Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat
Nanjing Salted Duck
南京鹽水鴨
Recipe overview
Nanjing duck is dry-cured with toasted pepper salt, then gently poached in a clear ginger-spice broth and cooled before chopping. Twelve-hour curing and cooling count toward total time.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 1 about 1.8 kg, gutted whole duck
- 40 g, sliced ginger
- 3, knotted spring onions
- about 3 litres to cover duck water
- 2 star anise
- 2 bay leaves
Pepper-salt dry cure
- 65 g for dry cure coarse salt
- 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
Clear poaching broth seasoning
- 20 g for poaching broth salt
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
02
Tools
- large stockpot
- small pan
- spatula
- tray
- covered container
- tongs
- food thermometer
- cutting board
- cleaver
03
Steps
Step 1
Clean duck
Check cavity, remove debris, rinse blood and pat dry
Step 2
Toast pepper salt
Toast 65 g coarse salt and peppercorns over low heat about 3 minutes; cool
Step 3
Rub duck
Rub pepper salt evenly over skin and cavity
Step 4
Chill to cure
Cover and refrigerate duck for 12 hours, never leave at room temperature
Step 5
Rinse surface salt
Rinse off excess visible salt and pat dry
Step 6
Prepare clear broth
Put water, 20 g salt, ginger, onion, star anise, bay leaves and wine in pot
Step 7
Simmer broth
Boil about 5 minutes to dissolve salt and extract spice aroma
Step 8
Submerge duck
Reduce heat and lower duck fully into hot broth
Step 9
Poach gently
Keep just below a vigorous boil about 45 minutes, turning occasionally
Step 10
Check doneness
Measure at thickest thigh away from bone: at least 75°C
Step 11
Drain and cool
Lift out, drain on clean tray and cool about 1 hour
Step 12
Chop and serve
Chop on clean board, arrange skin-side up and refrigerate leftovers
Common mistakes
- Curing duck at room temperature
- Boiling hard and drying meat
- Relying on time without thigh temperature
- Sharing boards between raw and cooked duck
Tips
Whole-duck sizes vary; 45 minutes is a guide, so verify the thickest thigh. Refrigerated curing and separate raw/cooked utensils are essential.
