Hoisin Glazed Roast Duck Betty – Yield: 2-3 servings
Ingredients
1 (5-6 pound duck), defrosted (usually found frozen in supermarkets), and neck, liver, gizzards removed from cavity – these can be marinated and roasted along with duck
1 T kosher salt
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup good quality soy sauce such as Kikkoman regular
2 T mirin
3 T honey
2 tsp 5-spice powder
In a bowl, stir together the hoisin, soy sauce, mirin, honey and 5-spice powder and set aside.
Prick the skin of the duck all over with a fork, especially around the fatty areas (this allows the salt and marinade to penetrate the skin and meat). Rub the salt evenly over the skin and a little inside the cavity. Set aside for about half an hour. Pat the duck dry inside and out with paper towels. Spread the marinade evenly over the surface of duck as well as some inside the cavity. Place the duck in a shallow pan or bowl breast side up, uncovered for overnight and up to 2 days.
Before roasting, return the duck to room temp. Preheat the oven to 350⁰F. Place the duck, breast side down, on a rack placed in a shallow roasting pan. Pour the marinade into a small pot and bring to a boil (or boil in microwave) and set aside for basting. Roast duck for 35 minutes. Baste with reserved marinade and pan juices. Roast for another 10 minutes or so. The skin on the back side should be a medium brown color. Use a pair of tongs and turn the duck so breast is up. Prick the skin all over again (pricking now allows more fat to cook out) and return to oven to roast for about 30 minutes. Baste again with the reserved marinade and pan juices. Turn oven up to 375⁰F and continue roasting 15-20 minutes till duck turns a medium brown and internal temperature of 160⁰F. Remove from oven and let duck rest at least 10-15 minutes before slicing. The duck can be served at room temperature as is in Chinese banquets, sliced and arranged for serving as an appetizer (if serving cold, duck can be sliced when it is completely cooled).
To make a drizzle for the duck:
Pour out the duck fat from the roasting pan (reserve for future cooking or discard). Add a little hot water to the remaining browned bits in the pan, scraping as much from pan as possible and add to the remaining reserved marinade.
Serving Suggestions:
-In Chinese steamed “lotus” buns, schmeared with a bit of the above drizzle or hoisin sauce and sandwich duck meat and pickled vegetables
-As lettuce wrap or in taco shells- Place duck meat with pickled carrots and cucumbers in lettuce cups or taco shells
-Add as a topping to Pho or other noodle soup