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Roast Duck: Tips, Techniques & Tradition


Fat Guy

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Prawcracker: Do you put any liquid inside the duck before you roast it? I used meen see - the brown bean sauce with whole beans - along with star anise, ginger, scallion, and garlic cloves. I guess the five-spice powder would do the same job as the spices.

I had the same problem as you did with hanging the duck to roast. I tried to roast it on a rack, but never seemed to get the beautiful all around colour as you do. Haven't made one for years - too lazy when I can get it in Wpg. :wink: Besides, a frozen duck costs me more than one from the BBQ shop!

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Thanks for the recipe. I will want to try my hand at making one for Easter...

austramerica

Life is short: Break the rules...Forgive quickly...Kiss slowly...Love truly...Laugh uncontrollably...And never regret anything that made you smile. Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance...
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That looks fantastic-a dish I'd given up on-the glaze is new to me, and I've not tried with a Silver Hill Duck before. I shall try again next week.

Do you prefer honey to maltose?

Edited by muichoi (log)
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Prawcracker: Do you put any liquid inside the duck before you roast it? I used meen see - the brown bean sauce with whole beans -  along with star anise, ginger, scallion, and garlic cloves. I guess the five-spice powder would do the same job as the spices.

I had the same problem as you did with hanging the duck to roast.  I tried to roast it on a rack, but never seemed to get the beautiful all around colour as you do. Haven't made one for years - too lazy when I can get it in Wpg. :wink: Besides, a frozen duck costs me more than one from the BBQ shop!

I know exactly what you mean, a whole duck from the bbq shop is about £13 whereas a frozen one is £7 so sometimes i think why bother with all the effort! But it is one my favourite things to eat so for me worth the effort. I've never used meen see though i think a lot of recipes i've seen include it. For me the predominant flavour for me is five-spice with the emphasis on anise.

That looks fantastic-a dish I'd given up on-the glaze is new to me, and I've not tried with a Silver Hill Duck before. I shall try again next week.

Do you prefer honey to maltose?

It's one of those things, i always have honey in the cupboard so it's always to hand when i make this dish. If i bought maltose what else could i use it for? Anyway the honey and black vinegar mixture gives such a wonderful finish you must try it.

Talking about the bbq shops around here they do a version of roast duck (Pai Pa Ap) that is spatchcocked and has a more hoi-sin flavour though the meat is drier but crispier. I never hear it mentioned anywhere, any ideas how these are made?

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Talking about the bbq shops around here they do a version of roast duck (Pai Pa Ap) that is spatchcocked and has a more hoi-sin flavour though the meat is drier but crispier.  I never hear it mentioned anywhere, any ideas how these are made?

Pai Pa Ap is one of my favorites. I love it more than regular roast ducks. I agree that the cavity marination seems to be heavy on hoi-sin sauce. I like it as it is roasted dried on both sides: the skin side and the cavity side.

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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Oh man, I wish I had room to do this!

Instead, I guess I will resort to continue to have to buying duck, and save this for the day when I have extensive kitchen space.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I cooked one the night before last and used a mixture of golden syrup and black vinegar on the skin....very pleased with the result...

ps. not sure what sort of ****ose golden syrup is...

edited to add: it took longer than a day for the prep...

Edited by insomniac (log)
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Does the duck need to be rotated during the cooking or will that ruin the beautiful lacquer coating?

No need to turn or rotate. I get a nice even colouration with just the rack and a regular fan-assisted oven.

As for just roasting just a leg or breast i've never tried it. The only problem i see with it is the scalding part of the process. It'll be difficult to scald the skin without affecting the flesh. Probably work better with legs rather breasts, give it a go and report back.

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Duck! Any way and any time!

As much as I love Cantonese or Peking duck, one of my favorites is Shanghai duck, yet I have never seen it outside of one of my old Chinese cookbooks.

The duck is braised, cooled and then roasted. The braising liquid is reduced to make a dip. (ginger, soy, anise flavored) Slices of the duck are placed in steamed buns and dipped in the dip.

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Black vinegar works a treat doesn't it, gives just the right hue to the skin.  Did you get your hands on a Silver Hill duck?  No photos :sad:

the vinegar worked a treat and I didn't baste during the cooking time...it still ended up a beautiful mahogany colour....I used a German frozen duckling, smaller than the usual English one but a shedload of meat.....have a request to do it again this weekend so I will attempt a photo (cameras are the devil's children to me :)

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  • 2 months later...

Hi all -- fascinating discussion ... but I wonder if you can help identify another regional roast duck -- Jiangxi (Yuzhang) Duck. I have a very vague description and photo from a Chinese tour site Jiangxi duck "recipe"

Can anyone get an authentic, detailed recipe for me? I've had no luck with Google ... or at other recipe sites ...

Regards,

JasonZ

JasonZ

Philadelphia, PA, USA and Sandwich, Kent, UK

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Hi Liushou:

First, thanks for correcting my link ... I guess my skills have become rusty. ... and yes, the problem with the site is that in addition to Chinglish, it provides no recipe quantities or directions for those not familiar with the recipe or the final dish ...

I understand there is a recipe on a website in mandarin, but the recipe I had seen had gone through an "automatic translator" and came out looking like it had gone through a food processor ...

Does anyone know this style of duck?

Regards,

Jason Z

JasonZ

Philadelphia, PA, USA and Sandwich, Kent, UK

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Your link doesn't work Jason.

Should be this.

Wonderful Chinglish. Not sure about the recipe.

thanks for the recipe link Liuzhou, the translation is simply brilliant (if only my reverse efforts were so picturesque :smile: )

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