I am trying to get the ideal crispness of the Poulet de Bresse. At the same time, I realize that the skin once blanched is taught and cannot absorb color. True the coloring would normally during the cooking process but this requires a higher finishing temperature for browning.

The blanching process is used to tighten up the pores, facilitating a better drying and crisping process. But after some research I discovered an article on Ken Hom, a 1986 celebrity chef cookbook, who authored Ken Hom’s Chinese Cookery.

He simmers the following for 20 minutes:

3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 lemon, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2/3 cup Shaoxing rice wine
4 cups water

He instructs you to ladle the mixture over the duck, as if to bathe it. You put the blown up duck (not scalded) on a baking sheet. Then you ladle the hot seasoning liquid over the duck. With each progressive coating, the duck should duck get darker and its skin tightened.