How A Master Carver Makes Peking Duck (40 Hours)

[traffic hums]

[Chinese-style music]

My name is Han Li-Jun, I'm the founder of Chili House,

and I'm also the restaurant's head chef.

I've been in the craft of making Peking Duck for 29-years.

My first time learning how to make Peking Duck

was in 1991 at Grand Hotel, Beijing.

By 1995, I began to make Peking Duck on my own.

Today, I'll let Chili House's Peking Duck master,

Chef Han, demonstrate making an authentic Peking Duck.

A perfect Peking Duck is maroon in color.

The duck's skin is crispy,

and the quality of meat is juicy and very tender.

Chef Han and myself worked on elevating

the duck's roasting quality, recipe,

plating, and customer's experience.

This is the authentic and traditional Peking Duck.

[mellow music]

From preparing the duck to roasting it,

making a Peking Duck takes two-days.

Before creating Peking Duck,

we have to first remove the duck's wings and legs.

In Beijing, the duck's legs can be made

into another cold dish.

We tried around five different types of ducks

from different places of origin,

as well as local fresh ducks.

Chili House's ducks are from Long Island, New York.

We wash the ducks, after the duck legs have been removed,

then we'll start to hang the ducks.

Three-fingers from the neck,

hook through the duck's neck joint.

Hanging the duck this way prevents the skin from tearing.

The next step is to scald the skin.

Scalding the duck's skin allows it to look plump and full,

flat and smooth.

After the duck has been scalded,

it is hung with crispy skin water,

which includes honey, water, maltose and white vinegar

in specific proportions to create the color of red dates,

and allows the skin to become crispy after roasting.

Now, let's take the duck to our specialized duck room

for the first round of air-drying.

Our duck room has air-conditioning

to control the room's temperature,

fans to control wind speed,

and a dehumidifier to control humidity.

Our temperature is maintained

at 45 to 46-degrees Fahrenheit, seven to eight-hours.

Once the ducks have been air-dried,

the skin forms a harder shell.

A tougher skin makes it crispier after roasting,

the color would be more even too.

Place them in the freezer for 24-hours.

This is a crucial step.

It allows the duck to be kept for storage easily,

and more importantly, it causes the skin to be thickened.

This produces a crispier skin that melts in your mouth.

After the duck has been in the freezer for 24-hours,

take the frozen ducks back to the duck room

for air-drying and defrosting.

This will take seven to eight-hours.

[upbeat music]

Let's prepare the accompaniments to Peking Duck.

Some restaurants serve Peking Duck

with white sugar, garlic, and minced pickles,

but Chili House has kept the original way of eating it

with green onion, sweet bean sauce, and cucumber strips.

After over 40-hours of prep, we can finally roast the duck.

This traditional Peking Duck oven is imported from China.

For an oven like this, the most we can fit is 11 ducks.

Roast the duck for 50-minutes to an hour

at 375-degrees Fahrenheit.

The fats dripping off the duck causes the smoke.

A well-made Peking Duck is even in color after being roasted

and it feels light when you hold it in your hands.

Don't wait or delay, we should begin carving.

Before we begin carving, we need to light the candles.

This is to maintain the temperature of the duck.

Traditional Peking Duck calls for 108-slices.

The first cut is made at the duck's breast,

then the part of the breast that is near the neck.

The duck knife is held at a 45-degree angle,

and sliced evenly.

The skin remains attached to the meat.

Every cut is systematic.

Now we'll carve the lower part of the duck

closer to the thighs.

Two-slices on the side of the thigh,

there should be around 20-slices made here.

Once you're done carving the intersection of the duck,

use the same carving technique

and continue on the other section.

In Beijing, carving ducks in itself is a profession.

To master, this will require training

for more than three-years.

Professional carving masters must carve up to

7,000 to 10,000 ducks.

One might not know how to roast the duck,

but if they can carve, they'll be known as carving masters.

Chili House's carving speed is very fast,

and very professional.

It must be done within seven to eight-minutes.

The duck you're looking at is still producing hot steam.

Usually the breast meat is plated at the front

where it's easiest for the guests to pick it up

with their chopsticks.

This is called fish-scale plating.

This is how it's done at high-end banquets,

because the first bite is always the best for guests.

108-slices of Peking Duck look good on the plate,

and the texture of the duck meat is wonderful.

[Chinese-style music]

Now, let me show you the correct way to enjoy Peking Duck.

First, take the hot duck wrap,

and place it onto the pre-warned plate.

Take the cucumber strips and dip it in some duck sauce,

place it at the top of the wrap.

Top it off with the slices of duck meat.

Next, add the green onion strips.

Take the bottom section of the wrap and fold it upwards,

followed by left to right folds of the wrap.

With this wrapping technique,

you'll get to experience in your first bite

the crisp of the skin, fragrance of the duck meat,

and the blend of duck sauce and green onion.

It's a full and satisfying sensation.

Right now, the standard has reached

what we initially set out for.

An experienced Peking Duck chef spends his life learning.

I wanna strive for perfection.

I want to exceed what previous masters have taught me.

The future Peking Duck chefs will surpass me too.