Peking duck

Peking duck is the most famous dish in Beijing. It's prepared in two ways. The first method is when the duck is fried in a perfect state above the hearth, the fire of which is given by the firewood of date, peach, pear or other fruit trees. In such a duck, the skin is crispy, reddish and shiny, and the meat is tender with a pleasant taste and exudes the aroma of a fruit tree. The second way is when the duck is fried in a closed oven. The temperature in the furnace is first high, and then gradually reduce it. The duck, baked in this way, has a crispy skin, and the meat, although fatty, is not sweet and surprisingly appetizing. There is another way, which is called "chachao", is when the duck is pierced with a huge fork and fried, holding over the fire. But in the process of more than a century of development, only two methods that are used today were recognized as the most optimal. Although the taste of these ducks cooked in different ways has its own characteristics, but the whole feature of the duck’s taste lies in the “methods of frying”, and therefore this dish is called “roasted duck in Beijing”.

Beijing Duck-Quanjuide

The first restaurant "Quanjuide" was opened in 1864. Here they cook a duck fried in an oven on weight. The oven provides a special space for frying ducks: at the top of the vent of the oven there is a crossbar to which ducks are suspended. Fuel is usually the wood of fruit trees. The heat from the firewood envelops the hanging duck carcass. The peculiarity of the fried duck of the restaurant "Quanjuide" is that it is smeared with a special composition, and, you need to make sure that the fire is uniform, and the ready-made fried duck should resemble a date in color and be glossy; then the skin is crispy, and the meat is tender. Only such a duck is considered first-class.