Crispy Roast Duck

Whenever I have a craving for duck, I would drive to Chinatown and bring home a roast duck. They are the ones that you see hanging in the shop window. I love to eat it while it is still warm as the skin is crispy and the meat is succulent and delicious. It is great serve over rice or noodles. For years, I am intimidated by the thought of roasting a duck as someone told me that it takes hours of skillful preparation and roasting. Well, I figured it is worth giving it a try. You can buy frozen duck in the freezer compartment in most supermarket, or pre-order a fresh one in some Chinese supermarket.

 

frozen duck

 

gently score skin surface

after an hour of roasting

poke skin all over

follow steps to roasting and final glaze

Ingredients:
1 whole duck (4-5 lbs)
Glaze:
½ cup honey
¼ cup orange juce
2 tsp. plum sauce
1 tsp. orange flavored water
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Wash duck and remove giblets and fat, remove and quills by pulling it out with a tweezer. Pat dry with paper towel. Use a knife and gently score the surface of the skin by slicing through the skin and fat (this process remove excess fat when cooking). Rub inside and outside with salt and truss with cooking twine.
2. Place breast side-up in a baking rack and roast for an hour. Pull out, poke skin all over and roast further for another hour breast-side down.
3. Repeat Step 2 and turn duck each time reversing positions (breast-side up or down) for the next hour of roasting.
4. Mix the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Season to taste. (This recipe makes a substantial amount, but you can vary the quantities according to your needs)
3. At the final 3rd hour, increase heat to 400°F. Turn duck breast-side up brush duck with glaze and roast further for another 10 minutes until duck has a nice mahogany color and golden. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the duck until the temperature is 165°F. Remove and cool duck completely before carving. 5. Drain pan drippings and strain into remaining glaze. Reheat and thicken slightly with some cornstarch and serve with duck on the side.
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