Peking Crispy Duck

Neptunes Peking Crispy duck, one of the most celebrated dishes of Beijing, or Mandarin Chinese, cuisine, with a history of more than 400 years. In its classic form, the dish calls for a specific breed of duck, the Imperial Peking, that is force-fed and housed in a small cage so that inactivity will ensure tender meat. The neck and head are left intact as the bird is killed (at about six weeks old) and dressed, and, after the entrails are removed, the lower opening is sewed shut. Air is forced between the skin and flesh to puff out the skin so that the fat will be rendered out during roasting and the skin, the choicest part of the dish, will be very crisp. The inflated bird is painted with a sweet solution, hung up to dry, and then roasted suspended, traditionally, in a cylindrical clay oven.