Crispy Duck

[IrishCream]

Next week is the Judge's birthday. He is always raving about Crispy Duck he has eatan at Chinese restaurants. I have never had it but would love to cook it at home and surprise him. Is it feasible at home? Any pointers or recipes that have worked? Thanks for any help you can provide.

[Simon Majumdar]

I have made this on a number of occasions

I can't tell you how "authentic" it is, but it is damn tasty

I pour boiling water over the duck to loosen the skin, then I prick the skin all over with a fork

I then leave the duck to marinade overnight in a mix of

Rice wine vinegar

Brown sugar

Chilli

Garlic

Fresh ginger

sesame oil

pepper & Salt

1/tsp of five spice

When ready to cook, I rub a little salt into the skin

I then roast at about 170o for two hours and then 200o for a further half hour to an hour or until the skin is totally crisp. I always roast on a rack to allow the fat to drain off and I remove the fat regularly.

The pancakes are dead easy too

I serve with shredded cucumber, spring onions, and a fresh plum sauce

Like I said, not a clue how real it is but it tastes great

S

[IrishCream]

Thank you, Simon. That sounds wonderful but can you translate the oven temp to Farenheit (sorry, it was so long ago I don't remember math)? And when you speak of chili in the marinade, do you mean flakes, paste, powder? So I don't need to dry the duck out for days in the fridge to make it crispy? And the pancakes...should I make Mamster's scallion pancakes? Or another kind? (Sorry, about all the questions). And thanks!

[Jon Tseng]

The restaurant version generally steams the duck first them deep-fries at the last minute to crisp up

great in theory, but often an excuse to have the duck lying around the fridge a couple of days before its actually ordered.

this method guarantees a crisp skin and allows more prepare in advance - but i suspect simons way is probably a damn sight less hassle.

170c is 325F, 200 is 400

cheerio

J

[Miss J]

Dunlop's recipe (in Sichuan Cookery) for "Fragrant and Crispy Duck" says to marinate the duck overnight, steam for an hour and 30 minutes, then deep-fry for 10 minutes on each side.

[Simon Majumdar]

I use chopped red chillies

Jon is much better at Temps than I am. Spot on

I would make plain pancakes as there is so much flavour in the duck and sauce

As I say it is not the trad method, and I know people do all sorts of weird things to make the skin crispy, but this is a close approximation and the end result is very good. Depending on what colour you want, you can always add a little soy to the marinade, but I find the sugar gives a nice gentle brown colour

S

[IrishCream]

Thanks. I would like to avoid deep-frying the duck. It wouldn't even fit in my fryer. I take it you mean fresh red chiles? I am really starting to think maybe I can do this!

[Simon Majumdar]

Dunlop's recipe (in Sichuan Cookery) for "Fragrant and Crispy Duck" says to marinate the duck overnight, steam for an hour and 30 minutes, then deep-fry for 10 minutes on each side.

Unless you are going to do it outside, I would NOT rec deep frying a whole bird. I have seen how it causes chaos with those who were silly enough to deep fry their Thanksgiving turkeys inside without the benefit of an industrial extractor

If you are going to go this route, cut the bird up first. The only problem then is that you don't get that frisson of pleasure when you take the whole bird to the table and begin to shred the meat off the bones

S

[IrishCream]

And by the way...you have a good fresh duck sauce recipe?

[Miss J]

Personally, I use a wok (stabilised with a wok stand) and a comparatively small amount of oil for the deep frying so things don't bubble over, and I open ALL the windows.

Still, things do get pretty steamed up.

Edited January 31, 2003 by Miss J (log)

[Miss J]

And by the way...you have a good fresh duck sauce recipe?

Do you mean hoisin, or plum sauce? Or is duck sauce different again?

[Simon Majumdar]

Thanks. I would like to avoid deep-frying the duck.  It wouldn't even fit in my fryer.  I take it you mean fresh red chiles?  I am really starting to think maybe I can do this!

Of course you can

If I can do it, so can you. It is as the french say " a piece of piss"

For the plum sauce, I just cook down fresh plums with brown sugar, soy sauce, a little five spice and 1/2 cup of orange juice. I then strain to remove all the bits and thicken with a little arrowroot.

Go give it a try and report back

S

[IrishCream]

I serve with shredded cucumber, spring onions, and a fresh plum sauce

Sorry...plum sauce! Thank you for pointing that out Miss J.

[IrishCream]

If I can do it, so can you.  It is as the french say " a piece of piss"

For the plum sauce, I just cook down fresh plums with brown sugar, soy sauce, a little five spice and 1/2 cup of orange juice.  I then strain to remove all the bits and thicken with a little arrowroot.

Go give it a try and report back

S

Oh my...I am going to have to cook without a recipe! Love it. Tho I doubt I can get plums at this time of year

[Jon Tseng]

Yes, the downside to the crispy duck recipe is home cooks need to quarter the duck before zapping it so doesn't look as impressive at the table.

