Peking Duck Chinese Recipe for Home Cooks

Peking duck is a celebrated Chinese dish of roast duck with crisp, glossy skin, traditionally served with thin pancakes, hoisin sauce, cucumber, and scallions. This home-oven version uses a hot-water blanch, a light honey glaze, and an overnight refrigerator dry to encourage crisp skin without specialized equipment.

Ingredients

1 whole duck, 5 to 5½ lb (2.3 to 2.5 kg), fully thawed if frozen
8 cups boiling water (1.9 L), for blanching
1 teaspoon kosher salt (6 g)
1 tablespoon maltose (20 g), or honey (21 g)
2 tablespoons hot water (30 ml), to thin the glaze
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (15 ml)
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder (2 g)
2 scallions (30 g), cut into short lengths
1 piece fresh ginger, about 2 inches (5 cm; 25 g), sliced
½ cup hoisin sauce (120 g)
1 tablespoon water (15 ml), to thin the hoisin if needed
1 large cucumber, about 10 oz (280 g), cut into thin matchsticks
6 scallions (90 g), cut into thin strips for serving
24 Mandarin pancakes, about 1 lb (450 g), store-bought or homemade

Instructions

Prepare the duck. Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity, and pat the duck thoroughly dry with paper towels. Trim away loose excess fat around the cavity opening. With a clean needle or the tip of a sharp skewer, prick the skin in several places around the breast and thighs, taking care not to pierce the meat. This gives rendered fat a route out and helps the skin dry. Season the cavity with the salt, five-spice powder, scallions, and ginger. Do not pack the cavity tightly; air should be able to circulate.
Blanch the skin. Set the duck on a sturdy rack over a roasting pan or in a clean sink. Carefully pour the boiling water over the skin, turning the bird as needed so the breast, back, and legs are scalded evenly. The skin should tighten and look smoother. Let excess water drain, then pat the duck dry again. Handle the hot water carefully, and keep the work area and any tools that touched raw poultry separate from ready-to-eat foods.
Mix and apply the glaze. Stir the maltose or honey with the hot water until smooth, then mix in the rice vinegar. Maltose is a traditional Chinese syrup that gives the skin a shiny finish; honey is easier to find and works well, though it makes the glaze a little more fragrant and can brown faster. Brush a thin, even coat over the entire outside of the duck. Avoid thick drips, which can turn sticky rather than crisp.
Air-dry in the refrigerator. Place the duck breast-side up on a rack set over a rimmed tray, making sure the bird does not touch the tray. Refrigerate uncovered for 12 hours. This drying time is important: a damp surface steams before it browns. Keep the duck on a low shelf away from uncovered or ready-to-eat foods. If the skin still looks wet after 12 hours, pat it gently with a clean paper towel and continue drying while you preheat the oven; do not leave raw duck at room temperature.
Heat the oven and set up the pan. Take the duck from the refrigerator while the oven heats, but do not leave it out for an extended period. Set a rack in a roasting pan and preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Place the duck breast-side up on the rack. Add a little water to the bottom of the pan if you are concerned about fat smoking, but keep the water below the rack so the duck does not sit in it. Do not cover the bird.
Roast until safely cooked. Roast for about 1 hour 50 minutes, rotating the pan once for even browning. Pour off accumulated fat carefully if the pan becomes very full, and save it only if you can cool and refrigerate it promptly. Check the thickest part of the breast and the innermost part of the thigh with a food thermometer, without touching bone. USDA FSIS lists 165°F (74°C) as the safe minimum internal temperature for duck and other poultry. If the duck has not reached that temperature, continue roasting and check again every 10 minutes.
Crisp the skin. Once the duck is at least 165°F (74°C), raise the oven to 425°F (218°C) and roast for about 15 minutes, watching closely so the glaze does not scorch. If the skin is already deeply browned, skip the high-heat finish rather than risk burning it. The skin should be browned and taut; the thermometer reading, not the color of the skin, determines whether the duck is safely cooked.
Rest, carve, and serve. Transfer the duck to a clean carving board and let it rest for 15 minutes. Remove the legs and wings, then slice the breast meat and skin into manageable pieces. Warm the Mandarin pancakes according to their package directions. Serve the duck while warm with hoisin, cucumber, scallion strips, and pancakes at the table.

Tips

Start with a fully thawed bird. A partly frozen duck roasts unevenly and can make the drying step ineffective. Thaw it in the refrigerator, allowing roughly 24 hours for every 4 to 5 lb (1.8 to 2.3 kg), and place it in a tray to contain drips.
Keep the glaze thin. A light coat is enough for color and shine. If using honey, check the duck closely during the final high-heat stage because honey can darken more quickly than maltose.
Use the thermometer in more than one place. Check the thickest breast area and the thigh, avoiding bone. If one area is cooler, return the duck to the oven and check again; do not rely on clear juices or browned skin to judge doneness.
Expect some smoke and splatter. Duck releases a substantial amount of fat. Use a deep, sturdy roasting pan, keep the oven area clear, and pour off excess fat carefully. Never pour hot fat down the drain.

