Crispy Duck
Submitted by: Rick
Attributed to: Richard
Category: Poultry
Description: Dinner of choice for the London crowd. Many recipes have been tried over the years, but this one consistently delivers the goods and is easy enough to actually execute within your lifetime. Sometimes an appetizer, but make enough (or share it with only your BFFs) and it’s more often a full up entree.
Prep time: 15
Total time: 2 1/2 - 3 hours
Servings: 2-3 for entree portions
Difficulty rating: 2
Ingredients:
2 1/2 pound duck, frozen ok but thaw thoroughly in the refrigerator before cooking
Salt, generous amount
five spice, generous amount
fresh ginger, grated, generous amount
1 bunch spring onions
1/2 cucumber
plum sauce, jar
wonton wrappers, 1 package
Special tools/utensils needed:
vertical chicken roasting stand (keeps the fat away from the skin so the skin gets crispy)
steamer for the wrappers
meat thermometer
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325F.
Rub the duck inside & out with salt and freshly grated ginger. Dust the outside with five spice.
Mount the duck on a vertical roasting stand, place it in a roasting pan and put it in the oven. Be sure to put water in the bottom of the roasting pan; you probably won’t need it since duck fat has a smoke point of 375-380. But it’s a good safeguard against undesired excitement in case you crank it up at the end and leave it in a little too long.
Check on it after a couple hours. It's done when the leg meat pulls easily off the bone and the skin is crispy; this usually happens at an internal spot temperature of 180-185, which is higher than the FDA recommended 165 to make it safe to eat. If the crisping process needs a little help, it’s ok to turn the temperature up to 400 for a short while at the end.
While the bird is cooking, julienne the spring onions & cucumber.
Let the bird rest outside the oven for 5-10 minutes after the cooking is complete. Now is a good time to steam the wonton wrappers.
When it’s done resting, use 2 forks to shred all the meat and crispy skin off the carcass.
Assemble the feast by taking a wonton, placing some duck & skin, a pinch of spring onion & another pinch of cucumber and a dollop of plum sauce onto it. Roll it up, take a bite and savor the moment. Yes, that is heaven you are tasting!