Crispy duck

nickyjellybaby

Hi, we were given 2 ducks on Saturday and I went to Asian food store to get the hoi sin sauce and pancakes today but they don't do pancakes, guy hadn't a clue what I meant but sold me some plain White flour to make them
as if that's not more hassle, I've read two conflicting receipes on how the duck should be cooked
1) steam the duck for 2 hours then cool it 4 hours then bake it and shread it
2) stick duck in the oven much like a roast chicken

now they've been defrosted already so I have to use both tomorrow, I only eat crispy duck
can anyone enlighten me on the best way to cook them for this dish-the simpler the better!

oh and im going to make a runny pancake batter of plain flour, egg and water unless perhaps some of you can recommend the right way?

Thanks a mill

muckety

The pancakes need to be very thin - to do that you make a paste of flour and water, roll into balls (a little bigger than maltesers), get a small amount of sesame oil and dip one ball halfway into the oil (to coat half the ball), then put the two balls together and roll out into a thin round pancake. You then cook the pancake on both sides, when cooked you peel the two halfs apart to give you 2 very thin pancakes. (The sesame oil stops the dough from sticking together).

Frankly, its a pain in the neck. I've managed to buy the pancakes in Asia Market in Drury street (though its a while ago now) in the freezer section. It was quite a large pack but I didn't mind as they store forever in a freezer.

nickyjellybaby

muckety, thanks for that. Makes sense to use the oil to keep them seperate
I have a new baby and living out in North County so heading in to town is a real pain but next time I'm in I'll stock up
I'm going to try the pancakes now and see if it will work!

CombatCow

Yeah making the pancakes sounds like a pain, id go to your local Chinese takeaway and just buy a pack or two from them

the beer revolu

Don't know about the pancakes - always buy them frozen in Chinese shop but this is how I do my duck:

Into a grinder or pestle and mortar put

Schezwan pepper corns (about a tablespoon)
Black pepper corns (bout a teaspoon)
A star Anise
Half a cinnamon stick
About 5 cloves
Half a teaspoon of fennel seeds
Teaspoon of sea salt.

Grind finely

Cut your duck in half ( a good kitchen scissors works well ) and coat with the spices and lots of very thinly sliced ginger.
Allow to marinate overnight.

Put the duck halves in a roasting tray, throw a dash of dry sherry in the bottom, cover the tray well with foil and cook in a low oven (150c) for 2 - 3 hours. Remove Duck and allow to cool. Keep the juices (separate from the fat)- they will be delicious in any Chinese dish.

When you want to serve the duck, crisp it up in a heavy pan, skin side down for about 5 minutes. Then shred all the meat off the bones. Yummm.

It's not as crispy as restaurant Crispy duck (they deep fry theirs) but is damn good and not as greasy.

Personally, I find the plum sauce you buy too sweet so I make my own from preserved, salted plums or sometimes from rhubarb - much nicer!!

The bones make a fantastic, dark Chinese flavoured stock - very good for beef and blackbean sauce!

nickyjellybaby

Hi beer revolu, thanks for that receipe
Unfortunately I just put the ducks in the oven whole with 5 spice rubbed into the skin
I followed an American receipe online that told me to dry the skin with kitchen towel then put them on a wire rack and pierce the flesh with a skewer to let the fat drip out, every 30 mins to drain off the fat
However, my bloody oven started smoking up the kitchen so I turned it off 15 mins into cooking

So I'll restart and keep going like this for now

I like the idea you have of crisping the skin, but I'm not sure I follow your advice. Do you mean just put the cooked duck into a heavy pan with no oil and just let them dry cook? Would they not stick or burn?

I already made the batter so I'll just soldier on and see how the pancakes work out, worst comes to worst I'll send himself off to the chinese to buy some packets

olaola

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/629606

Saw this on Market Kitchen last week - looked nyom!

Minder

Making the pancakes from scratch is easy - flour, salt, hot water and seasme oil to sandwich the dough balls together. But they will never be the same as the uniform discs that are available in the shops. The first time I made them, they were only cooked in a dry pan - there was a fine line between cooked pancake and brittle dough frizzbee. Now I steam the pancakes after the dry pan to make them flexible and easy to roll up. Thicker than the regular discs - more like a tortilla wrap.

the beer revolu

nickyjellybaby wrote: »

I like the idea you have of crisping the skin, but I'm not sure I follow your advice. Do you mean just put the cooked duck into a heavy pan with no oil and just let them dry cook? Would they not stick or burn?

Yup, just put the cooked duck in the pan with no oil - there's enough fat still in the skin. Just keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.

nickyjellybaby

Well I gave it a go but I should have taken your advice beer revolu, the duck which I baked in the oven for 1hour with 5 spice rubbed in went crispy alright but it was dry and chewy all in the inside, not moist like the Chinese or like a nice roast chicken i shouldve covered it in foil
anyway, I found it a bit disturbing taking the meat off something so small-I was gulit ridden

I tried that exact method minder. They weren't half bad but some of them I rolled to thin and were very crispyand others were too doughy and almost tasted raw

I was most disappointed with the hoi sin sauce I bought, it was winey purpley colour and the one served in Chinese is dark brown, tasted different so it really put me off as I couldve tolerated everything else

Think I'll buy it from the Chinese in future !

the beer revolu

nickyjellybaby wrote: »

Well I gave it a go but I should have taken your advice beer revolu, the duck which I baked in the oven for 1hour with 5 spice rubbed in went crispy alright but it was dry and chewy all in the inside, not moist like the Chinese or like a nice roast chicken i shouldve covered it in foil
anyway, I found it a bit disturbing taking the meat off something so small-I was gulit ridden

I tried that exact method minder. They weren't half bad but some of them I rolled to thin and were very crispyand others were too doughy and almost tasted raw

I was most disappointed with the hoi sin sauce I bought, it was winey purpley colour and the one served in Chinese is dark brown, tasted different so it really put me off as I couldve tolerated everything else

Think I'll buy it from the Chinese in future !

