Speaking of Beijing’s food, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is Peking duck.

People all over the country know Quanjude, and old Beijingers know Bianyifang even more.

The reputation of Peking duck has spread across the ocean, and it is said to be deeply loved by European and American politicians such as Kissinger and Blair.

So today, let’s talk about the history of Beijing roast duck.

1. Duck from South to North To talk about the history of Beijing roast duck, we must first talk about the history of this roast duck.

The roast duck we are talking about now was originally called "roast duck".

The earliest record in the literature is in the Tang Dynasty. The roast duck at that time...how to say, it was really "roasted": a live duck was put in a large cage, charcoal was piled inside, and the duck was fed while running.

After mixing the sauce, the duck was roasted alive and pulled over.

I have to say that this way of eating is too violent. The duck must have been very desperate before it died.

Later, in the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial physician Hu Sihui had a copy of "Yinshan Zhengyao", which mentioned the method of "roasting duck": "One wild goose (duck), remove the hair, intestines and tripe, clean one sheep tripe, remove and wash it,

Pack wild goose (duck) with 2 ounces of green onions and 1 ounce of minced coriander. "It can be seen that this method is more "civilized" than the Tang Dynasty, but it is still very different from today's roast duck.

The Peking duck that we are all familiar with today should have been born in the Ming Dynasty.

However, this kind of roast duck is not native to Beijing, but imported from Nanjing.

We all know that the Ming Dynasty first established its capital in Nanjing, and later moved to Beijing in the Yongle Dynasty.

It was at this time that this method of roasting duck in a hanging oven was introduced from Nanjing to Beijing.

The specific time according to records is in the 14th year of Yongle (1416), when the first Bianyifang old store was opened in Mishi Hutong in Beijing in the Ming Dynasty. It is said that the plaque at the door of the store still has the word "Jinling".

Until the Qing Dynasty, in the "Current Products" article of "The Records of the Imperial Capital's Years", there was also a saying that "Duck in the South Furnace, Roast Piglets, Hang Donkey Meat...", which shows that this "Southern Duck Crossing to the North" is conclusive

of.

The old Bianyifang during the Yongle period has become the originator of today’s Beijing roast duck.

Except for locals in Beijing, when most outsiders hear about Beijing Roast Duck, they first think of Quanjude and may not be familiar with this restaurant.

Of course, people in Jinan may also know Biianfang, but they always think that it sells pot stickers. This topic will be discussed again in the future.

So here, let me first introduce to you the roast duck of this Bianyifang.

Different from the hanging oven roast duck that everyone is familiar with now, at that time, the traditional Bianyifang was braised oven roast duck.

The so-called "two Shao and three roasts should fill the pot, stew the duck and roast the pig" refers to this method.

The oven for braised roast duck was first built with bricks. The bricks were laid on three levels, three at the bottom, four in the middle, and seven in the middle.

The characteristic is that there is no open flame.

No matter what kind of fuel is used, the furnace wall must be roasted until it becomes gray-white. Then put out the fire and put the duck into the furnace. Close the furnace door and cook the duck with the heat of the furnace wall. During this period, the furnace door cannot be opened and the duck cannot be cooked.

Turn over.

The advantage of this roasting method is that the duck is heated evenly and consumes less oil, but it does require very high skills and experience from the master.