The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Duck: Transform Your Dish with This One Secret Ingredient for Tender, Delicious Meat

One of the most effective ways to get rid of the duck’s odor is to use familiar spices such as salt, lemon/vinegar, ginger, and rice wine.

1. Eliminating Duck Odor with Ginger

You may already know that one of the best tricks to remove the duck’s odor is to use fresh ginger.

First, thoroughly clean the duck and then add a few slices of crushed ginger, rice wine, and a pinch of salt. Rub the ingredients on the duck, working from the outside in.

Let the duck sit for about 30 minutes, then rinse it thoroughly before cooking. When boiling the duck, add a piece of fresh ginger to eliminate any remaining odor and fishiness.

2. Using Lemon

If you don’t have ginger on hand, don’t worry. You can use lemon or vinegar instead. The acid in lemon juice will help eliminate the odor and make the duck meat softer and tastier.

Slice the lemon into thin slices and rub them directly on the surface of the duck. Do this continuously for 15 minutes, then rinse the duck with clean water.

Alternatively, you can mix lemon juice with salt and water and soak the duck in this solution for about 30 minutes. This will help remove any remaining blood and eliminate the odor.

3. Remove the Duck’s Crop

The crop is the part of the duck that often causes the meat to have an odor. So, when cleaning the duck, remember to cut off this part.

After carefully cleaning and preparing the duck, you can proceed to cook it. There are many delicious duck recipes, such as duck with bamboo shoots, duck cooked with fermented soybean paste, roasted duck, and duck cooked with torch ginger. However, the most popular dish is boiled duck.

Here is an easy and incredibly tasty way to boil duck.

How to Cook Delicious Duck

Ingredients

– Duck: 1 (1.5 – 2 kg)

– Five-spice powder: 2 teaspoons

– Onion

– Star anise: 1

– Peppercorns: 2 teaspoons

– Salt: 55g

– Rice wine: 2 tablespoons

– Ginger: 5 slices

Instructions

1. Rinse the duck thoroughly with lemon juice and salt, then use paper towels to absorb any remaining moisture.

2. Mix 40g of salt, 2 teaspoons of five-spice powder, 2 teaspoons of peppercorns, and a little seasoning. Sprinkle this mixture on the duck’s surface and cavity, and rub it in well. Wrap the duck tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours.

3. In a pot, add sliced onion, sliced ginger, 2 tablespoons of rice wine, and water. Bring it to a boil and then add the marinated duck.

When the water boils again, add 15g of salt. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes. At this point, add the star anise to enhance the flavor of the duck. Note: If you don’t have star anise, you can omit it.

4. Use a spoon to skim off any brown foam that forms on the surface. The duck will be cooked in about 20-25 minutes.

5. Use chopsticks to pierce the duck. If the juice that comes out is clear, the duck is cooked. Remove the duck from the pot and let it cool completely. You can brush the duck’s skin with a thin layer of sesame oil to make it shiny.

6. Once the duck is cool, cut it into bite-sized pieces and arrange them on a plate.

For a nicer presentation, arrange the duck legs, neck, and wings at the bottom and the square-cut duck breast on top.