Orange Spiced Duck

My first duck came out perfect! I decided to do something a little different for dinner the day after Christmas. Well worth the $32 for the duck, which I found at Fred Meyer. My friend Ted suggested Freddy's because the same brand of duck is sold at C&J but costs more.

The only notes I have on the recipe below are that the cooking down of the sauce took longer than 10 minutes, which is fine. It eventually became syrupy. Also, the thermometer was reading over 165 pretty early on, so I pulled it about 15 minutes early. However, the duck was not overcooked at all and was, in fact, a bit on the rare side. So I would stick to the 2.5 hours called for next time, but still baste on both sides like I did this time.

My boyfriend absolutely loved this dish, as he is a dark meat guy. He especially loved the glaze. Hardly any meat leftover after dinner for two!

FOR THE DUCK

• 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

FOR THE GLAZE

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

PREPARATION

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.
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.
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.
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 (2 1/2 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.