This recipe borrows my favorite tool and technique from our peking duck recipe- the air compressor.

Blasting air between the skin and the flesh of the bird breaks the thin connective tissue between the skin and the meat. This allows airflow and subsequently, allows the skin to dry out more than if it was still connected to the flesh. The less moisture you have in the skin, the crispier it will get during the cooking process.

This could be accomplished by working a wooden spoon under the skin of the bird to separate it from the flesh, but the air compressor does a better job and it’s always fun to use power tools when cooking.

There are a few key techniques here: allowing the skin to dry out before roasting, roasting in stages to render the fat from the skin, and basting the bird with hot oil to crisp it up right before serving. The goal is to have super crispy skin but without overcooking the meat.

Air Compressor Roasted Duck

Cook time: 1 hour active, 24 hours inactive

Method:

Take a whole, skin-on bird, preferably one with the skin mostly intact, and using the compressor and a blowgun nozzle, force air under the skin. The duck will inflate like a beach ball and the skin will stretch out. 

Make sure you are wearing eye protection while you do this. On more than one occasion, we’ve had shot come out of the skin at high velocity.  

Work around the bird and get air under all the skin. The skin should look a little baggy when you're done.

Place the bird on a rack or hang in the refrigerator for a day or two to allow the skin to dry out.

When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 375F. Season the bird with salt and pepper and place on an elevated roasting rack in a pan. Roast for 10 minutes. 

All ovens are different and ducks vary in size, so keep an eye on the bird as it is roasting. You are not trying to cook the bird in the first 2 stages as much as you are trying to render some of the fat off the skin.

Remove from the oven and tilt the bird to allow fat to drain. Allow to cool down for  around 15 minutes.

Put the duck back in the oven and roast for another 10 minutes, remove and allow to drain again. Allow to cool for around 15 minutes.

Turn the oven up to 425-450F and roast for 5-10 minutes until the thickest part of the breast hits 125-130F. Remove from the oven and allow to drain.

In a saucepan, heat 2-3 cups of canola or similar oil to 350-375F. With the bird on a roasting rack over the roasting pan, carefully ladle the hot oil over the bird. The skin will turn white and sizzle. Keep doing this over the entire bird, allowing each area to cool down a bit before ladling more oil onto it.

One the skin is crispy and amber brown, carve it up and serve with your favorite sides.