yea looks like a term by Jurgielewicz.
HOFO makes sense when preparing Peking duck, as tastyduck says. head on, for hanging while air drying, freezing, scalding / basting with oil, etc. for evenness and fat preparation, makes sense. from what little snippet i can see on socials, doesn’t seem like APL is really preparing it like a Peking duck. to that end, I wonder what purpose HOFO serves. or, is HOFO “Buddhist style” simply a good product, regardless of whether the cooking process shares Peking duck’s methods or not?
I’ve had squabs prepared in the style of Peking duck; those were great, and HOFO was pretty necessary for the cooking. i’d say pretty near essential for how it’s traditionally/usually cooked to get the skin a certain type of crispy.