Wild In The Kitchen: Poor Man Peking Duck

Poor Man’s Peking Duck

Upscale Chinese restaurants offer peking puck, a famous dish dating back more than 400 years. The traditional method uses a specific rare duck, and it takes days to prepare. We’ll make our version using a mallard, and it will only take about four hours.

1 mallard plucked, cleaned

1 bunch green onions

Honey

Soy sauce

Orange slices

Orange marmalade

Parsley

Cut the green onions into 1-inch lengths. Stuff the cavity with these onions. Place in a bowl or roaster and cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, place the duck on a rack in a roaster with breast side up. Add about 2 inches of water. Steam in an oven preheated to 250 degrees for 30 minutes. Prick the skin with a sharp knife all over. This will allow the flavorful duck fat to ease out on the skin and this makes the skin crispy. Brush the entire duck with honey and soy sauce. Roast the mallard in the roaster, uncovered, for 30 minutes at 375 degrees and then for 5 minutes at 500 degrees. A thermometer near the breastbone should read 165 degrees. Skin should be brown and crispy. Sprinkle the duck with parsley and serve with orange marmalade and orange slices.