I’ve written before about Heston Blumenthal and his cooking show, In Search of Perfection. The chef became the target of my ire and snark a couple weeks ago when we watched an episode of his show where he tried to make Peking duck. Apparently the crispy skin of the duck had him befuddled, as he spent three months and went through 40 ducks and still couldn’t figure out a way to make the skin crispy while keeping the meat juicy. It wasn’t even that the skin wasn’t quite crispy enough for his high standards. He couldn’t get the skin to be crispy on the duck, period. In the end, he cut the skin off the raw duck, crocheted it to a cookie rack, and cooked it separately from the rest of the duck. Considering that real Peking duck is supposed to be roasted whole, with skin on, and carved up tableside, what Blumenthal did was flat-out cheating, and 40-some ducks gave their lives in vain!!
After watching that sacrilege, my wife and I set out to make Peking duck without having to cutting the skin off. You can read about our experience and get links to the recipes we used on our cooking blog, Chicken Feet and Clam Chowdah. The process involved the beheading, crucifixion, scalding, and hanging of the duck. However, the story had a happy ending: We succeeded where Blumenthal failed. Maybe I should get a half of Blumenthal’s three Michelin stars for doing something he couldn’t.
Here’s the video of us making Peking duck: