Duck Confit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a dish which originated in France. Duck confit is a style of cooking which was originally used as a method of preserving duck and other types of meats. When done properly, duck confit can last up to 6 months in the fridge. The process involves curing duck meat, mostly the legs, for about 12 to 36 hours and then slow cooking them in duck fat. In my opinion, duck confit is one of the most delicious and luxurious dishes you will ever taste. It symbolizes traditional French style cooking and lends itself to various interpretations. It is French comfort food at its finest!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

(1) Duck Legs

(2) Salt

(3) Fresh of Dried Thyme

(4) Garlic Cloves (Crushed and Chopped)

(5) Duck Fat

NOTES:

(1) The first concern one might have with preparing this dish is where to get duck fat. Duck confit involves slow cooking the duck legs completely submerged in duck fat. That is a lot of duck fat! For a first timer, if you cannot find duck fat to buy or render some yourself, I would suggest that you start with butter. Simply melt enough butter to cover all the duck legs you are cooking. As the duck cooks, it would release its own fat into the butter, thus increasing the quantity of fat and impacting its flavor. The more you make this dish, the more the duck fat to butter ratio increases and after a while, you will end up with your own duck fat. Granted, this would take some time, but we all get there in the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROCEDURE:

(1) Wash duck legs and pat them dry. For a better presentation, cut off the knuckles from the legs. Peel, crush and chop the garlic. You would notice I am not giving any measurements here. This is because the quantity of each ingredient you use will depend on how much duck legs you are cooking. I would however state that you should be liberal with all the ingredients.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) In a large bowl, place a layer of duck legs skin side up. Sprinkle salt on the legs along with fresh thyme and crushed garlic. Place another layer of duck legs on the first and repeat the process. Repeat this process until you have used up all the duck legs. Seal the bowl with cling film and place in the fridge for 12 – 36 hours to cure. The longer you cure the duck legs, the more flavor they would have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) After 12 – 36 hours, heat the duck fat until hot. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

(4) Wash off the seasoning and herbs from the duck legs, pat them dry and place them flat in an oven safe pot like a dutch oven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(5) Pour the hot duck fat over the legs, cover the pot and place it in the oven. Cook the duck legs in the oven for 3 hours. After 3 hours, they will be soft but still be firm enough to keep their shape on the bones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(6) After 3 hours, remove the pot from the oven and leave the duck legs in the hot fat for another hour. They will keep on cooking during this hour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(7) Take out the duck legs from the fat. The duck legs can  now be eaten immediately. To prepare them, place a bit of duck fat in a pan and sear each side of the duck legs for about 4 minutes to brown them. Duck confit can be served with potatoes, beans or any other side of your choice. It can also be shredded into salads and used to fill sandwiches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(8) To store the duck legs, place them in a container with the thigh bones facing up. Pour the duck fat over the legs, leave to cool, seal and place in the fridge. The fat would solidify and seal in the duck legs as it cools. They can remain this way in the fridge for about 6 months. It is said that they can stay this way out of the fridge for about a month. I am however yet to experiment with this. Each time you want to eat some, place the container in a microwave oven to melt the fat and simply take out the quantity of duck legs you need. Do not pull out the duck legs from the solid fat or they would break/scatter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(9) If you are not storing the duck legs (i.e. if you are eating them immediately), or after you have eaten the last duck leg, strain the fat and place it in jars ready for your next use. You might notice a brown layer of gelatin at the bottom of the fat. This has to be strained from the fat before storage. An easy way of doing this is to chill the fat and scoop off the fat leaving the gelatin at the bottom of the container. This gelatin is great in sauces and cooking in general. Duck fat can be used to cook potatoes or used in place of oil in any dish. In French cuisine, duck fat is considered to be liquid gold. The flavor is simply out of this world.