Ingredients
1 cup pomegranate glaze (recipe follows)
6 springs fresh thyme
1 piece ginger (1 inch), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, plus 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 tablespoon slightly crushed peppercorns
1 duck or goose
Freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
1 dried bay leaf
1 sprig fresh rosemary
5 pounds coarse salt

Glaze
4 large pomegranates (about 3 pounds)
3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
3/4 cup sugar

Method
Cut the pomegranates in half. Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl. Using a spoon or your fingers, scrape the seeds into the sieve. With a wooden spoon or a flat meat pounder, press on the seeds to extract 2 cups of juice. Discard the seeds and set the juice aside. In a medium saucepan, mix the cornstarch with the sugar. Slowly stir in the pomegranate juice and mix well.
Cook the sauce over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce begins to thicken and darkens to a deep wine color, and the sauce coats the back of the spoon. Keep warm at very low heat.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Rinse duck inside and out under cold running water; pat dry. Season cavity with pepper, and stuff with onion, carrot, celery, ginger rounds, remaining 2 sprigs thyme, bay leaf and rosemary. Using kitchen twine and a trussing needle, sew cavity closed, and tie the legs together.
2. Pour 1/3 of the salt into a Dutch oven slightly larger than the duck. Place duck on salt, and brush duck generously with the glaze. Cover duck completely with remaining salt.
3. Roast duck until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 2 hours 15 minutes for a duck and 3 hours for a goose.
4. Remove the pot from the oven; let it stand 30 minutes to cool. Carefully invert the pot onto a large cutting board. Break salt away from duck; brush off any excess salt. Remove skin. Transfer duck to a cutting board, carve, and serve.