How do I get paper-skin duck breast?

How do I get paper-skin duck breast? - Overjoyed African American graduate tossing copies of resumes in air after learning news about successfully getting job while sitting in green park with laptop

I want to make Cantonese-style roasted duck but a whole-duck is too much for me and I have only a small oven so I want to try using the thigh or breast only.

My problem is I can't make the layer of fat underneath the skin melt down. With a whole-duck recipe you roast the duck at medium-high temp for 2-4 hours, but because I use only part of the duck, if I do that the meat-side will dry out.

Here is what I tried:

  1. Using fingers, separate skin and meat (still intact end-part), stripes diamond pattern

  2. Brine duck part for 1-2 hour (with salt, sugar, water, soy sauce, ginger, garlic)

  3. Boil water with distilled vinegar, honey, red coloring then pour over skin-side, skin tighten up

  4. Rub with baking powder, uncover in fridge to dry the skin

  5. I tried this step two ways:

    • first time I roasted with convection oven 140 c, still fatty skin

    • second,used aluminum foil wrapped all over meat-part, uncover the skin-part in fridge 48 hours, roasted, not better than first one, skin still thick but cracking (skin too dry?)

How can I get the skin to be thin and the fat to melt?



Best Answer

The secret is in varying the temperature. Toss the pieces in baking powder or corn starch and fine salt, with or without other dry seasonings. In a non-convection oven, bake first at 120°C/250°F for 30 minutes to melt the fat and thin the skin layer, then at 220°C/425°F for 40 to 45 minutes to "crispy it up."




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How do you cook duck breast without the skin?

How to Cook Duck Without the Skin
  • Slice off any skin on the duck with a sharp chicken knife. ...
  • Prepare a marinade for the duck. ...
  • Marinate the duck for one to two hours in the refrigerator. ...
  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat. ...
  • Set the duck breasts in the pan. ...
  • Use a meat thermometer to check doneness.


  • Should you score skin on duck?

    Scoring the duck breast before cooking helps to render the fat from the skin. It is best to score the skin of the duck breast when cold and firm. Be careful not to score into the flesh to deeply.

    How do you render duck fat from breast?

    Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan and lay the scored duck breasts in, skin side down. Cook over low heat until most of the duck fat has rendered out (45 minutes to an hour).



    How to Cook Perfect Duck Breast | Gordon Ramsay




    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Images: Ketut Subiyanto, Sebastian Coman Photography, RODNAE Productions, Polina Tankilevitch