Nanjing Roast Duck (Nanjing Kaoya,南京烤鸭)
The Mala MarketEquipment
- Steel trussing pins
Ingredients
- 1 whole fresh (or thawed) Pekin duck preferably “Confucian” or “Buddhist” style (i.e. with head and feet attached)
Inner Marinade
- ¾ cup light soy sauce
- 6 slices of ginger
- 3 scallion whites, segmented into 1-inch pieces
- 2 star anise
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 packed cup Chinese celery leaves (or 2 standard celery ribs), chopped
- ½ apple, diced
- ¼ cup baijiu (or vodka)
Outer Marinade
- 1 tablespoon maltose (or light corn syrup)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
Sauce
- ¾ cup light soy sauce
- ⅓ cup rock sugar
- ⅓ cup Shaoxing wine
- 5 pieces of ginger
- 2 scallions
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 star anise
- 1 piece aged mandarin (tangerine) peel
- 1 piece cassia bark
- 1 smoked cao guo (Chinese black cardamom) pod
- 1 tablespoon red yeast rice (optional, for color)
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon whole fennel seeds
Instructions
Day One
- Make the inner marinade: Add light soy sauce, ginger, scallion whites, star anise, fennel seeds and ¾ cup of water to a small stockpot and bring everything to a simmer. Turn off heat and add the celery leaves, diced apple and baijiu.
- While the marinade is cooling, prep the duck: Remove feet and wings at the first joint and reserve. Remove any organs from inside the duck cavity and discard (or reserve for another use). Rinse the duck inside and out and gently pat it dry. If your duck does not have a head and neck, use trussing pins to close the neck hole by pinching the skin tight and weaving the pin in and out, as if you’re sewing; it may take several pins to securely close the hole. Leave the tail hole open (the one you would stuff if you were stuffing it like a turkey), since that is where the marinade will go.
- When the marinade is at room temperature, carefully spoon the mixture into the duck cavity. When you have filled the cavity, use more trussing pins to close the tail hole. Gently hold the duck up to check for leaks, and use more pins to secure leaks.
- Bring two quarts of water to a boil and pour the boiling water over the body of the duck, on all sides, to tighten the skin, making sure to include the duck’s “armpits” and the areas around the trussing pins. (Don’t worry about the head and neck.)
- Make the outer marinade: Microwave the maltose in its jar for 2 minutes to soften it, then mix the maltose with the oyster sauce and white vinegar in a bowl. It may be difficult to mix the maltose, which cools quickly on contact with the other liquids; you may have to microwave the mixture for another two minutes to ensure you have a liquidy blend.
- Pat the duck dry again, then brush the maltose mixture evenly onto the body of the duck (again ignoring the head and neck).
- Hang the duck up by its head/neck in the fridge. You may need to remove a shelf, and you can tie the bird to a spoon or spatula to act as a hanger. (I balance the spoon between a high shelf in my refrigerator and a groove on the other side, where another shelf could go.) Alternatively, if you do not have space to hang vertically, or if your duck does not have a head and neck, you can rest it on a roasting rack on top of a baking sheet.
Day Two
- By the next morning, the duck’s skin should feel slightly tacky but not slick. If there are wet spots, gently sponge them off with a paper towel.
- Remove the duck from the fridge 3 hours before you plan to serve it. The skin should be fully dry at this point.
- Make the stock: Carefully remove the head and neck of the duck, cutting several joints up from the body to avoid piercing the body cavity. Place the head, neck, wingtips and feet in the smallest pot that will hold them, and add just enough water to cover. Bring the water to a boil, then turn the heat as low as possible and simmer everything, covered, while you roast the duck.
- Cover a baking sheet in foil and set a roasting rack on top of it. Coat the rack with oil or butter, then set the duck, breast side down, onto the rack. Let the duck come up to temperature for an hour, then preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Roast the duck breast side down for 35 minutes, then raise temperature to 400°F and roast for another 15 minutes. Remove the duck from the oven and gently flip it, so it sits breast side up. Return the duck to the oven and roast it another 15–30 minutes, or until the bird is mahogany colored all over. Keep an eye on it after flipping; if some parts are browning too quickly, cover them with foil.
- Remove the duck when it is browned all over and the breast has reached 160°F. Let it rest on the rack for 15 minutes.
- While the duck is resting, start the sauce: Combine the soy sauce, rock sugar, Shaoxing, ginger, scallions, bay leaves, star anise, mandarin peel, cassia, black cardamom, red yeast rice (if using), Sichuan peppercorns and fennel in a stockpot, along with one cup of the simmering duck stock. Bring everything to a simmer.
- When the duck is cool enough to handle, carefully hold it vertically over a large bowl and remove the trussing pins, letting the jus from the belly flow into the bowl. Add this jus to the stockpot with the sauce ingredients, then continue simmering the mixture for another 10 minutes.
- While the sauce is cooking, carve and plate the duck, adding the solids from inside the belly to the simmering sauce. To carve the duck, I like to split the bird in half lengthwise, remove the spine, remove the wings and legs, and then hack each half of the duck into ½-inch pieces on the bone. That said, carving it like a turkey also works beautifully.
- Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning as needed: It should be well balanced between savory and sweet and have a ducky depth and mildly fruity aroma. It should be drinkable. If it is too salty, or if any particular spice stands out, add a little more duck stock. If it is bland, let it reduce for a few more minutes. When you are happy with it, strain out all the solids. Ladle the sauce over your platter of duck right before serving. (Leftovers can be refrigerated in the sauce and reheated by steaming, also in the sauce. Try to avoid microwaving the duck, as it will destroy the texture of the meat.)
Notes
If you happen to love goose and want to try this recipe with one, use a smallish bird (around 7 pounds). At that size, start by roasting your goose at 300°F for 1 hour, breast side down, then flip it breast side up and roast it for another 30 minutes. Lastly, turn the heat up to 400°F and continue roasting the bird breast side up for another 25 minutes, to brown the skin. The goose's internal temperature should be at least 165°F throughout to be safe.