Duck Confit is one of my top 3 favorite foods in the world. (The other 2 are Confit de Canard and Confit D'Canard"):bounce:
I must admit however that I am an old school believer in so far as the so called classic recipe, that being:
For 4 Duck legs.
4 Duck legs from large ducks (8-9 lbs are good size wise)
1/2 cup rock salt or Kosher if necessary.
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
12 large, very leafy Thyme Sprigs
5 cups rendered duck fat or pork lard (not regular pork fat, but lard) Vegetable oil if absolutely necessary
Trim the duck legs and place in a bowl with the salt. Rub the salt into the legs thoroughly. Press it in to coat evenly.
Place on a large sheetpan or hotel pan covered with parchment.
Sprinkle any leftover salt on legs. Sprinkle peppercorns over and cover with Thyme sprigs. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Some people weight it down. This is a personal preference I believe. Personally I weight them.
The next day brush off the legs and wipe clean with a paper towel. Submerge the legs gently into a deep (4 qt.) saucepan, Heat the fat to 220-230 degrees F. cook slowly for about 1-3/4 to 2 hours or until the meat starts to draw away from the bone. Make sure the temp. never gets above 230F. Remove from the heat and let cool 1 hour. If not using right away, place legs in a glass dish and slowly cover with the fat. Make sure all pieces are covered. The confit can stay this way 2-3 weeks. The fat will keep the pieces good indefinately but the top layers can go rancid. If not using all of them, take a piece out and gently rewarm the fat slightly to recover the legs.
I like to crisp the legs on a hot pan and eat with fried potatoes and truffles or in a salad with a ground nut vinaigrette.
I must admit however that I am an old school believer in so far as the so called classic recipe, that being:
For 4 Duck legs.
4 Duck legs from large ducks (8-9 lbs are good size wise)
1/2 cup rock salt or Kosher if necessary.
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
12 large, very leafy Thyme Sprigs
5 cups rendered duck fat or pork lard (not regular pork fat, but lard) Vegetable oil if absolutely necessary
Trim the duck legs and place in a bowl with the salt. Rub the salt into the legs thoroughly. Press it in to coat evenly.
Place on a large sheetpan or hotel pan covered with parchment.
Sprinkle any leftover salt on legs. Sprinkle peppercorns over and cover with Thyme sprigs. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Some people weight it down. This is a personal preference I believe. Personally I weight them.
The next day brush off the legs and wipe clean with a paper towel. Submerge the legs gently into a deep (4 qt.) saucepan, Heat the fat to 220-230 degrees F. cook slowly for about 1-3/4 to 2 hours or until the meat starts to draw away from the bone. Make sure the temp. never gets above 230F. Remove from the heat and let cool 1 hour. If not using right away, place legs in a glass dish and slowly cover with the fat. Make sure all pieces are covered. The confit can stay this way 2-3 weeks. The fat will keep the pieces good indefinately but the top layers can go rancid. If not using all of them, take a piece out and gently rewarm the fat slightly to recover the legs.
I like to crisp the legs on a hot pan and eat with fried potatoes and truffles or in a salad with a ground nut vinaigrette.