In theory quartering the duck would allow you to roast breast and leg for different length of times (leg generally needs more). I think Cooks Illustrated recommend steaming the duck to render fat and then roasting in a hot over at the end to crisp up

Pancakes I'd just buy the frozen ones from chinese supermarket (sainsburys also have them). yes you're getting ripped off for waht is essentially flour and water but its less hassle and homemade ones are never as thin

Hoison or plum, that is the question.

Simon, what's the goss on the "deep-fried turkey" thing? I was talking to a friend from Alabama and she said they, like, deep fry whole turkeys!!!!!!!! Have you seen this???

cheerio

J

[Simon Majumdar]

Jon - A lot of people deep fry the whole thing for thanksgiving. Quite impressive and very tasty. The last person who invited me to one of these last year also injected the breast of the bird with Sprite!! It worked

Irish- I would urge you to keep it whole. Much more impressive for the table

You can use tinned plums also, so don't give up

An heck, make your own pancakes. Dead easy. just flour and water dough. Form into balls and dab in oil. Put two balls together and flatten and roll. Then dry fry in a hot pan and pull the two pancakes apart. Very thin and suitably ragged at the edges

S

[IrishCream]

Simon, what's the goss on the "deep-fried turkey" thing? I was talking to a friend from Alabama and she said they, like, deep fry whole turkeys!!!!!!!! Have you seen this???

Sorry to usurp the answer....but just having moved to California from Texas...I know all about deep-fried turkeys. There are specially made outdoor deep fryers (electric) in which to cook them. Before cooking, the turkey is usually injected with spices, etc. and then it is cooked in hot oil. The turkey cooks through in a little over an hour. Many southerners swear by them.

[Jon Tseng]

An heck, make your own pancakes.  Dead easy.  just flour and water dough.  Form into balls and dab in oil.  Put two balls together and flatten and roll.  Then dry fry in a hot pan and pull the two pancakes apart.  Very thin and suitably ragged at the edges

Deep fried pancakes??? Heresy! We're not making tacos here!!!

Are these turkeys battered like fried chicken? How can you deep fry for an hour without burning them (presumably v low heat)

J

[IrishCream]

An heck, make your own pancakes.  Dead easy.  just flour and water dough.  Form into balls and dab in oil.  Put two balls together and flatten and roll.  Then dry fry in a hot pan and pull the two pancakes apart.  Very thin and suitably ragged at the edges

S

Ummmmm....so not like crepes? How about the proportions of flour to water? I can experiment with putting the two balls together and flattening them. Tho I can't imagine how it works. Thank you all so much! I am actually going to cook this duck, I think!

[IrishCream]

Are these turkeys battered like fried chicken? How can you deep fry for an hour without burning them (presumably v low heat)

J

No, they are not battered and the heat is very high. Typical frying temp. The skin is often blackened...one does not eat the skin of a fried turkey (speaking for myself).

[Simon Majumdar]

An heck, make your own pancakes.  Dead easy.  just flour and water dough.  Form into balls and dab in oil.  Put two balls together and flatten and roll.  Then dry fry in a hot pan and pull the two pancakes apart.  Very thin and suitably ragged at the edges

Deep fried pancakes??? Heresy! We're not making tacos here!!!

Are these turkeys battered like fried chicken? How can you deep fry for an hour without burning them (presumably v low heat)

J

Where does the word deep appear. I said DRY.

S

[Simon Majumdar]

An heck, make your own pancakes.  Dead easy.  just flour and water dough.  Form into balls and dab in oil.  Put two balls together and flatten and roll.  Then dry fry in a hot pan and pull the two pancakes apart.  Very thin and suitably ragged at the edges

S

Ummmmm....so not like crepes? How about the proportions of flour to water? I can experiment with putting the two balls together and flattening them. Tho I can't imagine how it works. Thank you all so much! I am actually going to cook this duck, I think!

PANCAKES

10 oz plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

8 fl Oz of boiling water

Vegetable oil

Make the dough and leave to rest for five minutes or so. Shape in a roll and cut into 16 bits

Take two pieces and flatten them. Brush the tops with oil and and place one on top of the other oiled side together.

Roll them out with a floured roller until about 8in circles

Heat dry frying pan and cook the pancakes on both sides for 2 to 3 mins until they begin to brown a little

Separate them and keep warm

when ready to eat, reheat them in a steamer or on a foil covered plate on top of a pan of water

Easy peasy lemon squeezy, hands and kneasy one two threesy

S

[Jon Tseng]

ooops

misread

stil think your a heretic though

[Simon Majumdar]

ooops

misread

stil think your a heretic though

What for making my own pancakes as opposed to buying them from Sainsburys?

S

[Jon Tseng]

Mate... that's how Arius started... one moment he denying the legitimacy of pot noodles... next thing he was contradicting the one person of the Father and Son... then - faster than you can say "NICENE CREED" it was banishment and excommunication!!!!

As anyone who has ever been tempted by the "two hamburgers and two small fries for two pounds" promotion, it is all too easy to fall down the slippery slope.

;-)