Super tender Asian fusion roasted duck tacos with fresh and simple add-on ingredients. This is a perfect get-away from traditional carnitas and carne asada tacos.
These tender roasted duck tacos will definitely bring joy to your mood. Not only because of its wonderful flavor, but also because of the success of making the almighty roasted duck.
There's nothing more excited than spending hours and hours to perfect a recipe. Then it turned out super awesome and this taco recipe is one of them.
That's why I'm so excited to share with you all this wonderful recipe.
The roasted duck called for in this post is a sister-version of these two recipes: this roasted duck served with bao and Chinese noodle style roasted duck.
Though it's a shorter version, it still yields the most delicious and super tender roasted duck tacos as a result.
Cooking process
Just as the original recipe, in this modified recipe, we still have to take time and let the meat break down its connective tissue by letting it to rest from 24 to 48 hours.
It is a lot of time but duck meat is tougher compared to chicken. So it requires a bit more time to work on those connective tissues in order to successfully achieve such tender texture.
So here is the standard process for roasted duck:
- Clean and dry the duck with paper towel. Cut it in half if you want to save the other half for other occasion.
- Rub marinade mixture all over the duck, put some inside its cavity if you are using whole duck. Then marinade for at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours in refrigerator.
- Rinse the duck under cold tap water to wash off marinade mixture.
- Then temper the duck by ladling hot boiling water all over its body. DO NOT submerge the duck under boiling water.
- Chill the duck, breast side up on a tray (uncovered), in the fridge for 24 to 48 hours.
- After the chilling process is done, the duck is now ready to be roasted in the oven.
Pairing options
You don't really need any complicated sauce for these tacos at all due to the full flavor profile that this roasted duck contains within itself.
Any extra, over complicated sauce will become redundant and might cause conflicts in flavor.
If you must use sauce, then I recommend just a small dash of salsa verde or sour cream is more than enough to enhance these tacos flavor to the fullest.
Besides picco de gallo, freshly cut veggies are the best add-ons for these tacos. I used assorted bell peppers and cilantro as another pairing option.
Ingredients and equipment used in this tender roasted duck tacos
Equipment - there are some listed in the recipe that definitely can be optional. However, for the sake of easy-ing your cooking process, I recommend you should have all of them on hands.
- Roasting pan
- Stainless steel hanging hook (optional)
- Butcher's cooking twine and needles (optional)
- Bamboo skewers
Ingredients - these Asian spice can be easily found in a dry spice section of any grocery store. However, if you have a hard time to look for them, then Amazon is your best friend.
- Black peppercorn or Szechuan pepper
- Five spice powder
- Cinnamon powder
- Brown sugar
- Soy sauce
- Hoisin sauce
- Star anise
Fusion Taco with Tender Roasted Duck
Equipment
- Roasting pan
- Stainless steel kitchen hook
- Butcher's cooking twine & needle or bamboo skewers
Ingredients
For taco
- Flour tortilla or corn tortilla as needed
- 1 ea yellow bell pepper cut into thin strips
- 1 ea red bell pepper cut into thin strips
- cilantro as needed
- lime cut into wedges
- sour cream as needed
- salsa verde sauce optional
- Tabasco or salsa roja sauce optional
Picco de Gallo
- ½ medium white onion small dice
- 2 ripen tomatoes seeded, small dice
- 8 stem cilantro chopped
- ⅛ lime juiced
- salt & pepper to taste
Marinade mixture for 1 whole duck
- 3 tbsp black peppercorn or 1 tbsp Szechuan pepper
- 3 tbsp five spice powder
- 2 tbsp cinnamon powder
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp salt
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 5 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 3 piece mandarin or orange peel
- 6 piece star anise
- 3 stalk onion green white part
Instructions
For Pico de Gallo
- In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix everything together. Keep in the chiller until you're ready to serve.
For Roasted Duck
- In a small mixing bowl, mix all marinade ingredients together.
- Make sure to clear the duck’s cavity before stuffing with ⅔ marinade mixture. Enclose the cavity with thick thread or a bamboo/stainless skewer. Rub the left over marinade mixture all over the outside of the duck.
- OR cut the duck in half and rub the marinade mixture all over 2 halves.
- Let it marinade for at least 2 hours, maximum 6 hours in a chiller, breast side up.
- After 2 or 6 hours, rinse whole duck (with cavity still enclosed) or half duck under cold tap water. Mean while, bring a medium pot of water to boil.
- Secure the duck with a hook or use anything that you can actually carry the duck in one hand. While using other hand to ladle the hot boiling water all over the duck skin. Make sure to cover all parts of the duck with hot boiling mixture, especially the breast. (DO NOT submerge the duck under hot boiling water).
- Hang the duck or place it on a sheet pan, breast side up in a chiller, uncover. Let it sit for at least 24 hours, maximum 48 hours.
- Pre-heat oven 380F/195C. Put the duck on roasting rack, breast side up. And roast for 15 minutes. After this, use aluminum foil and cover the wings part and legs joints to prevent them from burning.
- Turn the heat down to 300F/150C. Cook whole duck for another 30 minutes OR half duck for 20 minutes.
- When the duck is done cooking, take it out of the oven and let it cool down for 10-15 minutes. Take out the stuffing inside duck's cavity if you cook whole duck. Then proceed to cut the duck into pieces.
Assemble
- Have your tortilla warmed up on cooking pan or in the oven. Then spread a thin layer of sour cream on top of tortilla, follow by roasted duck, bell peppers, cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice, salsa verde or roja/Tabasco. Enjoy!
Hi Jade, when you mention ladelling the boiling water over the duck, is this to rinse or dowse it, and then let it sit for 24-48 hours – or is the idea to submerge the duck into the boiling water and keep it there for that 24-48 hour period?
Hi M. Wallbridge,
It means you keep the duck in one hand by its neck or use a hook to keep it over a pot of boiling water (be careful don't burn yourself), then carefully ladle the hot boiling water all over the duck. Make sure you cover all parts of duck, especially the breast. Then let the duck rest, breast side up for 24-48 hours before roasting. Do not submerge the duck in the water. I hope this clarify what I meant in the process. Let me know if you still need any support. 🙂
Perfect - thank you!
You're very welcome 😉
Oh my goodness the colours of the food in the photographs. It looks amazing. I have never attempted to cook duck but this makes me feel like I could acheive it at home! Thank you for linking up to #KCACOLS I hope you come and join us next week x
thank you so much. And yeah, ever since I've learnt how to roast duck, I can't stop doing them ^^.
Tacos and wraps are one of our favourite meals. My little girl cannot get enough.
Thank you Jo for the complement. And yes, taco and wraps are my things too. Gimme anything then I transform it into a wrap 🤣🤣🤣🤣
That food looks amazing, Even if I’m vegetarian I can say it looks lovely. I’m sure my husband would be in 7th heaven if he could try it
That's so nice of you for giving me such a lovely compliment :).
WOW. You are a food artist! This looks amazing. I shouldn’t have read this before my lunch though; it’s made me so hungry!
Hi,
Of course. I'll come back for more #KCACOLS. Thank you for the compliments thou :). In a mean time, keep bloggin'!!!!
I love tacos they are so tasty, I haven’t had duck tacos before will have to try these
Hi Jade,
Thanks for visiting my blog :). And yes, this duck taco is worth giving it a try even though it's very labor intense but it can last for days. You can freeze marinated duck for up to 2 weeks and roast it whenever you're ready.