For the Love of the Duck. The Spicy Peking Duck with My Homemade Plum Sauce

Although not sharing too many meaty recipes on the blog and often eating a (kosher) meat dish only once the week, I am a big meat lover. From the traditional pastrami to various meatballs and spicy kitchen to my favorite one, the duck, you only have to be lamb to make me think twice before eating it. 

Acknowledging my weakness, my good friend is preparing at least once the year for me a special duck meal, which involves the same big headless one, cleaned and kashered, to which different spices and sauces are added. This year, it was the climax of spices, as in the previous years she only added chestnuts and plums. Although I was part of the preparation, I only added and suggested various spices and the recipe shared is the idea of my friend. My full contribution - recipe wise including - was the plum sauce and the discovery of the delicious Pancakes for Crispy Duck from Ming Foods, with kosher stamp from London Beit Din, that matched excellently my oyster mushrooms filling. 

Unfortunatelly, as the final result and its consumption was ready to be served on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, I couldn't take pictures of it - during the holiday using electronic tools is not permitted - so I cannot share all the awesomeness. However, I bet that even the photo opps were allowed, it was delicious enough to make me forget about blogging and writing. The duck disappeared from our eyes in less than 30 minutes...

Ingredients

- 1 big kosher duck - around 2.5 kg, trimmed and cleaned in boiled water

- 3 tablespoon sunflower oil

- 3 star anise

- 1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger, crushed

- 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed

- 3 tablespoon apple juice

- 1 tablespoon brown sugar 

- 4 tablespoon soy sauce

- 2 tablespoon turmeric

- 1 tablespoon salt

- 1 tablespoon pepper

Directions

In a preheated pan at 250C, add the oil, the star anise, and the rest of the ingredients, one by one. Mix them well. Pour them on the duck and leave the duck to marinate for 2 hours, changing the position every 20-30 minutes or so and smearing the sauce all over the duck. If you have enough time, you can also leave it soak overnight and prepare it the next day.

Cook it in the oven until crips - at least for 2 hours, at 250C.

Preparation time: 1 hour

Cooking time: 2-3 hours

Serves: 8 people

Pancakes for Crispy Duck

Those Ming Foods pancakes are the right company for the crispy duck. They are thin, with a touch of gluten taste, easy to prepare and requiring the right amount of filling for an unforgettable gourmet experience.

Recipe for the Plum Sauce

It was my first plum sauce experience and I loved so much the result that I would probably try my hand with some jams or other unusual sauces to add to meats or veggies. Although I was very spare with the sugar and sweetness, given that I knew that the duck is wrapped in so many sweet flavours, so I wanted to give a savory note.

Ingredients

- 500 gr. medium-size fresh plums, quartered

- 1 cup red wine. I used the Bordeaux Marquis de Greyssac

- 1 tablespoon star anise, powder

- 1/2 tablespoon Berbere spices, courtesy of Spice Kitchen UK, part of their Brand Ambassador Program

On taste, if you want your sauce sweet, you can also add 1/2 cup brown or white sugar or even 3 full tablespoon of honey.

Directions

In a preheated pan at 250C, add the wine, the star anise, the Berbere spices and the plums. Mix them well every couple of minutes until soft. Let them boil for at least 40 minutes. It's ready when the mixture looks like a jam. Let it rest and serve it at the room temperature. 

Preparation time:

45 minutes - 1 hour

Serves: It files around 20 wraps

Additional ingredients for the wraps

In order to give some more freshness to the wrap combination, you can add fresh slices of cucumber or sliced tomatoes.

Bon Appétit!