The Secret to Making the Crispiest Peking Duck at Home

Peking duck can feel like one of those dishes that belongs in a restaurant. The beautifully crisp skin, tender meat and rich duck fat seem difficult to recreate at home—but there is one simple trick that makes all the difference.

The secret to crispy Peking duck is separating the skin from the meat.

When the skin is separated from the meat, it has room for air to circulate underneath it. This allows the skin to cook and crisp up independently from the meat, giving you that thin, crackly skin that makes Peking duck so good.

In restaurants, chefs will often use a blower to push air between the skin and the meat, separating the skin from the bird. At home, you can achieve a similar effect with a chopstick.

It doesn't have to be perfect. The goal is simply to loosen as much of the skin from the meat as you can while keeping the skin mostly intact for a beautiful presentation.

                          

The second secret: use a drip rack

Duck is a very fatty bird, which is wonderful for flavour—but all that rendered fat can work against crispy skin.

Don't place the duck directly onto a baking sheet.

Instead, place the duck on a rack over a baking tray. This allows the fat to drip away from the bird while also allowing hot air to circulate around the duck. You'll get more even cooking and much crispier skin.

I also like to line the bottom of the baking tray with aluminum foil. The rendered duck fat collects underneath, and you can save those delicious drippings to serve with the duck.

                         

Crispy Peking Duck

Ingredients

For the duck

• 1 duck, thawed

• 10 spring onions, wrapped into a bundle

• 1 pear, peeled and sliced

• Sweet and sour sauce, for serving

• Cooked rice, for serving (optional)

Overnight marinade

• 4 tbsp hoisin sauce

• 3 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

Basting marinade

• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• ½ tbsp sesame oil

How to Make It

1. Separate the skin

Place the duck breast-side up in a baking pan.

Starting around the bottom cavity, gently slide a chopstick between the skin and the meat. Work your way around the bird, loosening the skin as much as possible.

Don't worry if you accidentally make a few small holes—the technique doesn't have to be perfect. Just try to keep most of the skin intact so the finished duck still looks beautiful.

2. Marinate overnight

Combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil.

Rub the marinade evenly over the duck, making sure to coat the bird well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

For more even flavour, flip the duck once during marinating and baste it with the marinade.

3. Prepare the baking tray

When you're ready to cook, line a baking tray with aluminum foil and place a drip rack over the top.

The rack is important. You want the duck elevated above the tray so the rendered fat can drip away while air circulates underneath the bird.

Place the duck breast-side up on the rack.

Stuff the cavity with the pear slices and bundled spring onions.

Wrap the tips of the wings with aluminum foil to help prevent them from burning during the long cooking time.

4. Bake the duck

Bake at 325°F for 1½ hours.

Remove the duck and baste with the remaining marinade. Baste the duck every 30-45 minutes.

Increase the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for another 1½ hours, or until the thickest part of the duck reaches 165°F (74°C) for food safety.

Keep an eye on the skin toward the end of cooking. You want it deeply golden and crisp.

5. Serve

Let the duck rest before carving.

Serve with cooked rice, sweet and sour sauce and, of course, those delicious duck drippings collected underneath the rack.

The combination of crispy skin, tender meat and rich duck fat makes this an incredibly satisfying meal—and once you know the trick, Peking duck doesn't have to be a restaurant-only dish.

Separate the skin. Keep the duck elevated. Let the oven do the rest.

Enjoy!

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