Roast Duck

1) A day before roasting, remove the giblets and neck from the cavity of the bird and discard. If necessary pluck any stray pinfeathers off the duck with tweezers. Trim the neck flap and excess fat from around the cavity. Rinse and dry the bird well. Set the duck on a rack on a baking sheet, and refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 hours.

2) Heat the oven to 150C/Gas Mark 2. Pierce the duck's skin all over (including the back), every 1cm, using a skewer or small knife. Season the cavity with salt and pepper and stuff with 3 strips of the orange zest and the onion.

3) Set the duck on a rack in a roasting tin, and pour 240ml of water in the tin. Roast the bird for 3 hours, removing the duck from the oven every hour to prick the skin again.

4) Meanwhile, make the glaze. Combine the remaining orange zest, treacle, honey, coriander, pepper, orange juice, vinegar and garlic in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring, over a medium-high heat until warm. Remove the glaze from the heat and set it aside at room temperature while the duck cooks.

5) Remove the duck from the oven and carefully pour off the excess fat from the pan. (If desired reserve this fat for frying potatoes or wilting greens.) Raise the oven temperature to 230C/Gas Mark 8. Return the duck to the oven and roast until crisp and brown, about 30 minutes more.

6) Let the duck rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before carving. Brush the duck's skin with glaze 4 to 5 five times during the resting period. Carve the duck and transfer pieces to warm serving platter. Serve the remaining glaze at the table to drizzle over the duck, if desired.

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