Traditional Roast Duck Recipe – Oma's traditionelle gebratene Ente (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between Beijing duck and roast duck? ›

Unlike most roast ducks or chickens, Michelin notes that Peking duck is not stuffed with any herbs or spice mixes to keep its flavor as pure as possible. All told, Hong Kong Greeters adds that three days are needed to prep and cook a Peking duck.

The boiling water helps pull the skin taut, making it easier to score in a crosshatch pattern. That, in turn, allows the fat to render out as everything roasts.

The rich flavor of the tender duck meat and crispy duck skin pairs well with the salty, seasoned notes of the hoisin sauce. Traditional Peking Duck is known the world over for the time-consuming and complex method followed to yield extremely crispy skin and moist, tender meat.

The flavor of Peking Duck is rich and savory with a mix of sweet and salty notes. The skin is incredibly crispy, while the meat is juicy and flavorful. The combination of textures and flavors creates a unique dining experience.

Using a fork, prick the skin all over without piercing the meat; season with salt and pepper. Place duck on a rack set in a roasting pan and transfer to oven; roast for 40 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees and continue roasting until juices run clear when thigh is pierced, about 30 minutes more.

It has a richer taste because it contains more fat than chicken. Duck fat has a lower melting point than beef or pork fat and melts at 14 degrees Celsius, below body temperature, so it melts in your mouth and tastes good even when cold. The texture is mild, easy to digest and not heavy.

Roast on a rack.

For especially fatty duck, you'll benefit from starting the cooking process with the breast side down for the first 40 minutes or so, before flipping it breast side up for the rest of the roast, to ensure even browning and fat rendering all around.

The journey towards perfectly roasted or baked duck breast entails commencing with a searing process. This initial step sets the foundation for achieving the ideal oven-roasted duck breast—a tantalizingly golden and crisp exterior juxtaposed with a succulent, flavorful interior.

For the tastiest Sunday roast, season your duck with Cornish Sea Salt Crystals and black pepper the night (or ideally 24 hours) before.

Should I pour boiling water over duck before roasting? ›

This simple main dish uses a technique common in traditional Peking duck recipes: dousing it with boiling water. Pouring hot water over a room-temperature duck tightens its skin, which starts it on its journey toward becoming that coveted crispy skin.

Remove giblets and neck from duck cavity and discard or reserve for another use. Cut off excess fat from duck cavity. Place duck, breast side down (wings up), on a rack in a roasting pan; add water to come just below the rack. Sprinkle duck with pepper and brush with a little soy sauce.

To get rid of that "gamey" taste in ducks, you have to try to leech out as much blood as you can. In the photo above, the duck was brined for 3 days, leaving a light exterior and a beautiful ruby red color inside.

Ducks bred especially for the dish are slaughtered after 65 days and seasoned before being roasted in a closed or hung oven. The meat is often eaten with spring onion, cucumber and sweet bean sauce with pancakes rolled around the fillings.

Pekin Duck (or Long Island Duck)

Pekin duck meat is known for its mild, satisfying flavor that easily adapts to a number of cuisines. It has lighter flesh and milder flavor than either Moulard or Muscovy duck, and is considered perfect for whole roasting.

The first roast duck restaurant in Beijing, Bianyifang Restaurant, was opened to the public near Mishi Hutong in 1855. While the name of the duck was Jinling duck, the chef used a closed oven and straw as the fuel.

However, the savory character of Peking Duck is perhaps its most defining feature. The duck meat itself, rich and succulent, offers a deep, meaty savoriness that is both satisfying and comforting. This umami quality is the backbone of the dish, around which the other flavors dance.