Peking duck — the Beijing roasting tradition that produces paper-thin, lacquered, shatteringly crispy skin separate from the tender, rendered duck flesh — requires a multi-day preparation process. The skin is the goal: the flesh is secondary. The preparation uses techniques borrowed from the lacquerware tradition — the duck's skin is treated, stretched, dried, coated, dried again, and then roasted to produce a finish that is genuinely crispy rather than merely browned.
- **Air pumping:** Compressed air is pumped under the skin through the neck cavity to separate it from the fat layer — this separation allows the fat to render completely during roasting, producing a skin with no fat between skin and crispy surface. [VERIFY] Chan's air pumping description. - **The coating:** Maltose syrup (highly viscous, caramelises differently from glucose or sucrose) dissolved in hot water, applied to the skin in multiple coats, each allowed to dry completely. - **Drying:** 24–48 hours hanging in a cool, airy space — the skin must dry to papery texture before roasting. - **The roasting:** Initially high heat (240°C) to begin the Maillard-caramelisation of the maltose coating; then moderate heat (180°C) for the full render. - **Service:** Carved table-side; skin and meat served separately or together with mandarin pancakes, hoisin sauce, and julienned scallion and cucumber.
China: The Cookbook