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1
Early the day before serving, wash and dry the duck, paying particular attention to the cavity.
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2
Slowly pour boiling water all over both sides of the duck to render some of the duck's subcutaneous fat. Make sure you do this slowly and thoroughly. Pat dry and rub the cavity with salt and sherry
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3
Put duck, breast side down,on wire rack, over a shallow pan and refrigerate, uncovered, until early that evening.
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4
Mix honey, syrup and vinegar together and paint the duck with this mixture.
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5
Put the duck, breast side up, back into the refrigerator, uncovered, into the refrigerator, until 5 hours before you serving the next day.
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6
Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Put duck on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side up, and roast duck for 90 minutes. Increase oven to 325 degrees and roast, breast side down for 90 minutes. Turn duck breast side up and continue to roast for 90 additional minutes, or until the duck is golden and its skin crisp.
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7
Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes before carving.
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8
Remove skin and scrape any unmelted fat off (there should be very little). You can put skin back into oven to crisp keep it crisp while carving the rest of the bird. Just make sure to watch it carefully so it doesn't burn.
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9
Serve with fresh fig hoisin and scallion pancakes.
