Transcription
Hi everyone, I am Mandy. Welcome to Souped Up Recipes. Today, we are on a mission to make Cantonese roasted duck. This is a comprehensive step-by-step guide.
You will learn the perfect marinade that makes your duck taste exactly like it is from the restaurant. You will get my secret glaze formula that will give the duck the crispiest skin and a beautiful reddish color, which will look exactly like the ones hanging in front of the roast shops in Chinatown. Imagine putting that on the dinner table. You will get tons of compliments. Also, I will share a special onion stuffing that will make the duck meat extra juicy. You can apply this method to roast chicken or turkey. Best of all, I included some of my failure examples and lots of tips and tricks that will improve your cooking skills to the next level. So let's get started.
First, we will talk about the duck. Most likely, you will get it frozen from your local Asian grocery store. It is best to defrost it in the refrigerator so the bird can thaw at a consistent, safe temperature. This process takes 36 hours, so you'd better plan your cooking ahead. Of course, if you are lucky enough to be able to buy fresh, non-frozen duck, you don’t have to worry about this process.
Here is another thing that you need to pay attention to. There are usually 2 options available on the market: one is without the head, and the other one is with the head. Ideally, you want to buy the head-on duck because for the headless one, they usually chop off the entire neck as well, that affects the air-pumping process. Funny enough, we are not roasting the duck with the head on, so yes, we will remove it, but the difference is that you get to keep the neck, and that is important. You know, it is like blowing a balloon; you need to grip onto the long, narrow opening. Otherwise, you just can't inflate it. The wings and the feet burn fast while roasting, so I like to cut them off as well. They have a high collagen content, which is great for making stock. Rinse the duck thoroughly and set it aside for now.
We will make a glaze, or what we call 脆皮水, which is also essential for creating that golden crispy skin. In a saucepan, add 1 tbsp of sugar, 1 tbsp of maltose. These 2 sweeteners will caramelize while roasting, giving the duck that desired red and brown color. Continue by adding ⅓ cup of vinegar. I'm using apple cider vinegar, but white vinegar will also work. ¾ cup of Chinese cooking wine. Stir everything over medium heat. The mixture doesn't need to come to a boil. As soon as the sugar and maltose are melted, turn off the heat and set it aside.
Next, we are going to make a spice blend to give the duck a beautiful aroma. You will need 1 tsp of black peppercorns, 1 tsp of Sichuan peppercorns, ½ of a star anise, 2 small bay leaves, a small stick of cinnamon stick, one slice of dried gancao, also known as licorice root. It has a sweet aftertaste, which helps to balance all the spices. 2 slices of dried sand ginger. It has an intense peppery smell with a touch of camphorous overtone, giving Cantonese roasted duck that iconic fragrance. If you skip it, the roasted duck will lose its spirit. Last, a small piece of aged tangerine peel. This is optional. You will not ruin the duck if you skip it, but it does have a citrus aroma that I really like. Some of these ingredients may be hard to find around where you live; I will link them in the description. You can check it out if you want to purchase them online.
Toast the spices in the wok over low heat for a couple of minutes. Then, blend into a fine powder. Let it go through a sieve to eliminate the stubborn pieces. Set the spice powder aside. We’re going to put together all the seasonings. You will need 2 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of sugar, 1.5 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of hoisin sauce, 1 tbsp of Zhuhou paste, 2 pieces of fermented bean curd, last, toss in the spice mix that we just made and mix thoroughly. These are the brands of the seasonings that I am using. I will link them in the description.
Bring the duck over and use paper towels to dab the excess moisture. Make sure you dry the inside as well, so it doesn’t dilute the sauce. Pour all the seasonings into the duck cavity and rub it nicely for a few minutes, so that the flavor can deeply infuse into the flesh. The duck that I am using weighs 4 lb after removing the head, inner, and feet. You have to adjust the amount of seasoning proportionally based on the weight of the duck. Set the duck aside.
We are going to make a special onion stuffing. Add a generous amount of oil to the wok along with some ginger slices and 2 tbsp of minced garlic. Here is 1 sweet onion that I finely diced. Stir over medium-low heat until the onion is soft and translucent. Some of you may wonder, what is the point to saute it if it is going to be cooked in the cavity anyway? Unlike other roasted ducks, the Cantonese style features a flavorful soup inside the cavity, which not only makes the duck extra juicy but also is great for dipping and drizzling all over the rice. If you don't precook it, the onion will not turn into a soup because the roasting time in the oven is not long enough. The onion looks soft enough. Bring the duck over and stuff the sautéed onion into the cavity. I also like to stuff in a little bit of cilantro and scallions.
The next step is to seal the duck so you can lock in all the juice and flavors. Grab the opening of the cavity and stick the skewer in. Twist it over and stitch it in again. Make it as tight as possible to prevent leaking. Just do that until there is no more opening. When you get to the end, stick the tip into the cavity. It is best to use a metal skewer because bamboo material will break. Once done, set the duck aside.