Serving Suggestions

Set out the duck, warm pancakes, hoisin, cucumber, and scallions separately so everyone can make each wrap to taste. Spread a small spoonful of hoisin down the center of a pancake, add a few pieces of duck with some crisp skin, then add cucumber and scallion. Fold or roll the pancake around the filling. A little sauce goes a long way; too much can overwhelm the duck and make the pancake difficult to fold.

For a fuller meal, serve the wraps with steamed rice, a simple stir-fried vegetable, or a light soup. The duck is rich, so crisp or lightly seasoned sides work especially well. If you are serving a group, carve the duck just before eating and keep the pancakes covered with a clean towel so they stay soft. Put out extra cucumber and scallions for freshness, and offer additional hoisin on the side.

Variations

Use honey instead of maltose: Maltose can be difficult to find outside Chinese grocery stores. Honey thinned with hot water and rice vinegar is a practical substitute; it gives a slightly different aroma and may brown sooner, so watch the final roasting stage carefully. Avoid replacing the glaze with a thick layer of hoisin, which is more likely to burn and is intended as a table sauce.

Make a simpler roast-duck dinner: If Mandarin pancakes are unavailable, serve the sliced duck in small flour tortillas or soft steamed buns. These are convenient alternatives, not traditional Mandarin pancakes, and have a different texture. Keep the cucumber, scallions, and hoisin as the filling so the sweet-savory, fresh, and rich elements remain balanced.

Adjust the seasoning: For a gentler five-spice flavor, use ½ teaspoon (1 g) in the cavity, or leave it out and season only with salt. Some cooks add a little extra ginger or scallion; the cavity aromatics perfume the meat lightly but are not meant to turn it into a heavily stuffed roast. Regional and household approaches to Peking duck vary, and this oven method is a home adaptation rather than a claim to reproduce every traditional restaurant technique.

Storage and Reheating

Refrigerate cooked duck within 2 hours of cooking. Remove the meat from the bones if convenient, place it in a shallow airtight container, and keep it refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. Store pancakes, vegetables, and sauce separately so the pancakes do not become soggy. If you will not use the duck within that time, freeze the meat in a well-sealed container for up to 2 to 3 months for best quality; thaw it in the refrigerator before reheating.

For crispier leftovers, arrange duck pieces skin-side up on a rack or foil-lined tray and heat in a 375°F (190°C) oven until hot throughout. Check the thickest pieces with a food thermometer: USDA FSIS recommends reheating leftovers to 165°F (74°C). Depending on the size and amount, this usually takes about 10 to 20 minutes. Warm pancakes separately according to their package directions, or briefly steam them until pliable. Avoid microwaving the duck if crisp skin matters, since microwave heat softens it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to dry the duck overnight?
For this method, yes, the uncovered refrigerator rest is what dries the skin before roasting. Plan on 12 hours, and keep the duck on a rack above a tray in the refrigerator. If you skip this step, the duck can still cook safely, but the skin is more likely to be soft than crisp.

Can I prepare the duck more than a day ahead?
The recipe is timed for a 12-hour uncovered drying period. Do not extend that period casually: keep raw poultry refrigerated, and follow the storage date on the package or your butcher’s guidance. If you need to plan ahead, prepare the vegetables and sauce separately, then dry the duck for the scheduled time before roasting.

Why is my duck skin not crisp?
Common causes are a wet surface, a crowded or low rack, or fat collecting against the skin. Pat the duck dry before glazing, leave space around it in the refrigerator, and roast it on a rack so fat can drain. The short high-heat finish helps brown the skin, but use it only after the duck has reached a safe internal temperature and keep a close eye on the glaze.

Can I roast a larger duck with these times?
A larger bird will generally need more time, and the timing in the recipe is only an estimate for a 5 to 5½ lb (2.3 to 2.5 kg) duck. Use the same thermometer checks, placing the probe in the thickest breast and thigh areas without touching bone. Continue roasting until the poultry reaches 165°F (74°C), then crisp the skin briefly if it needs more color.

Can I make the pancakes and sauce from scratch?
Yes. Homemade Mandarin pancakes and hoisin sauce are possible, but they add separate preparation time and are not included in the recipe timing. Store-bought pancakes are a practical shortcut; warm them gently rather than leaving them exposed, and thin hoisin with a spoonful of water only if it is too thick to spread.

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Safety notes: safe minimum internal temperatures from USDA FSIS; raw and undercooked fish guidance from the U.S. FDA. Food safety notes

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