SC - Barley malt syrup?

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Catherine Deville wrote:
> >
> > Malt syrup is a _very_ common ingredient in the glaze for Peking Duck.
> 
> really!  how intriguing.  Brian and I have always been intrigued by the
> fact that you have to order Peking Duck 24 hours in advance and have
> promised ourselves that we will have a special meal sometime and remember
> to plan ahead and order Peking Duck.  Since I had no idea why it would take
> that long I looked it up on allrecipes.com the other day and they said that
> it was coated with honey.  Interesting that there's more than one way to do
> it, but I guess that's to be expected.  Now I'm even more curious about how
> it will be done at the restaurant where we end up.

The primary raison d'etre for Peking Duck is the crispness of its skin
(it's comparatively recent that the meat actually began to be eaten at
the same meal as the skin; it would have shocked a 19th-century Mandarin).

The 24-hour advance time has to do with the fact that the duck is
inflated with an air pump, and then the skin is air-dried, then glazed,
then dried some more, so it is virtually candied before roasting. The
whole process involves having the duck hanging on a wire hook for quite
a while before actually roasting it, often in front of an electric fan.

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com