Crispy duck not only holds a firm place in my food favourites, but it is also arguably responsible for my relationship with my wonderful girlfriend, Hayley. Many years ago in a grand gesture of romance, I slaved away in my kitchen on Valentine's Day re-creating what I had recently been told was one of her favourite dishes too. I googled, scribbled and sizzled and what emerged was, if I do say so myself, absolutely glorious. With the romance going strong to this day, I decided to see if my duck was still fit for the bird and got myself back in the kitchen - this time with a write up!

An honorary mention also goes to my friend and housemate at the time Sandra who found the aforementioned scribbled notes, made a number of humorous additions and gave them the title which would later become the title of this very post - Crispy Love Duck.

Step 1 - Massage

Unveil your duck and pat the skin dry with a kitchen towel.
Combine your salt, pepper and five-spice in a small dish or ramekin before working it into the duck. Don't be shy here, be generous and be thorough - work the dry rub into every inch you can.
Stuff the cavity with the sliced ginger, garlic cloves, a few of the spring onions and orange segments. These will gently steam the inside with wonderful flavours.
Leave the flavours to infuse for an hour or two, or for deeper flavour and more astute preparation, overnight in the fridge.

Step 2 - Fire it up

Preheat your oven to 170ºc and grab a baking tray and a rack.
Lightly oil the rack and place the rack on the tray and the duck on the rack.
Place a few criss-cross scores in the top of the skin.
Roast for around 2 hours until deliciously crispy and the meat is just begging to be shredded.
I highly recommend decanting the fat in the tray about half way or so and saving it for making... well pretty much anything delicious when cooked in it.

Step 3 - Sauce

Place your plums in another baking tray and roast them along side your duck for around 30mins.
Once ready, place your plums in a pan with a few tablespoons of honey, a teaspoon of five spice, a splash of soy sauce, a suitably sized cinnamon stick and just enough boiling water to surround the fruit.
Allow to simmer on a medium low heat, stirring and breaking the plums apart with your spoon every now and again.
When the plums are broken down and you're left with a rich viscous pan of sauce, you can fish out the stones and cinnamon stick.
Once cooled, I usually hit it with an immersion blender for a silkier sauce, but feel free to leave it for a more compote like condiment.

Step 4 - That little pot of nice green thinly sliced veg

Grab a couple of your spring onions and half a cucumber.
Slice the spring onion in half then into thin grass-like strips. For the cucumber, quarter it lengthways, remove the seeds and slice thinly.

Step 5 - Duck!

Remove the duck from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 mins.
Pop your pancakes on to warm (I'm using pre-made this time, but feel free to make your own and have those ready here!)
Drain any more excess fat from the tray and place the duck in it. Use a fork or two to pull the beautifully succulent meat away - don't forget to gift your loved one the first pick of the crispy skin pieces.
You know the deal, plate it up however you like! Plastic tubs or fancy tableware, Pinot Noir or six pack of Tsing Tao. Whatever your preference, keep those pancakes and glasses filled!