Duck Confit

2016-02-24+5

Confit was originally a French preservation method that allowed meat or fruit = ‘confiture’ to be preserved for months without refrigeration. Duck legs were slow-cooked overnight in duck fat and then stored completely submerged in fat.

You need enough duck fat to completely cover the meat and it can take as many as 4 ducks to render a quart of fat. On the other hand, the fat can be used over and over again for future confit making or other cooking ventures.

Nowadays, confit is often cooked at higher temperatures to reduce cooking time and is intended to be used for immediate consumption rather than long-term storage. Confit is not normally eaten as is, but used more often as a starter for a variety of recipes like cassoulet (Pic7) and Rillettes.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 4 servings:

4 duck legs
I used 2 legs and 2 wings
1 qt. duck fat
coarse salt, 2 tbsps.
peppercorn, 1 tbsp.
3 cloves of garlic

Pic1: duck confit with red cabbage and fried potatoes
internet picture

Directions

Pic2: dry-cure
Pic3: drown in fat
Pic4: cook

Trim back the skin and fat of the legs and wings.
Mix coarse salt, garlic and peppercorns together in a pestle.
Transfer to a mixing bowl. (Pic2)
Rub the duck parts thoroughly with the mixture. (Pic3)
Cover the bowl with plastic foil and refrigerate at least overnight to up to 36 hrs.
The next morning, preheat the oven to 200 ºF.
Alternatively, use a table oven or deep-fryer with thermostat.
Brush off the excess salt mixture and discard the liquid in the bowl.
Arrange the duck parts in a clean ovenproof bowl.
Add duck fat to the bowl until the meat is completely submerged. (Pic4)
Cover the bowl.
Cook at 200 ºF for 20 minutes.
For traditional overnight cooking, cook for 6-8 hrs. at 175 ºF.
For faster cooking, cook for 3-4 hrs. at 250 ºF.

Pic5: all done, clear fat
Pic6: duck confit
Pic7: cassoulet - internet picture

Either way, the fat will clear completely during cooking. (Pic5)
Store the duck submerged in the fat. The confit will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.
To serve the confit legs whole:
- Sear them for 5-7 minutes each side until brown and crisp. (Pic1)
  Alternatively, broil them in the oven for same result.

A simplified version of the recipe for French traditional Cassoulet with Duck Confit (Pic7) can be found on THIS PAGE. I have not prepared that recipe, but it looks nice.

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more and avemariasongs.org

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more
and avemariasongs.org