Fill a big pot with water and heat it over medium heat. It takes 10-15 minutes for it to come to a boil. During this time, we're going to pump air into the duck. Some of you probably already know that this is the key to getting crispy skin on roasted ducks, but do you ever wonder how big of a difference does it bring compared to not blowing air into the duck? In one of my tests, I accidentally poked the skin on one side of the chest. Trust me, I was so sad, but I decided to go with it anyway. However, I could not inflate it properly because the air was leaking out through that hole. I have to put my hands on it and apply pressure to stop the air from escaping, so the duck ended up that all the area are properly inflated except the part that I put my hands on. When the duck came out of the oven, I realized that this is going to be the perfect example to show you the difference. The non-inflated area was low and dense, while all the other areas was airy and puffy. It may not look evident from the camera, but the texture differs significantly. Also, the broken skin causes the moisture to leak out constantly while baking, so your duck will be less juicy. Now you know how important it is.
Let's start pumping the air. I am using a portable tire inflator with a nozzle adaptor. It might look a little bit strange, but that is what I have. Wrap the tube with plastic film so I don't dirty the duck or the inflator. Stick the nozzle into the neck under the skin. Hold it tightly to seal well. Then, start pumping air until the whole duck is inflated. During the process, you may find that the air is leaking through the cavity. That is pretty normal. You have to hold it as tightly as you can so the duck can inflate more. You want to see the air is filling up the entire chest, separating the skin and the fat. That is good. Here is a small tip. I like to tie the neck with kitchen twine to retain the air.
Now, we're going to immediately blanch the skin to stabilize the shape. That's why I boiled a pot of water ahead of time. We're gonna do this in the sink so you don't make a mess. Place the duck in the sink breast side up and use a big cup to take the hot water and pour it onto the skin. The heat will stretch the skin, making it tight and smooth. When you do the back, grab the neck and try not to put pressure on the chest because we want to keep it nice and airy. Some recipes will directly drop the duck into the boiling water to blanch the skin. Do not do that because you risk overheating it, causing the duck fat to render out. The grease will prevent the glaze from attaching evenly, and your duck will end up with an uneven color at the end. Rinse the duck under running water to prevent it from overheating.
Now we're gonna remove the rack and pour out all the water. Bring the glaze and drizzle it all over the duck. I put a tray under so you can collect the glaze and reapply it onto the duck to make sure every part of the skin is covered. Once done, place the duck onto a rack and dehydrate the skin until completely dry. I am using a dehydrator. Set it to the lowest temperature for at least 6 hours. If you don't have a dehydrator, some people recommend leaving the duck in the fridge uncovered overnight. You can do that, but the end result is not as good as using a dehydrator. 6 hours later, this is how the duck looks. The skin is completely dry. It feels kind of like plastic. That is exactly what we want. Just in case you ask, I put a small dish under the back so that the chest will have a beautiful shape for presentation. This is totally optional though.
The last step is roasting. Preheat the oven to 360℉/180℃. Wrap the baking pan with tin foil for easy cleaning. Place the duck on a baking rack, breast side up which is the side that I want to keep for the perfect presentation. So I will not flip the duck during the roasting. Therefore, it is very important to lift the duck with an extra steamer rack. Then there will be plenty of space between the duck and the baking pan, allowing better air circulation. Without this trick, the back of the duck will just be less charred. The cooking takes two steps. The first step is to bake the duck in a 360℉ oven for 20 minutes. The purpose is to allow the high heat to build that beautiful golden-red color on the skin. Then, the second step is to lower the temperature to 320℉ and continue to roast the duck for another 50 minutes. If you keep the heat on high the whole time, the skin will burn before the inside gets cooked. For your reference, my duck weighs 4 lb, and that is after I remove the head, wings, and feet. You have to add 15 more minutes to the second step for every extra pound. However, every oven is different, so you do want to keep an eye on the duck and adjust the timing using your own judgment.
Alright, we are ready to take the duck out of the oven. Look at that. It came out so perfectly. I love that desired golden brown color. It’s just stunning. Before serving, pull the skewer out and use a bowl to collect all the onion duck juice. Let it go through a strainer. You can use this sauce to drizzle over the duck and rice. Now, you can start cutting it to serve. It smells so good too. My mouth is watering. Choose your favorite part, a leg or the chest meat. Then, serve with white rice and blanched greens. Drizzle the flavorful sauce all over; that right there is a classic Cantonese takeout. I used to eat it all the time. Oh, let me take a bite of the skin because I want to show you how crispy it is. Hear that? Just follow my recipe and you can roast a perfect duck at home too. I hope you give this a try soon. As always, the printable recipe link is in the description. Go check it out. Don't forget to like and subscribe to my channel for more delicious and authentic Chinese food. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you next time. Bye~