Peking duck Cooking

Fattened ducks are slaughtered，plucked，eviscerated and rinsed thoroughly with water.Air is pumped under the skin through the neckcavity to separate the skin from the fat.The duck is then soaked in boiling water for a short while before it is hung up to dry.While it is hung，the duck is glazed with a layer of maltose syrup，and the insideis rinsed once more with water.After 24 hours，the duck is roasted in an oven until it turns shiny brown.

Peking Duck is traditionally roasted in either a closed oven or hung oven.The closed oven is built of bricks and fitted with metal griddles.The oven is preheated by burning Gaoliang（sorghum）straw at the base.The duck is placed in the oven immediately after the fire burns out，and the meat will be slowly cooked through the convection of heat within the oven.

The hung oven was developed in the imperial kitchens during the Qing Dynasty and adopted by the Quanjude restaurant.It is designed to roast up to 20 ducks at the same time with an open fire fueled by hardwood from peach or pear trees.The ducks are hung on hooksabove the fire and roasted at a temperature of 270℃（525OF）for 3040 minutes.While cooking the ducks，the chef may use a pole to dangle each duck close to the fire for 30-second intervals.Almost every part of a duck can be cooked.The Quanjude Restaurant even serves their customers the“All Duck Banquet”in which they cook the bones of ducks with vegetables.

Besides the traditional methods to prepare Peking Duck，recipes have been compiled by chefs around the world to make the dish at home.

Serving

The cooked Peking Duck is traditionally carved in front of the diners and served in three steps.First，the skin is served dipped in sugar and soy sauce.The meat is then served with steamed pancakes，spring onions and sweet bean sauce.Several vegetable dishes are provided to accompany the meat，typically cucumber sticks.The diners spread sauce over the pancake.The diners wrap the meat and the vegetables in the pancake and eat by hand.The remaining meat and bones may be used to make broth or the meat is chopped up andstir fried with sweet bean sauce.Otherwise，they are taken home by the customers.

Reheating

The whole Peking Ducks can be ordered as takeaways.The ducks can be reheated at home with an oven，or boiling oil.When an oven isused，the duck is heated at a temperature of 150℃ for 20 minutes，and then at 160℃ for another 10 minutes.To reheat the Peking Duck with oil，slice the duck into thin pieces and place them in a strainer held over a wok of hot oil.The duck is then rinsed several times with the oil.

Notable restaurants

A number of restaurants in Beijing specialise in Peking Duck，iucluding Quanjude，Bianyifang，Changan Yihao，Beijing Xiaowangfu and Dadong Kaoyadian.In addition，Quanjude has received worldwide recognition and has been named China Renowned Trademark since 1999.Duck Chang’s Restaurant，established in Virginia，USA in 1975 was the first Chinese restaurant to prepare and serve Peking Duck without a reservation.

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