineCaseyFeldown · October 2016

that's great.

you can steam the whole thing at once (as opposed to immersing in water), by putting it in a colander inside a large pot with a lid and enough water to steam without touching the bird.

that would just simplify your first step. but your looks fantastic. i love duck. can only get the frozen ones around here.

smak · October 2016

@BilZol The blanching just takes a couple minutes. You get the water boiling. Add in the honey, sherry, cornstarch. Let everything come back to a boil. Put the duck in and spooned over the mixture over a few times. Flipped the duck and spooned over the mixture a few times. I did the front a back twice. Total time was probably 3-4 minutes.

@JustineCaseyFeldown I have read about that technique. I just don't have a big enough pot to try that inside. By the time I get out the bigger pots and propane tanks the simplicity goes away

I guess I could make a purchase to solve that issue

Doc_Eggerton · October 2016

Simply amazing.

JustineCaseyFeldown · October 2016

re the larger pot and propane.... we just did these in a stove top pot with a collander in it. but i quartered the duck. i think this was an alton brown recipe.

wasn't peking duck of course this way.

but the point being i think, any small amount of water in a vessel large enough to hold the duck above the water would let you steam it. even a roasting pan used on stove top

the color on yours is perfect by the way.

if you dry chicken overnight, or a couple days (even without blanching), you can get nice crisp bite through skin.

SmokeyPitt · October 2016

Man that looks incredible. I have never cooked duck but I want to try it. Did you just have it hanging at room temp? It looks like you started with an empty pan. Is that all duck fat in the pan or did you use some liquid?

smak · October 2016

@JustineCaseyFeldown ahhh I see what you are saying I might try that in the future.

@SmokeyPitt It is hung at room temperature. I typically do this in the storage room in the basement because that is the coolest room in the house. I also turn on a fan directly at the duck to keep the air moving.

It is hard to see but I did start with some water in the pan. I almost went without water but decided to have water since that is the way I have done it in the past.

kbr718 · October 2016

Looks awesome!

thetrim · October 2016

Dude that looks great!

Canugghead · October 2016

I collect and freeze the fat from the pan!

Little Steven · October 2016

Nice Gary. Damn nice!

BigEggDaddy · October 2016

Beautiful bird! Makes me want to try it now.

Stormbringer · October 2016

That's on the list of things to try. Did you cook to an internal temp, or by time? I see you put 1h45m, just wondered if that's how long it took to reach an internal temp.

paqman · October 2016

Verry nice!

smak · October 2016

@Stormbringer I go by approximate time and coloring for this cook. The crispy skin is an important element of the dish. If you go by temp I believe the general consensus is about 165*.

The recipe I started with was 30 minutes breast up, 45 minutes breast down, 30 mins breast up. I keep half an eye on it rotate the bird based on any hot spots in the grill. I pulled is one a little short of the 1h45m mark.

There are some "duck people" who shudder at the thought of taking a duck breast over medium-rare (135*-ish). Since this is shooting pretty far past that I figure close to the 165 temp is fine.

Stormbringer · October 2016

Thanks. I was also considering how this would work using a Joetisserie

. But we'll try your method first.

Cookbook_Chip · October 2016

Wow! Was the duck drying 7 hours at room temp? Or was that in a walk-in?

Stormbringer · October 2016

I was going to try this at the weekend. Only consideration is the hanging of the duck for 7 hours, is this done somewhere cool? I know it's cooked in water for a bit, is that enough to seal the skin so it can hang at room temp? Or should it be hung in a fridge?

andersa · October 2016

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/06/wmizdx0jjewq.jpg

Looks very good, I need to try that! Compare the Peking Duck I had in Beijing (Peking) last week:

TideEggHead · October 2016

Nice work! Thanks for sharing!

Sea2Ski · October 2016

I love duck almost as much as lamb. And that duck looks fantastic. Without scoring the skin, did you have a lot of pooled rendered fat under the skin? I usually score mine so it drains, but then the score marks do not make it look nice.

Peking Duck

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