Peking Duck (Full Method)

Peking duck is China's most celebrated preparation — a dish requiring multiple days of preparation, a specialised oven, and an understanding of the relationship between skin, fat, and air that borders on the scientific. The traditional method hangs the duck for air-drying after blanching in boiling water and coating with a honey-maltose glaze, allowing the skin to desiccate completely before roasting. The roasting on the hanging hook at high heat renders all subcutaneous fat while the skin caramelises to a lacquered, crackling finish without burning. What arrives at the table is carved tableside: the skin, which must crackle audibly under the knife, is the first priority — it is served in its own course with hoisin, spring onion, and cucumber in a thin steamed pancake. The meat follows, in the same pancake format. The carcass is then used for a congee or soup. The full ritual of Peking duck — the carving, the pancakes, the sequence of skin before meat — is inseparable from the dish itself.