Imperial Peking duck
Photo: City Foodsters · CC BY 2.0

History

Peking duck arrived on the Strip in 2005 when Wynn Las Vegas opened Wing Lei under chef Richard Chen. The restaurant became the first Michelin-starred Chinese room in North America that same year. Chef Ming Yu now runs the kitchen, carving the duck tableside in the gold dining room. Mott 32 (Hong Kong export) opened at the Venetian in 2018 with a separate 48-hour apple-wood Peking duck, building a Strip duck rivalry. The Wing Lei service is two-course: skin and meat with pancakes first, then a stir-fry or congee with the carcass meat.

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Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 2 hrTotal 26 hrDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • 1 whole Pekin duck, 2.5 to 3kg, head off, neck on
  • 2 tablespoons baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 100ml maltose or honey
  • 60ml rice vinegar
  • 60ml soy sauce
  • Mandarin pancakes (store-bought or fresh)
  • 1 bunch scallions, cut into 8cm batons
  • 1 cucumber, julienned
  • Hoisin sauce or sweet bean sauce

Method

  1. Rinse the duck inside and out, pat dry. Use a bicycle pump (clean) to inflate the air pocket between skin and flesh, separating the two.
  2. Bring 2 litres water to a boil. Add baking soda and salt. Pour 4 ladles over the duck skin to scald it, the skin will tighten and turn pale.
  3. Whisk maltose, vinegar and soy sauce. Brush all over the skin. Hang the duck in a cool dry place (fridge with a fan or balcony in winter) for 12 to 24 hours until skin is taut and dry.
  4. Heat the oven to 200C (400F). Roast the duck on a rack over a tray of water, breast-side up, for 25 minutes. Lower heat to 180C (350F) and continue 30 to 40 minutes until the skin is mahogany and crisp.
  5. Rest 10 minutes. Carve thin slices of skin and meat separately. Plate with pancakes, scallions, cucumber and hoisin.
  6. Diners assemble each pancake: hoisin smear, slice of skin, slice of meat, scallion baton, cucumber, roll and eat.

Tip from the editors. If you can't air-dry the duck for 12 hours, dry it heavily with paper towels and run a fan on it for an hour; you won't get the same crisp but it beats wet skin.

Where to eat imperial peking duck

Imperial Peking duck in Las Vegas

Wing Lei 1 ★ ★ 4.7

$$$$ Tasting $165 to $295ChineseChef Ming Yu

Wing Lei at Wynn Las Vegas in Nevada is the first Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant in North America, a Forbes Five-Star dining room with Imperial Peking.

Book2 weeks ahead

TipClosed Tuesdays and Wednesdays; the Imperial Peking duck must be pre-ordered when you book.

Directions Book

Mott 32 ★ 4.5

$$$$ Tasting $90 to $185 avgCantoneseChef Lee Man Sing

Mott 32 at the Venetian in Las Vegas is the Hong Kong dim sum and Cantonese export, a 48-hour apple wood Peking duck and a brass-and-marble dining room.

Book2 weeks ahead

TipThe Peking duck needs 48 hours; place the order when you book or it will be sold out for your seating.

Directions Book

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