Duck Confit
Also called confit de canard, confit duck legs, chicken confit
Duck legs cured overnight with salt, garlic and herbs, cooked slowly under their own fat until meltingly tender, then crisped hard before serving. Kept under the fat, they last for months.
- Makes
- 4 legs
Ingredients
Pan sizes, times and temperatures in the method are not scaled.
Cure
Cooking
Method
Day 1: cure
Rub the duck legs (4) all over with the kosher salt (30 g2½ tbsp) and black peppercorns (1 tsp). Lay them skin side up in a snug dish and scatter the garlic cloves (4), shallot (1), fresh thyme (6 sprigs), bay leaves (2), juniper berries (4) and orange zest over and under them.
Cover and refrigerate 24 to 36 hours.
Day 2: cook
Heat the oven to 225°F (110°C). Brush off the cure and rinse the legs briefly, then pat them very dry. Keep the garlic and herbs.
Melt the duck fat (about 1 kg4½ cups) in a heavy ovenproof pot just big enough to hold the legs in one layer. Add the legs, garlic and herbs; they must be completely covered, so top up with fat if needed.
Bring just to a bare simmer on the stove, cover and move to the oven. Cook 4 to 5 hours, until the meat is very tender and a leg bone twists easily in its joint. Small bubbles should rise only now and then; it should never fry.
Store
Cool the legs in the fat for an hour. Lift them into a clean, deep container and strain the fat over them through a fine sieve, stopping before the dark juices at the bottom of the pot. Keep those juices separately, for sauces or soups, within a few days.
The legs must sit under at least ½ inch (1 cm) of fat with no air gaps. Cover and refrigerate. Under the fat they keep for months.
To serve
Leave the container at room temperature until the fat softens, then lift out as many legs as you need, scraping off the excess fat.
Crisp them. Put the legs skin side down in a cold cast-iron or nonstick pan, set it over medium heat and cook without moving them until the skin is deep golden and crackling, 10 to 15 minutes. Turn and heat through 3 to 5 minutes. Or roast skin side up at 425°F (220°C) for 15 to 20 minutes.
Notes
- Make once, eat for months. It's a day of work for a fridge stocked with something rich and luxurious, ready in 20 minutes on any night. Each time you take legs out, make sure the rest are still covered by fat.
- The cure is what makes confit taste like confit, seasoned right through and firm in texture. Don't shorten it, and don't skip rinsing, or the legs will be too salty.
- Duck fat is sold in tubs and jars. Strained after each use, it can be reused for the next batch, and spoonfuls of it roast potatoes better than anything; see Gastropub Roast Potatoes.
- Chicken confit. Use 6 to 8 chicken legs or thighs, skin on and bone in. Cure 12 hours, then cook 2½ to 3 hours, in duck fat or a mix of duck fat and olive oil. It keeps the same way.
- Serving ideas. Over French lentils or white beans, with a sharp salad of frisée and mustard vinaigrette, or shredded into tacos with pickled onions.