Air Fryer Crispy Duck with Pancakes

Name: Air Fryer Crispy Duck Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 2 duck legs; 1 tsp Chinese five spice; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 8 Warmed Chinese pancakes (available at larger supermarkets and Asian supermarkets); 5 Spring onions (scallions) (thinly shredded into 3cm lengths); 1/2 Cucumber (sliced into matchsticks (approx. 3 cm long)); 8 tbsp Hoisin sauce or Chinese plum sauce

Crispy duck at home, using your air fryer! I use duck legs with warming Chinese 5 spice and a little seasoning and they crisp up beautifully! Shred up the duck and serve them in pancakes with cucumber, springs onions (scallions) and hoisin or Chinese plum sauce.

A hand is holding an open Chinese duck pancake with hoisin sauce and julienned spring onion and cucumber. The pancake is on a silver plate and there is also a rolled duck pancake and a wooden spoon with hoisin sauce resting on the plate. The plate is on a wooden board with shredded duck, more julienned vegetables and a dish of hoisin sauce nearby.

Nicky’s Recipe Notes

Crispy duck feels like such a special treat. I love the process of digging out the best bits of the shredded duck, loading them onto a warm Chinese pancake, piling it high with shredded spring onions (scallions) and cucumber and then drizzling over enough hoisin sauce that it drips out onto your fingers so you can lick them clean after your last bite of pancake. It’s almost a ceremony and I’m here for it.

Confession…..
This recipe snuck it’s way in to our Air Fryer Fakeaway Instagram series at the last minute after another recipe didn’t make it through our rigorous testing (if you’re interested, it was pork spring rolls. They tasted GREAT! but I couldn’t get an even colour on them. Don’t worry though, I’ll keep testing until I get it right). And now I’m SO GLAD we got to include this recipe.

I love my original Chinese duck recipe (using a whole duck), but this one is a brilliant no-faff alternative using duck legs.

Nicky’s Recipe Notes
📋 Ingredients
Abbreviated recipe instructions
Pro Tip
Air Fryer Crispy Duck Recipe Recipe
? Frequently Asked Questions
🍲 More Chinese-Inspired Appetizers

📋 Ingredients

Duck

Pancakes and toppings

A wooden table with spring onions, a cucumber, a plate of Chinese pancakes for crispy duck, and a bottle of hoisin sauce, each labelled with text.

✅ Hoisin sauce or Chinese plum sauce make an equally great topping. Or you could use my homemade plum sauce or sweet chilli sauce if you like.
✅ Chinese pancakes can be found in your local Asian market. I’ve also seen them in Sainsbury’s and on Amazon here: Chinese pancakes (<– aff link)

Abbreviated recipe instructions

***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***

Pierce the duck legs and rub on salt, pepper and five-spice. Air fryer skin-side up for 35 mins at 170C/325F, then increase the heat to 200C/400F for a final 10 mins.
Rest the duck, then shred and serve on pancakes with strips of cucumber, spring onion (scallion) and hoisin or Chinese plum sauce.

A wooden board with crispy duck, shredded next to two gold forks, sliced cucumber and spring onion, a bowl of hoisin sauce with a wooden spoon sticking out, and a pile of Chinese pancakes.

Pro Tip

Be sure to pierce the skin of the chicken lots of times to allow that fat to render out. That will help you to get lovely crisp skin!

Stay updated with new recipes!
Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when I post a new recipe. I’m also on YouTube (new videos every week) and Instagram (behind-the-scenes stories & beautiful food photos).

A metal plate with crispy duck slices, cucumber strips, and hoisin sauce on an open Chinese pancake. A rolled pancake and a wooden spoon with hoisin sauce on is also on the plate. The plate is on a wooden board and there is more shredded duck on the board.

Save Pin Print

Air Fryer Crispy Duck Recipe

By Nicky Corbishley

Crispy duck at home, using your air fryer! I use duck legs with warming Chinese 5 spice and a little seasoning and they crisp up beautifully!

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 50

Total Time: 1

Servings: 8 pancakes

Course: Main Course, Starter

Cuisine: Chinese

Equipment

Chinese Pancakes <– Amazon has them here (possibly UK only?), I've also seen them in Sainsbury's
Air Fryer <– This is the one I have. You can of course use a regular single-basket air fryer instead.
Spring Onion Slicer I found mine at an Asian market, but Amazon also have a similar on here.

Ingredients

▢ 2 duck legs
▢ 1 tsp Chinese five spice
▢ ¼ tsp salt
▢ ¼ tsp black pepper

To Serve:

▢ 8 Warmed Chinese pancakes available at larger supermarkets and Asian supermarkets
▢ 5 Spring onions (scallions) thinly shredded into 3cm lengths
▢ ½ Cucumber sliced into matchsticks (approx. 3 cm long)
▢ 8 tbsp Hoisin sauce or Chinese plum sauce

Instructions

Prick the skin of the duck legs all over with a sharp knife. This will allow the fat to render and will help crisp up the skin.
2 duck legs
Pat the skin dry with a piece of kitchen roll, then rub the Chinese five spice, salt and pepper all over the duck legs.
1 tsp Chinese five spice, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper
Place in the air fryer basket, skin-side-up and air fry at 170C/325F for 35 minutes.
After 35 minutes, increase the heat to 200C/400F for a final 10-15 minutes, until the skin is crisp and dark brown.
Remove from the air fryer basket, allow to rest for 5-10 minutes, then shred the meat using two forks. SEE NOTE 1*
Serve the shredded duck in warm pancakes with thin strips of spring onion (scallion) and cucumber and drizzled with hoisin or Chinese plum sauce.
8 Warmed Chinese pancakes, 5 Spring onions (scallions), 1/2 Cucumber, 8 tbsp Hoisin sauce or Chinese plum sauce
Roll up and eat!

Notes

Note 1: Tip For Shredding The Duck

It can be a little tricky to get the meat shredded from the bone, I’ve found the best way is to hold the end of the leg with one hand and use a fork to pull the meat and skin off in large chunks. You can then shred the meat easier using 2 forks once its off the bone.

Nutritional information is approximate, per duck roll, include the pancake, cucumber, spring onion and hoisin sauce.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

How many duck pancakes can you eat in one sitting?

A plate with an open Chinese duck pancake with hoisin sauce and julienned spring onion and cucumber. There is also a rolled duck pancake and a wooden spoon with hoisin sauce resting on the plate. The plate is on a wooden board with shredded duck, more julienned vegetables and a dish of hoisin sauce.

Pin this now to find it later

Pin It

? Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use duck breast instead?

I don’t recommend using duck breasts for this recipe as the duck breast is more likely to dry out.

Can I prep in advance?

Yes, you can shred the cucumber and spring onions in advance. Store with a damp piece of kitchen roll on top and place in an airtight container in the fridge. They should last a couple of days.

How do you slice the spring onion and cucumber so thinly?

I use a little slicing tool and it works pretty well. I found it an a Asian market, but I found a similar one on Amazon here Spring onion slicer (<– aff link)

🍲 More Chinese-Inspired Appetizers

Asian

Sticky AND Crispy Asian Chicken Wings

Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.