Roast Duck with Orange and Ginger

Name: Roast Duck with Orange and Ginger
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 5- to 6-pound Pekin (Long Island) duck; 3 tablespoons kosher salt; 1 tablespoon 5-spice powder, preferably homemade (see note); 1 large orange, zested and cut into 6 wedges; 1 tablespoon grated ginger; 1 tablespoon grated garlic; 2 cups orange juice; 1 tablespoons honey; 2 tablespoons Demerara sugar; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 2-inch piece of ginger, thickly sliced; 3 star anise

By David Tanis

Updated Aug. 17, 2022

Roast Duck with Orange and Ginger — Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Total Time: 3½ hours, plus overnight seasoning
Rating: 5(1,134)
Comments: Read comments

For a festive occasion, a burnished whole duck makes quite an impression — fancier than chicken and more elegant than turkey. Roasting the duck is not so difficult to do, but it can be smoky; to be on the safe side, dismantle your smoke alarm and turn on a good exhaust fan. (If your oven has a convection fan, don’t use it; that way you avoid unnecessarily sputtering fat blowing about.). Seasoning the duck ahead and leaving it in the fridge overnight helps to deepen the flavor and keeps work to a minimum the following day. This one is seasoned with orange zest, along with fair amount of ginger and five-spice powder, which gives it a marvelous perfume; serve it with mashed butternut squash.

Featured in: So Your Duck Won’t Go South

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

For the Duck

15- to 6-pound Pekin (Long Island) duck
3tablespoons kosher salt
1tablespoon 5-spice powder, preferably homemade (see note)
1large orange, zested and cut into 6 wedges
1tablespoon grated ginger
1tablespoon grated garlic

For the Glaze

2cups orange juice
1tablespoons honey
2tablespoons Demerara sugar
2tablespoons soy sauce
12-inch piece of ginger, thickly sliced
3star anise

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Rinse duck and pat dry. Remove neck and giblets and save for another purpose. Remove excess fat from cavity and tail area and trim off a bit of flappy neck skin. Prick duck skin all over with tip of sharp paring knife, making sure not to penetrate meat.
Step 2
Mix together salt and 5-spice powder. Season interior of duck with 1 tablespoon salt mixture; use remainder to generously season exterior (you may have a little left over). Combine orange zest with grated ginger and garlic, then smear mixture inside cavity. Place orange wedges in cavity. Tie legs together. Secure neck flap with wooden skewer or toothpicks. Place duck on rack in roasting pan breast-side-up and refrigerate overnight, uncovered.
Step 3
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, bring duck to room temperature and make the glaze: Bring orange juice, honey, sugar and soy sauce to a simmer. Add sliced ginger and star anise, then reduce mixture until you have a medium-thick syrup, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 4
Roast duck for 2 hours, carefully pouring off fat and turning duck over every 30 minutes. Paint with glaze and roast another 30 minutes (2½ hours in all). Tent with foil if glaze begins to get too dark. Duck is done when temperature at thickest part of leg reads 165 degrees. Paint duck once more, keep warm and let rest 20 minutes. Use poultry shears to cut into quarters (remove backbone first) or carve in the traditional way, removing legs from carcass and slicing breast. Serve with mashed butternut squash if desired.

Tip

To make your own five-spice powder, put 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns, 1 teaspoon fennel seed, 1 teaspoon cloves, 6 star anise, a 2-inch piece of cinnamon stick (crushed) and 12 allspice berries in an electric spice mill and grind to a fine powder. This should yield about 3 tablespoons. Store in a glass jar.

Ratings

5 out of 5

1,134 user ratings

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Comments

Drew7 years ago

Overall I thought the recipe came out very well but I had trouble with the glaze thickening. I would appreciate any tips on why a few of us had issues with the sauce.
I reguraly cook duck and I prefer a slow roast at 300 degrees for four hours. I turn it every hour and apply the glaze at the end and turn the heat up to 450 for 5-7 minutes. Using this method I've never had a dry or tough duck. I also score the skin along with poking small holes which results in a crispy skin.

LEL7 years ago

Duck was overly salty, but otherwise very good and easy. Roasted outdoors in ceramic dome (Akorn) so no concern with smoke detectors.
Specifying Demerara sugar in a glaze where it is dissolved; adds NO detectable flavor against the juice, soy, honey, and spices; and supplies no nutrient that would not be supplied by regular, old, granulated sugar seems elitist or snobby.

Bernie5 years ago

All these comments about too salty - this depends on the brand of kosher salt you're using. Morton's is about 2x as salty by volume as Diamond Crystal. NYTimes should specify which they used for the recipe.

ayse5 months ago

Perfectly delicious! Omitted the star anise for personal preference. I used a 4.33 lb duck which cooked super fast, so make sure to use a digital thermometer. Served with thyme carrots, delicata, and a big leafy green salad. Chefs kiss!

Mike5 months ago

Cooked for Christmas. What a banger. Followed the recipe as written, but used a much smaller duck (1.6kg) that took nearly an hour less to cook. Glaze didn't really thicken, but it still coated and coloured the skin very well. Could add some dark soy if you really wanted to make the skin dark. Otherwise, perfection.

j. King5 months ago

I will cut the salt by 1/3 the next time I make it. I think it is better cold and it made a splendid broth.

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