There's nothing more hunger-inducing than walking past a Chinese BBQ restaurant and seeing the rows of Chinese Roast Duck hanging in the windows.
This easy roast duck recipe produces juicy, succulent meat with crisp, brown skin. Can't get enough of duck? Try my Duck Soup Recipe next!
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🦆 What is Chinese Roast Duck?
Chinese Roast Duck is an umbrella term that covers all types of roast ducks cooked using Chinese cooking techniques. The two main types are Peking Duck and Cantonese Roast Duck.
🥢 Peking Duck vs. Cantonese Roast Duck
Peking duck is the more elaborate dish, usually eaten for special occasions. It requires days of preparation, including inflating the duck skin, boiling it, and drying it for several days. After roasting, the duck is masterfully sliced 108 times.
Each section of the duck is reserved for one of three courses. The first course involves eating the skin with pancakes and hoisin sauce, the second is stir-fried with rice and vegetables, and the third is served in soup.
Cantonese Roast duck, on the other hand, is the much simpler preparation. It's available in Chinese markets and Chinatowns all over North America.
🍗 How To Get Crispy Skin?
The key to crispy skin is drying the duck for at least 24 hours and up to 72 hours.
Simply place the duck on a wire rack in the fridge. Ensure the skin is not covered by anything, and you rotate the duck every 8-12 hours for even drying.
🧂 Ingredients
- Whole duck: Use a duck around 5-6 lbs. If using frozen, allow it to defrost for 24 hours before seasoning it.
- Ginger: Use freshly sliced ginger for the best flavor
- Scallions (or chopped onions): Adds a delicious scallion flavor.
- Star Anise: Has a distinct licorice flavor; it resembles mini wooden flowers.
- Cinnamon: Adds a warm, woody, and spicy aroma.
- Hoisin sauce (or sweet bean sauce): A thick, dark Asian condiment with a sweet and salty profile.
- Brown sugar: Used for sweetness.
- Soy sauce: Adds saltiness and umami to the marinade.
- Chinese five-spice powder: The key ingredient for the duck's aroma; it consists of cinnamon, fennel seeds, Sichuan pepper, cloves, and star anise.
- Maltose: Used for creating the shiny glaze on the duck. It has a more viscous texture than honey and corn syrup but is less sweet. If you can't find maltose, you can substitute it for either of the above.
- Rice vinegar: Balances the sweetness of the other seasonings and masks the duck's gamey flavors.
- Salt: Enhances the flavor of all the ingredients.
🔪 Instructions
STEP 1: Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil, fill it with ½ inch of water or 2 cups of salt, and place the rack on top. The water or salt prevents duck drippings from burning and creating smoke.
STEP 2: Rinse the duck under cold water. Remove the neck and excess fat from the neck and stomach openings. Pat the duck dry inside and out with paper towels and place it on a roasting rack, breast side up.
STEP 3: Mix hoisin sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, and Chinese 5-spice powder in a small bowl.
STEP 4: Pour marinade into the duck cavity and rub it all over. Add ginger, scallions, star anise, and cinnamon to the duck cavity, and close the stomach and neck openings with a bamboo skewer.
STEP 5: Refrigerate the duck for 24-72 hours. The longer it rests, the crispier the skin will get, resulting in crispier skin.
STEP 6: Mix maltose, salt, rice vinegar, and water in a small bowl and brush all over the duck, front and back, getting into every nook and cranny.
STEP 7: Roast the duck in a 400℉ oven on the upper-middle rack for 40 minutes until the skin is golden brown. After 15 minutes, cover the wings with foil to prevent overcooking.
Then, reduce the oven temperature to 350℉. Use a pair of oven mitts and several pieces of paper towel to grip the duck and flip it over. Roast for another 40-50 minutes until it reaches 160℉ at the thigh's meatiest part.
Remove the pan from the oven and allow the duck to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
💭 Top Tips
- Dry the duck for as long as possible (at least 24 hours and up to 72 hours). The longer you dry the duck, the crispier the skin gets during roasting.
- Monitor the duck's temperature to prevent overcooking. When the duck is removed from the oven, its temperature will continue to climb about 5-10℉. Pull out the duck when the breast reaches 145℉ and the thighs reach 160℉.
🥡 Storage & Leftovers
Store leftover Chinese roast duck in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat by wrapping the duck in tin foil and baking at 325°F for 20 minutes until heated.
📋 Recipe
Chinese Roast Duck
Equipment
- 1 roasting pan
Ingredients
- whole duck (about 5-6 pounds, see notes)
Marinade
- 2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
Filings
- 5 slices ginger
- 2 scallion (cut into quarters crosswise)
- 4 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
Glaze
- 2 tablespoon maltose (or honey)
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil, fill it with ½ inch of water or 2 cups of salt, and place the rack on top. The water or salt prevents duck drippings from burning and creating smoke.
- Rinse the duck under cold water. Remove the neck and excess fat from the neck and stomach openings. Pat the duck dry inside and out with paper towels and place it on a roasting rack, breast side up
- Mix hoisin sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, and Chinese 5-spice powder in a small bowl.
- Pour marinade into the duck cavity and rub it all over. Add ginger, scallions, star anise, and cinnamon to the duck cavity, and close the stomach and neck openings with a bamboo skewer.
- Refrigerate the duck for at least 24 hours and up to 72 hours. The longer it rests, the crispier the skin will get, resulting in crispier skin.
- Mix maltose, salt, rice vinegar, and water in a small bowl and brush all over the duck, front and back, getting into every nook and cranny.
- Roast the duck in a 400℉ oven on the upper-middle rack for 40 minutes until the skin is golden brown. After 15 minutes, cover the wings with foil to prevent overcooking.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350℉. Use a pair of oven mitts and several pieces of paper towel to grip the duck and flip it over. Roast for another 40-50 minutes until it reaches 160℉ at the thigh's meatiest part.
- Remove the duck and allow it to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Enjoy!
Gary Ma
Since ducks are usually found in the frozen section, do you need to defrost bird first? What is the first roasting temperature before reducing it to 350° for the second half of roasting?
Grump
Hi Gary, yes the duck should be defrosted first. I usually leave mine in the fridge for 1-2 days. The first temperature should be 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Let me update my post so its more clear.