For the duck to be tender and moist, it needs long slow cooking.
I much prefer plum sauce to hoi sin.
But, as I said, homemade is much better (not so sweet).

Pal

Not Hoi Sin or Plum.

You need this stuff !





Buy it in The Chinese Shop at Jervis Luas stop but its often sold out.

Pal

Split an orange and a lemon. Shove both into the duck.

Cover the duck all over in olive oil.

Season generously on the outside with sea salt and black pepper.
It sticks to the olive oil.

Pierce the underside of the duck liberally to let juices run.

cover in foil.

Place on a rack and baking tray in oven at 150 for 4 hours draining every hour.

Stand one hour.

Shred all the meat and skin. Discard the carcass.

Chop it all up fine with an electric knife.

Chuck the lot into a hot wok and toss fry with plenty of olive oil and a big spoonful of Peking Duck Sauce for about 10 mins.

Serve with pancakes and vegetables.

You'll love it.

Mellor

Pal wrote: »

Not Hoi Sin or Plum.

You need this stuff !





Buy it in The Chinese Shop at Jervis Luas stop but its often sold out.

em, I suppose I should tel you that Peking Duck sauce is Hoi Sin sauce.

"Peking Duck" is Duck with Hoi Sin

Pal

Yes many people use Hoisin but it is different to Peking Duck sauce which I prefer.

Pal

Frozen whole duck is hard to find at this time of year.
Lidl and Aldi won't stock it again for many months.

Sainsburys in NI always seem to have them at £7 each if you're stuck.

jackie_brown

for a truly crispy duck, you need to do it the chinese style by hanging them dry overnight. this is done after you've dipped the whole duck with hot boiling stock for about 10 times, to ensure the skin is tighten. when its hung and totally dry for at least overnight in a cool dry place, you stick it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. the skin will be so crispy, i guarantee you, and turn honey brown to perfection.

Murtinho

im going to try aldis one tomorrow, would love to do my own sometime though, anyone ever find the pancakes on sale anywhere?

the beer revolu

Murtinho wrote: »

im going to try aldis one tomorrow, would love to do my own sometime though, anyone ever find the pancakes on sale anywhere?

Yes, any Asian shop

xxdilemmaxx

the beer revolu wrote: »

Don't know about the pancakes - always buy them frozen in Chinese shop but this is how I do my duck:

Into a grinder or pestle and mortar put

Schezwan pepper corns (about a tablespoon)
Black pepper corns (bout a teaspoon)
A star Anise
Half a cinnamon stick
About 5 cloves
Half a teaspoon of fennel seeds
Teaspoon of sea salt.

Grind finely

Cut your duck in half ( a good kitchen scissors works well ) and coat with the spices and lots of very thinly sliced ginger.
Allow to marinate overnight.

Put the duck halves in a roasting tray, throw a dash of dry sherry in the bottom, cover the tray well with foil and cook in a low oven (150c) for 2 - 3 hours. Remove Duck and allow to cool. Keep the juices (separate from the fat)- they will be delicious in any Chinese dish.

When you want to serve the duck, crisp it up in a heavy pan, skin side down for about 5 minutes. Then shred all the meat off the bones. Yummm.

It's not as crispy as restaurant Crispy duck (they deep fry theirs) but is damn good and not as greasy.

Personally, I find the plum sauce you buy too sweet so I make my own from preserved, salted plums or sometimes from rhubarb - much nicer!!

The bones make a fantastic, dark Chinese flavoured stock - very good for beef and blackbean sauce!

I made these duck pancakes on Sat and am now left with 2 duck carcasses and giblets. How would I go about making the stock, would it be similar to a chicken stock?
If you have the recipe for the beef and blackbean sauce I'd love it beer revolu! Or any other ideas for what I could use the duck stock for would be much appreciated.

the beer revolu

Yup, just simmer the bones in water for a couple of hours - there's lots of flavour from the spies and ginger - you could throw in an onion too and some garlic. Strain it and reduce until it tastes yummy!!

For the blackbean sauce you'll need these preserved black bean from any Asian shop:

I just fry an onion in a saucepan, throw in some garlic and fresh ginger.
Put in a handfull of the beans and crush them a bit with a wooden spoon.
Add a dash of dry sherry or Shaoxing wine (again any Asian shop) and some of your stock (make sure it's not too watery - reduce it until it is nice and flavoursome before you use it). Simmer this for ten minutes or so. You can thicken it with a little cornflour if you like.

That's your sauce. If it's not already too salty, add a bit of soy sauce.

Simply stir fry beef of your choice with some green pepper and some spring onion and add sauce at the end.
For the beef, I like to get a thick piece of sirloin and sear it well on a very hot pan, let it cool and then slice it into strips and just barely warm them through in the stir fry (that way you get the nice charred flavour on the strips but without the meat getting hard and overcooked).