Roast Duck with Orange and Ginger

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.

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.

For more succulent meat and crispier skin, I tried my usual duck roasting times:
- 1h20m at 350F (180C) for a large duck (1.6kg/3.5lbs). A smaller one can be cooked at this temp for 1h00.
- Remove duck, glaze as directed. Heat oven to 450F(230C) or as high as it will go. After duck has rested for 15-20 minutes and oven has heated up, return duck to oven for another 20 minutes (15 if smaller).

This gave a lovely crispy skin, with the sugars in the glaze that had just burnt perfectly. Delicious!

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.

Followed the steps closely but mine came out quite tough. Any suggestions for next time?

This is the most succulent, delicious duck I have ever tasted. An excellent recipe. Highly recommend making the fresh five-spice powder--it made all the difference.

i recommend scoring the skin if possible as opposed to just pricking, will allow for more fat to render and skin to become more crispy. Also, demerara sugar would be considered more traditional considering the regional flavor profile of the dish, and does actually bring more to the party than white sugar, particularly because the molasses will assist in the glazing process.

This duck not only tastes delicious, it smells delicious when it is roasting. I was out shoveling snow with neighbors when it was in the oven and the exhaust fan blew the aromas to us. Made the shoveling very special and appetizing! I also boiled the picked carcass into a broth and the complexity of the flavors from the duck+spice turned a humble French onion soup into something spectacular.

Cooked it 4 hours at 300 dgrees F turning it every 30 minutes and glazed it on each side for last hour. Turned it up to 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Added 1/8 tsp corn starch to thicken the glaze. Used 3 tbs of pan drippings to make starter for gravy for mashed potato/butternut squash side dish. It was a wow for all!

Charles-if you have the time try 300 for four hours and rotating every hour. start breast up. To apply a glaze turn up the oven to 450 for 5-7 minutes.

Excellent recipe. Highly recommend it. I added one shot of orange liqueur in the glaze that gave an even more intense and aromatic flavor. The glaze needs almost half an hour to thicken but the result is very satisfactory. I also replaced the mashed butternut squash with small french potatoes cut in half and baked in the delicious juices of the roast duck.

the only part of the instructions you followed was using a Duck!

Turned out quite good with a fresh butchered duck. I found the spice rub to be too salty (and I love salt) and would cut down slightly next time. Used brown sugar since I prefer the molasses profile and don't stock raw sugar. I also found that the 30 minutes to brown the glaze is much too much @ 350. I'd go with 10-15 and then check; possibly bringing to 400-450 just to finish.

For the folks that had trouble getting the glaze to thicken, just cook it longer--it'll get there.

This was my first time roasting a whole duck and the taste was excellent. I seasoned the duck (5 pounds) overnight. It was moist and the skin was crispy (I turned the oven up to 425 for the last 10 minutes - watch carefully). I only made a few slight modifications. I added 2 Tbsp. of high quality orange marmalade to the glaze and a Tbsp. of maple syrup. I also used light brown sugar in place of the Demerara sugar. Instead of homemade 5-spice powder, I used 5-spice powder from World Market.

Used half the salt. It was fantastic.