Peking Duck or similar

Aron

I just bought a 5 pound duck that is defrosting in my fridge as we speak. I would like to cook it for dinner on Friday, so I have plenty of time if it needs a long preparation.
Does anyone have a recipe for peking duck that they've tried or heard of? I'd really like to get not only the flavor, but also the crispy duck skin. There is a huge asian supermarket a block from my house, so ingredients won't be a problem.
I seem to remember a post about peking duck in the past that someone used hooks to suspend the duck from the top vent, but I was unsuccessful finding that on the google search. If this person could repost, or anyone with suggestions on either the flavoring or how to get the crisp skin could chime in, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks.[p]Aron

YB

Aron,
This might work.
Larry[p]
PEKING DUCK
Printed from COOKS.COM[p]
1 duck (4 to 5 lbs.)
14 c. water
4 tbsp. honey
4 slices ginger, 1/8 inch thick
1/2 c. white vinegar
1/2 c. pale dry sherry
1 pkg. lumpia wrappers
24 pieces green onion stems
2 oz. Chinese parsley
Hoisin and/or lemon sauce (purchased at grocery store)[p] Rinse duck and pat dry. Put water, honey, ginger, vinegar and wine into a large pot
or wok and bring to a boil. Place duck into the pot and ladle boiling liquid above all
over it for 2 minutes. Remove duck and pat dry with absorbent paper. Remove
scum and fat from liquid and freeze for future use. Air dry in a cool, breezy place
for 8 hours, covered with cheese cloth.[p] Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put duck directly on oven rack, breast side up. On a
lower oven rack place a foil lined roasting pan filled with an inch of water to catch
the drippings. Roast for 30 minutes then turn on sides and roast each side for 30
minutes. Face breast down and roast back for 30 minutes longer. Steam lumpia
wrappers for about 10 minutes, separate and cut into halves.[p] Remove skin from duck and cut skin with scissors into 1 x 2 inch pieces. Arrange
on a heated platter. Don't let juices wet the crispy skin. Cut de-boned duck meat
into the same sized pieces as the skin. Place skin, meat, green onion stalks, Chinese
parsley and Hoisin or lemon sauce on lumpia wrapper and wrap. Eat as a succulent
package.[p] COMMENTARY: When the Pen Yee Inn of Beijing first invented this dish in
1855, its preparation was a laborious process that we wouldn't dream of
undertaking today.[p] Originally, fat, forced-fed ducks that were 8 weeks old were killed without
breaking the skin, usually by a well placed, sharp blow to the head. Apprentice
cooks then eviscerated the birds thru a small incision under a wing, having taken 3
months to learn how to do this.[p] After the drying process was completed in the cold winter temperatures of Beijing,
air was injected between the skin and the meat to puff up the duck. This not only
facilitated the crisping of the skin when roasting, but also the removal of the skin
when roasting was completed.[p] Traditionally, the major interest was in the skin. The meat was served as a separate
dish and the carcass used to make a cabbage soup.[p] If we had to do all of this, most of us would prefer to settle for a peanut butter and
jelly sandwich, but our modern supermarkets today admirably provide ducks that
we can use in this dish.[p] To get the duck to the dinner table at the proper time takes a bit of planning, but
the steps are simple and the results well worth the effort.[p] While drying the duck (Step #3), basting with gin or vodka helps to desiccate the
skin. Also, the meat may be sauteed with bean sprouts and red hot peppers and
the bones made into soup.

BlueSmoke

Aron,
I don't think I'm your person, but I have suspended chickens from the top vent.
In the utensils/cookware aisle of your Asian supermarket, look for the hooks. Typically there are two hooks fitted onto a welded ring - mine are about 8 inches long (longer than necessary). Put them into the cavity through the neck hole. Then put the welded ring up through the top vent and hold it in place with a small rod. (Be careful opening and closing the dome, so the bird doesn't come in contact with the surface.)
Ken