traditional Peking Duck Recipe: How to Make Crispy Duck Magic at Home

Ingredients & Tools

• 1 whole duck (3.5–4 lbs)
• Bike pump (non-negotiable—trust us!)
• Double meat hooks (or sturdy string)
• Seasoning Paste:
  • 2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp white pepper
  • 1.5 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
• Glaze:
  • 2.5 cups water
  • 70g Chinese red vinegar
  • 100g maltose syrup (or honey in a pinch)

Step-by-Step Peking Duck Recipe

1. Prep the Duck: Seasoning & Sewing

1. Rinse the duck, removing any leftover feathers.
2. Mix the seasoning paste and slather it inside the cavity (not on the skin!).
3. Sew the cavity shut with a skewer.

2. The Bike Pump Hack: Skin Separation Secret

This step is crucial for crispy skin:

1. Insert the pump valve under the neck skin.
2. Press a paper towel around the valve to prevent leaks.
3. Pump until the duck inflates like a balloon (yes, really!).
   • Pro Tip: Enlist a helper to seal air leaks.

Why it works: Separating skin from meat allows even drying and crisping.

3. Glaze & Hang: The 24-48 Hour Wait

1. Boiling Water Blitz: Pour a kettle of boiling water over the duck to tighten the skin.
2. Maltose Glaze: Brush the maltose-vinegar mixture evenly over the skin.
3. Fridge Hang: Hook the duck and refrigerate for 24–48 hours.
   • Skin will darken and dry—this is good!

4. Roasting: Crispy Golden Perfection

1. Oven Setup:
   • Middle rack for duck, drip pan below.
   • Start at 375°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 325°F.
2. Roast: 1 hour total, rotating after 30 minutes.
3. Rest: Hang the duck for 15 minutes. It should sound crispy when tapped.

5. Carving & Plating Like a Pro

1. First Cut: Slice diagonally from the breast.
2. Plate: Mix skin-only pieces, skin-meat combos, and lean meat.
3. Serve: With cucumbers, scallions, and hoisin sauce.

Pro Tip: Use store-bought wrappers (microwave 30 seconds!) for lazy perfection. Try our homemade hoisin sauce here (internal link).

How to Eat Peking Duck: Wrap Like a Boss

1. Layer: Hoisin sauce + duck + cucumber + scallion.
2. Fold: Bottom up, sides in—no leaks!
3. Devour: Crunchy, savory, sweet… chef’s kiss.

Why Skip Takeout?

• Cost: Save $100+ vs. restaurant prices.
• Bragging Rights: “I made PEKING DUCK. With a BIKE PUMP.”
• Customization: Add chili sauce, pickled radish, or garlic. Explore Chinese spice blends here (external dofollow link).

prime rib and roast turkey because we’re making Peking Duck [Music] I know it sounds intimidating that’s what I thought at first but with a few important steps I’d say it’s actually quite difficult to mess this up so traditional Peking Duck Recipe we need a duck you don’t want something too big this is about three and a half pounds give it a quick rinse plug its feathers do what you got to then set it aside while we make our seasoning paste that’s going to be two teaspoons of five spice powder two teaspoons

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garlic powder one teaspoon onion 1 teaspoon white pepper one and a half tablespoons of sugar one tablespoon salt and three tablespoons of Hoisin Sauce mix well and aggressively lather it all along the traditional Peking Duck Recipe insides of your duck using a wooden or metal skewer sew up the duck and now we’re going to move on our first extremely important step you’re gonna need a bike pump which I feel like most people have and if you don’t just go buy one you’ll need it eventually for the lazy people out there I’ve tried admitting this step and even using

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Alternatives like blowing with the straw yeah it doesn’t work the purpose for pump is to separate the skin from meat which will allow the skin to dry much better and that actually ends up creating that signature crispy skin so don’t skip it in insert the pump valve Under the Skin at neck then press down with the traditional Peking Duck Recipe paper towel to make sure there is no leaking continue pumping until your duck pretty much looks like a balloon and you might need some help because air will leak out from other areas too just make sure to apply

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pressure until you visually see the skin separating from the meat into a saucepan add two and a half cups of water 70 grams of Chinese red vinegar and 100 grams of maltose the is important to create a sticky outer coating on the duck and if you never work with it just know is insanely annoying as you can tell traditional Peking Duck Recipe anyways want to heat this up over a stove until fully dissolved then set aside grab a double meat hook which looks like this and poke it right through each armpit or Wing Pit and what this does is allow us

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to hold it easier pour over a full kettle of boiling hot water to tighten back up the skin then pour over our maltose red vinegar mixture all over the skin as well the hard part is basically done and now we can just hang our duck in the fridge for 24 to 48 hours so skin dries up this is another really important step to traditional Peking Duck Recipe making sure our skin crisps up in the oven oh yeah and I also cut off the feet and had to save some space here’s what it looks like after 36 hours in the fridge skin is super dry and you can see the color has

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changed as well for our roasting setup I like to place the duck on top of a middle rack and then place a drip pan at the bottom of the oven this ensures maximum airflow from both sides and we’re gonna start at 375 fahrenheit then after five minutes drop it down to 325 Fahrenheit rotate the bird after 30 minutes and let it cook another 30 minutes that’s one hour of total cook time at this point our ducks should be traditional Peking Duck Recipe beautifully golden and crisp so just hang it up to rest for about 15 minutes and if done correctly it should sound

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like this [Music] cutting and presentation is honestly really easy just cut at an angle starting from the breast making sure you’re getting skin with meat then work your way down and around the rest of duck so how I like to Plate it is you got some pieces of both skin and meat here and then right here is just skin traditional Peking Duck Recipe and then just meat some cucumbers carrots and scallions that is a perfect plate alright so now how do we eat this thing I got these wrappers you can make them yourself if you can but I’m way too lazy for that you just I throw this

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into the microwave for 30 seconds and you got some really thin wrappers for Peking duck hoisin sauce on the bottom a couple pieces of our duck cucumber and green onion you can also add carrots but I don’t traditional Peking Duck Recipe like them then we just wrap it up perfect bite skin is really crispy the meat is still tender and really flavorful you honestly can’t tell the difference between this and what you get the restaurants I’m not gonna lie so next time you’re thinking about dropping a hundred dollars on Peking duck just don’t save a little bit of money and

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impress your grandma that’s what I did

FAQs

Q: Can I skip the bike pump?
A: Don’t. Blowing through a straw (yes, we tried) is a disaster.

Q: Maltose substitute?
A: Honey works but won’t caramelize as deeply.

Q: Can I roast without hanging?
A: Hanging ensures even airflow. Use oven hooks or string.