Many of you will have enjoyed confit of duck here at le tasting room. The ultimate comfort food, tender duck with super crispy skin, served either on a bed of duck fat roasted potatoes and rosemary or with lentils and smoky bacon.
The traditional recipe for confit is not complicated but it takes time and requires total immersion in goose/duck fat for cooking. Sourcing the fat to make the dish can be difficult and also make it extremely expensive so I’ve been trying one or two recipes that use the same kind of preparation but using short cuts. I came across a recipe that was originally published in the New York Times and it makes a fine substitute so am sharing it with you.
You need to start a day in advance and for 4 people you will need:
Duck legs – one per person so 4 (my pictures show 2 so just halve the ingredients for 2 people)
2 teaspoons of fine flaky sea salt and a good grinding of black pepper
2 sprigs of thyme
3 fresh bay leaves, torn
- Dry and pat the duck legs and then put them in a shallow container. Rub the flesh and skin with the salt, thyme and bay leaves and then wrap with clingfilm and leave overnight in the fridge.
- The next day, remove from the fridge and leave the legs to come back up to room temperature. While you are waiting for this, preheat your oven to 170°C (338°F).
Place the duck legs in a single layer and cook on a medium heat to render the fat from the skin
- Place the legs skin side down in a shallow oven proof dish and cook gently over a medium heat so that the fat from the skin renders down. Eventually you will end up with a good amount of fat in the bottom of the pan (around half a cm in depth). The legs should be in one layer.
When you have rendered the fat, turn the duck legs over and pop into the oven
- Turn the legs around so the skin is facing upwards and then put in the oven with a lid on for about one and half hours or until the duck is very tender. The skin should be quite crispy by this stage but you can take the lid off for the last quarter of an hour and increase the heat for a super crispy result.
An hour and half later and the duck is tender and crispy. I added some par-boiled new potatoes into the pan for the last half an hour.
So, is it as good as traditional confit? Well, it’s not quite as moist I would say (as it isn’t totally immersed in fat during cooking) but it is quite delicious and something that you can easily do at home.
Confit can also be bought at large stores, from the butcher and at the market here in France. It’s extremely good and people often use it instead of making their own from scratch. It’s a storecupboard item here at Le Tasting Room. This is what is was meant to be – duck that was preserved and kept in its own fat to provide delicious food during the winter months.
