Hefei Roast Duck
“A whole duck salt-cured with Sichuan peppercorn, air-dried, then roasted in a closed clay oven over fruitwood — sliced over rice, no pancakes.”
The bite
Skin is thicker and chewier than Beijing duck — closer to a smoke-roast — and breaks with a salty Sichuan-peppercorn snap, not a thin shatter. Meat is ham-pink near the bone, juicy with a faint fruitwood smoke. You eat it the local way: slice and rice in the same bite, drippings cutting into the grain. No pancakes, no scallion brushes, no hoisin. Pickled mustard root on the side is the only counterpoint.
Where it comes from
Hefei was called Luzhou (庐州) until 1912, and the city's roast duck tradition predates the modern name — it grew out of the Anhui salt-pork (徽腌) family of techniques, where dry curing with peppercorn-salt and air-drying preceded any high-heat cooking. The fruitwood closed-oven roast is regional: pearwood from the Dabieshan foothills was the standard fuel because it burns clean and smells faintly of the orchard.
What makes it work
The 24-hour air-dry is the load-bearing step. As skin moisture evaporates, the collagen layer right under it tightens and the surface shifts from rubbery to brittle — only that brittle surface will lacquer evenly when the maltose glaze hits it. Skip air-drying and the skin stays elastic, the maltose pools instead of coating, and the roast comes out blotchy with patches of pale grey. Closed-oven (vs. Beijing's open hung oven) means convection rather than radiant heat — slower color development, deeper salt-cure flavor.
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
6 steps · Show ↓90 min active · 1440 min waiting
How it's made
6 steps · Show ↓- 18 min
Toast 30g salt with 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns in a dry pan until the salt yellows and the peppercorns smell sharp, 3 minutes. Crush coarse. Rub a 2.2kg whole duck (cleaned, head and neck on) inside and out, working into every crevice.
- 21440 min
Stuff cavity with 4 scallion knots, 30g ginger, 1 star anise, 1 small piece cassia. Truss the legs. Hang in a cool, breezy spot (or refrigerator on a rack with a fan) 24 hours — skin must go to a tight, dry, papery surface.
- 330 min
Bring 1.5L water to 90°C with 4 tbsp maltose, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine. Hold the duck by the neck and ladle the syrup over the skin 8-10 times until evenly glazed. Hang to dry another 2 hours — the maltose layer is what gives the lacquer color.
- 450 min
Light pearwood or applewood charcoal in a closed clay oven (a covered Weber kettle works) until coals are grey, around 200°C internal. Hang or set the duck breast-up over a drip tray. Roast 50 minutes — flip halfway only if heat is uneven.
- 55 min
Test with a skewer in the thickest thigh — juice should run clear amber, no pink. If skin is pale, raise heat to 220°C uncovered for the final 5 minutes. Total internal target 78°C in the breast.
- 610 min
Rest 10 minutes on a rack, breast up. Carve into thick slices through skin and meat together (not separated like Beijing duck). Serve over steamed rice with a spoon of the rendered drippings, plus pickled mustard root on the side.
