Peking Style Roast Duck

[Captain Cook]

Thanks for the kind words, Phil!

I did cut the wings at the first joint (which is why there is a bit of a ragged piece on the edge of one). When you say you cut the wing-tips off, how far do you cut?

Thanks again - I'm actually tempted to make this one a few more times - just once is no where near enough!

A tip I can give - the leftover meat (how we didn't eat it all in the first sitting, I'll never know!) was delicious in an omlette with capsicum, snow peas, and chile!

Paul-G
I cut the wing tips off at the fist joint so it looks like 4 drumsticks

I never have a chance to have left overs.

Phil

[johnno]

Captain,
Up here in North Queensland its about 31 degrees. Won't it be dangerous to leave the duck out of the fridge for 6 - 8 hours. We obviously don't want to get food poisoning!

[urbangriller]

Have a read of this extract from: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09305.html

Inactive Clostridium botulinum spores are found in soil and water throughout the world. In the spore form, these bacteria are relatively harmless. The problem occurs when the spores germinate into vegetative or actively growing cells. As the vegetative cells grow they become overpopulated and begin to die. As they do, they produce the deadly neurotoxin that causes botulism.

Type A toxin is more lethal than types B and E. The toxin is a protein which can be inactivated by heating at 180 degrees F for 10 minutes. The toxin can be absorbed into the blood stream through the respiratory mucous membranes as well as through the wall of the stomach and intestine.

Several conditions must be present for the germination and growth of Clostridium botulinum spores. Acid level is a primary factor. Acidity is measured on a pH scale of 0 to 14, with 7 considered neutral, 0 to 7 acidic and 7 to 14 alkaline. A pH near 7 or neutral favors the growth of Clostridium botulinum, while growth is inhibited at a pH of 4.6 or lower. The pH of a food also has an influence on the amount of heat necessary to kill the spores of Clostridium botulinum. The higher the pH (lower the acid level), the greater the amount of heat needed to kill the spores.

A second important factor affecting the growth and toxin production of Clostridium botulinum is temperature. Proteolytic types grow between temperatures of 55 and 122 degrees F, with most rapid growth occurring at 95 degrees F. Nonproteolytic types grow between 38 and 113 degrees F, with an optimum for growth and toxin production at about 86 degrees F. For these types, refrigeration above 38 degrees F may not be a complete safeguard against botulism.

Another important condition affecting the growth of Clostridium botulinum is the present of oxygen. These organisms can't grow if air or free oxygen is present in their microenvironment (the area immediately next to them). This area is so small that it is not readily observed. Therefore, it is possible to have conditions develop in a food system or wound whereby it appears that lots of air is available, but in reality there are areas where no air is present and anaerobic organisms, such as Clostridium botulinum, can develop. Anaerobic conditions develop when food is canned. If the food is not heated enough to kill the spores of Clostridium botulinum, the spores will germinate and grow during subsequent storage of the food.

The Good Captain has a few good things going here, the first is the bath, this deals with any spores and paints the bird in a (I suspect) low ph "paint", then the Fan assisted air dry pushes a lot of air past, preventing spore germination (I would probably rig it up to spin in the fans air) then the heat it is cooked to ( 82C [180F]...this is why the "doneness" for chicken is commonly 83C) destroys the protien based toxin anyway.

Cheers
Chris

[urbangriller]

Yep, this will work for the humble chook as well!

Chris

[wazza]

Hi Captain and Paul -G

I had been looking for a good roast duck receipe and came on the one you have posted. As well Paul-G 's photos looked impressive so I decided to give it a go and stuck pretty much to the script. I did baste the duck for a few minutes more and I used an old baking disk to put the trivet on. I fould this collects the duck fat and stops the barby from getting to greasy. I placed some heavy duty foil underneaqth the baking dish to stop the bottom burning- this worked well and the baking dish came out well from the experience- but it was an old dish- don't use the missus's good one.


I have a Weber Spirit E320.To cook the duck I heated the Weber on high for 10 mins then placed the duck breast down and cooked it on 190 c for 30 minutes- I had the middle burner turned off and the front burner on medium and the back a fraction below medium- this held the Weber at a steady 190 degrees- it was a cold day here yesterday , around 14.5 degrees when I started to cook so you can adjust down a bit I think a bit on a warmer day to keep this temperature. After 30 mins I turned it over and cooked it for another 30-35 mins and found it was done nicely. I used a fresh 1.8 kg duck- Pepes brand and it cost $14.99. Eaten with peking style pancakes and the cucumber and shallot filling with the Captains sauce it was delicious.

http://s1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa473/wazza7/


As I mentioned, I had been looking for a decent receipe for duck as its a hard thing to cook well unless you know what you are doing - usually burnt on the outside but raw inside!! But this receipe is just spot on , so thanks guys.

[titch]

Wazza if you copy and paste image code you get a picture instead of a link.
Like this.
Nice looking duck mate.


Cheers.
Titch

[Captain Cook]

Wazza

Thanks for the feedback. from the looks of it you did the recipe proud. I love that recipe and it is the best way I found to do duck.

Isn't that sauce awesome. I have to make a t least a litre of it as everyone wants some When it is on the menu I have caught people just pouring it on a bread roll or drowning snags in it. There is something about it that makes you want to eatr more.

Cheers

Capt'n

[wazza]

Titch

Thanks for the info about how to do the photos- I was looking for it on the site and knew I had read about it but couldn't find it- much appreciated. I was keen to do some photos but wasn't quite sure what to do.

Phil- Thanks for the comments- I am just amazed how good the Weber can cook things so well if you know what you are doing. Last night I was at a party and they had a Weber same as mine but were cooking with the hood up for the steaks and it just took so long and not as good. They also did some butterflied lamb with lid down but did not pre heat the Weber and no temperature probe so it just didn't work as well as it should have. Your info has been a huge help to me and the receipe book is excellent- many thanks for all the tips.-

[MrLucyTheBoxer]

Hi guys,

I was wondering why the duck is sat outside of the fridge and not inside the fridge? Wouldn't the fan inside the fridge dry out the skin, and the cooler temperature help the sauce on the skin to set faster? (I'm also paranoid about leaving a bird out on a bench in open air for that long despite what I read in the other posts).

Cheers!

[urbangriller]

It's all about Dry Skin and Room Temperature Duck. The cook goes a lot better when you start at 20C instead of 4C.

Chris