Beer duck is a traditional Chinese dish featuring tender juicy bone-in duck pieces braised in beer with savory sauces with a lot of aromatics. It is a festive main dish that can easily be prepared ahead of time and enjoyed later. Whether for a dinner gathering, New Year celebration or meal-prep for the week, it’s a perfect main dish.
What is beer duck
Chinese Beer Duck (啤酒鸭, Pi Jiu Ya) is a traditional dish that originated in Hunan and Sichuan, but has gotten popular all over China. It’s known for its rich flavor and aromatic spices.
To make beer duck, a whole duck is cut into big bite-sized bone-in pieces. Then it’s braised in a broth that uses beer instead of water, along with soy sauce and various spices and aromatics. Once done, the duck is tender and juicy, covered in a fragrant brown sauce that’s slightly spicy and bursting with umami.
Beer duck is a common dish for gatherings and is often enjoyed with family and friends. And it is sometimes prepared for special occasions and celebrations.
Benefit of eating duck
Duck is a popular ingredient in Chinese cooking due to its delicious taste and various health benefits.
Duck is a high-quality protein that is rich in vitamins A and B, iron, zinc and antioxidants. Eating duck in the summer is a tradition due to its TCM characteristics. Duck meat itself has cooling properties, which help regulate the body’s heat and provide relief during the hot summer months. Consuming duck can help restore balance and prevent issues like dehydration and heatstroke.
Duck meat is rich in nutrients that help maintain energy levels and overall health, which can be especially beneficial in summer when people might feel more fatigued due to the heat.
Ingredients for beer duck
Which cut of duck to use
Traditionally, beer duck is made with bone-in pieces of a whole duck. But to make the process easier on a lower budget, and without compromising on flavor, this recipe uses bone-in duck legs.
To make the braised duck more flavorful and shorten the cooking time, I highly recommend chopping the duck leg into large bite-size pieces.
To chop the duck, separate the thigh and drumstick at the joint, so it’s easier to cut. Then you can use either a cleaver or a pair of poultry shears to cut the bone-in pieces. I usually cut the thigh along the bone first. Then hack the drumstick and the thigh across the middle into four pieces in total.
If you don’t have proper cooking tools to cut the bone-in pieces, you should at least separate the thigh and the drumstick using a regular kitchen knife.
Set up
When you’re ready to cook beer duck, your table should have:
- Cut up duck pieces
- Beer
- Aromatics and spices (green onion, garlic, ginger, dried chili pepper, star anise, cinnamon sticks)
- Sugar (rock sugar or regular sugar)
- Soy sauce (light and dark)
This recipe uses dark soy sauce to add color and a light caramelized flavor. But you can also use regular soy sauce instead.
How to cook beer duck
One word on the cookware
I used a large wok in this recipe. A wok is the best pan for cooking Chinese braised dishes because:
- You can easily brown the meat without sticking (and unlike a heavy dutch oven, you can use higher heat and less oil)
- The shape of the wok allows you to use less water (or liquid) to cover all the meat, which helps season the meat more effectively and promotes even cooking.
- The large surface area reduces the broth easily, creating a nice sticky sauce from the braising liquid in a short time.
- The round shape of the wok makes it easy to scoop the meat while you’re reducing the sauce, making it less likely to stick and break apart the tender braised meat.
- A wok heats up quickly and maintains high temperatures, which can help reduce the cooking time.
That being said, you can make this dish with a high-sided skillet, a heavy duty pot, or a dutch oven. When you use a pot or a dutch oven, you might need to add more liquid to cover the duck, to ensure even cooking. And it will take longer to reduce the sauce. You might also consider removing the duck pieces before reducing, so you don’t have to worry about the duck sticking to the pan.
Cooking process
Cooking beer duck is quite easy.
- Brown the duck
- Once the duck starts to brown, lower the heat so the duck renders more fat
- Transfer the browned duck to a plate
- Remove some of the duck fat from the pan
- Cook the aromatics until fragrant
- Use the beer to deglaze the pan
- Add back the duck and all the seasoning to braise
- Once the duck turns tender, reduce the sauce until sticky
How to serve beer duck
Beer duck is a satisfying main dish that can be served by itself along with other sides, or served over steamed rice. You can also top the duck over noodle soup to make a delicious one-bowl meal. It also tastes great after it’s cooled off. You can serve a small plate of cold duck as an appetizer.
Beer duck refrigerates and freezes well too, making it a great dish for cooking ahead or meal prep. To reheat, you can simply microwave the leftover if refrigerated. For frozen duck, it’s best to heat it up in a steamer for even heating and to retain moisture (if without thawing in advance).
Here are some side dishes that are great with beer duck:
Other delicious braised dishes
Beer Duck
Ingredients
- 4 (2 lb total) duck legs (or 1 whole duck)
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 3 green onions halved crosswise
- 1 thumb ginger sliced
- 3 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 dried Chinese chili pepper
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 1 tablespoon rock sugar (or 1 teaspoon white sugar)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
- 2 teaspoons Dark Soy Sauce (or soy sauce) (*Footnote 1)
- 2 cans (total 24 oz / 700 ml) beer
- Sliced hot chili pepper for garnish (optional)
Instructions
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Use a pair of chicken shears or a large heavy knife (preferably a cleaver) to cut the duck leg into large bite-size pieces.
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Heat oil in a wok (or a dutch oven, or a large deep skillet) over medium-high heat until hot. Swirl the wok so the oil covers the bottom. Add the duck pieces without overlapping, skin side down. Cook in batches if needed. Let cook without moving until the bottom turns golden brown. Flip to cook the other side until golden. Then turn to medium or medium-low heat. Flip the duck occasionally as you continue to cook for 5 to 6 minutes to render the excess fat. Once done, transfer the duck pieces to a plate and set aside.
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(Optional) If there’s too much oil in your pan, you can carefully remove some using a ladle. Leave about 3 tablespoons of oil / rendered duck fat.
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Add the green onion, ginger, garlic, chili pepper, cinnamon stick, and star anise. Cook and stir to release fragrance until the aromatics are lightly charred.
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Pour in the beer and immediately use a wooden spatula to scrape the bottom, releasing any brown bits.
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Add the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar. Cook over medium-high heat until the broth comes to a boil. Then cover the wok. Turn down the heat so the broth maintains a low boil. It’s important to use enough heat so the broth is not simmering, so the fat will emulsify into the broth, creating a thick sauce at the end. Cook until the duck turns tender (but not fall-off-the-bone tender), 30 to 40 minutes. If you used larger duck pieces (unhacked thighs and drumsticks, you might need to braise a bit longer).
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Uncover the pan and turn to medium-high heat. Cook to reduce the broth, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 10 to 15 minutes. You should watch closely during this step, and use a spatula to scoop the duck from the bottom, to prevent sticking and burning. You can taste the duck and the sauce during this process, and add a bit of salt if needed.
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(Optional) Once the sauce has reduced, add the hot chili pepper, if using.
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Mix everything well so the duck is evenly covered with the sauce. Transfer everything to a deep plate or bowl and serve as a main dish over steamed rice, or by itself.
Notes
- The dark soy sauce adds a dark brown color and light caramel taste to the duck. You can use regular soy sauce instead, but the dish will come out with a lighter color.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 253kcal, Carbohydrates: 8.1g, Protein: 28.7g, Fat: 5.6g, Saturated Fat: 1.3g, Cholesterol: 98mg, Sodium: 672mg, Potassium: 70mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 1.2g, Calcium: 18mg, Iron: 2mg
