Eating Christmas goose is a holiday tradition right up there with decking the halls and wassailing. You hear about it, you might sing about it, but nobody you know has actually done it.
However, the Christmas goose was actually the traditional Christmas dinner in England from around the 1500s until the early 20th century. This was mainly because geese laid significantly fewer eggs than chickens.
In a time when more people raised their own birds for food, it made sense to eat one that wouldn’t negatively impact your egg supply if you killed it.
Some historians also speculate Queen Elizabeth I insisted everyone eat goose for Christmas as a celebratory gesture, because that’s what she was eating when she learned of England’s naval victory over the Spanish Armada.
Either way, it’s fallen out of favor nowadays. A recent survey of popular Christmas dishes found goose at a lowly 55th, behind holiday favorites Jell-O and kale.
Maybe it’s time we stop looking to Tiny Tim and the Cratchit family for our Christmas waterfowl inspiration and replace them with something more modern. Perhaps a movie family with a suggestive Christmas lamp and a habit of licking frozen flagpoles. A family that eats Christmas dinner at the Chop Suey Palace. Yes, this Christmas, let’s take a cue from A Christmas Story’s Ralphie and the Parker family and go for Peking duck.
Peking Duck History
Peking duck is named after the Chinese city of Beijing, which was called “Peking” in the Western world until 1979. The dish didn’t actually originate in Peking, though. It is believed to have originated further south, in the city of Hangzhou, during the 13th century.
The dish became a favorite of chefs in the then-capital city of Nanjing, about 170 miles north. When the capital was moved to Peking in 1420, the emperor took the dish with him. And because the emperor gets to decide things, it became Peking duck.
If you’ve never had Peking duck, it is, in its essence, an entire duck, marinated, dried and roasted, then carved into small pieces and served on a plate. Traditionally, it was roasted in hanging, enclosed brick ovens, and many restaurants still use a variation of this method. However, you can easily make it in a regular oven if you know what you’re doing.
It’s accompanied by cucumbers, scallions, hoisin sauce and Chinese pancakes. Each person grabs a pancake and makes their own little Peking duck wrap, putting whatever combination they want inside. You could theoretically eat an entire one by yourself. But just like with whole fried chickens, it’s probably best if you share.
Komodo Style Family Dinner
You’ll find Peking duck on finer Chinese restaurant menus across America. Who makes the best Peking duck is a cause of great debate, but many will point to Miami’s Komodo, a popular celebrity hangout that’s become famous for its wall of hanging Peking ducks near the front door.
“When I was a kid, we’d eat Peking duck like two, three times a week,” says Komodo’s head chef Tony Mai. “It’s great for sharing. It’s gathering with friends and family together, and you eat Peking duck with the pancake.
"So, everyone gets a different flavor—some people eat it with scallion and cucumber. Some people just have hoisin sauce. But it’s just getting family together and sharing something.”
Mai walked us through how he makes Komodo’s famous Peking duck, and it’s easier than you might think.
“To make a great Peking duck, you have to have a good quality duck,” he says. This is good news for hunters, since the wild ducks we shoot are obviously better than anything from a farm. “Then, most important is the skin. You’ve got to have the crispy skin, because without that it’s going to change the whole experience.”
So how does one make a perfect Peking duck? And, more importantly, get the skin super crispy? See Mai's recipe on the previous page. Savor every last bite, and if you’re ever in the Miami neck of the woods, be sure to book a reservation at komodomiami.com.
Komodo’s Famous Peking Duck Recipe
Ingredients:
You can buy most of the ingredients at a grocery store, but you might need to buy things like Chinese maltose and Chinese pancakes at an Asian market. Mai stressed the importance of using maltose because it’s part of what makes the skin so crispy. If you don’t have an Asian market nearby, try searching online.
- 1 duck
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- Spice paste
- 2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
Marinade
- 5 tablespoons Chinese maltose
- 4 2/3 tablespoons red vinegar
Sides
- Hoisin Sauce
- 1 bunch scallions
- 1 cucumber, finely diced
- Chinese pancakes
Preparation
- Dry the duck thoroughly, using a paper towel.
- Trim all excess fat from around the cavity. One might think the fat adds flavor, but Mai says it only acts to block the meat from absorbing the seasoning.
- Rub the inside of the duck with seasoning paste, then close it off with a pin to keep the flavors inside.
- Prepare the marinade of Chinese maltose and red vinegar (this is what gives Komodo’s Peking duck its signature crimson color). Cover the duck in the marinade.
- Hang the duck to dry. The duck must hang so the moisture dries out; laying it down will trap moisture on whatever surface it’s lying on. You can hang the duck in your refrigerator, or, if you live somewhere cold, in your garage. It needs to dry at least overnight. Mai says 12 to 14 hours, but some say 24. “Do not rush it,” Mai insists.
- Heat your oven to 375 degrees. Once heated, put the duck inside, breast side up on a roasting rack. Cook it for “about an hour,” according to Mai. At the one-hour mark, turn the heat up to 400 degrees and cook it another 10 minutes or so to get the skin extra crispy.
- Remove the duck from the oven. Heat the vegetable oil to a boil. Once boiling, pour on top of the duck to give even more crispiness to the skin
- Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes
- While the duck is resting, chop scallions and cucumbers, and put hoisin sauce in a serving dish
- If you left the head on, cut it off. Nobody needs a Christmas duck smiling at them.
- Carve the duck and serve.
