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Confit de Canard
Man, how I love duck. As a pretty typical American raised in the middle of ranch country in rural New Mexico, I never had the opportunity to try duck. But, once I did a love affair was born. I could eat duck in all it's delicious forms every day. High on the list of delicious ways to eat duck is Confit de Canard. Confit de Canard, really confit of anything, refers to a technique for preservation. In this case duck legs are simmered for a long time and then stored in containers that are sealed with fat. This preservation technique is really effective and duck legs can stay fresh for months.
In France the duck legs go into an earthenware pot, then the pot is topped off with hot duck fat until there is about an inch of pure fat above the legs. A piece of kitchen paper is typically tied around the very top of the pot and the whole thing goes in to a dry cellar. I have heard that the French won't consider eating the legs until at least one month has passed to give the flavor time to mature. It's cool with me. The Confit de Canard in France is truly magical.
I don't know that I am prepared to eat months old duck legs that I prepared myself. I would be too concerned about possible contamination. But, lucky for me Confit de Canard is still super, yummy even if you eat it right away.
Making Confit de Canard is pretty much an all day affair. You'll end up having to buy huge quantities of duck fat for the recipe. And let's face it what are going to do with left over duck fat? So let me just suggest that this is a great thing to do with a bunch of friends. Grab a few beers, or some Pastis and make some snacks and have your friends over. Send everybody home with some Confit de Canard (which will secretly include all the fat).
I am doing this recipe for 8 duck legs, but you can easily double or triple the recipe. All the proportions will remain the same.
Ingredients
Conversions to European measurements can be found here!
- 8 duck legs including the thigh and drumstick.
- 4 cups course salt
- 8 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 4 lbs rendered duck fat (see Notes)
- Sturdy storage containers that can hold a couple of duck legs and have hot grease poured into them
Procedure
The day before you plan on cooking the duck legs they need to be salted. This will add flavor and remove some liquid. A big cookie sheet will work well (as long as it has a lip to catch the liquid) with a wire cooling rack on top of it. Mix the thyme and bay leaves with the salt. Be aggressive with the mixing and try to grind the leaves up as much as possible. You want to release the flavors and oils of the herbs in to the salt.
Rub down the duck legs with the salt and cover them completely. Set each leg onto the cooling rack that is on top of your cookie sheet. Take the left over salt and herbs and sprinkle it on top of the duck legs. Put them in the fridge to rest over night
The next day brush off the salt. I like to use a clean, dry kitchen towel to remove as much excess salt as possible. The interior of the meat will be pretty salty at this point and you won't need any extra salt on the skin of the duck.
Heat all the rendered duck fat in a large pot to 200 degrees. I use my LaCrusset dutch oven for this. If you don't have a reliable thermometer you can put the pot with the grease into your oven. Heat it on the stove first, or you'll be waiting all day, then put it into a pre-heated 200 degree oven.
Slide the duck legs in one by one. Make sure they are completely submerged in the hot fat. Let them simmer for about 2 hours or until the meat is very soft.
The last thing to do is to put the cooked legs in to containers. Scoop a little fat in to the bottom of the container then layer in a few duck legs. Don't stack the legs all the way to the top. You'll need some space to seal the entire thing with a good thick cap of fat. Then just pour in the hot fat until the legs are completely covered. Keep filling the container with fat until you have formed a sealed lid over the top of the legs.
Set the containers in the fridge to cool. The flavor of the Confit will improve over time so allow the legs to rest in the fridge for a few days before you eat them. The Confit will store in the fridge for at least a month.
Tricks
Use incredibly clean storage containers. If you have ever pickled anything use the same strategy. Clean the hell out to the pot and boil it in water for a few minutes. Don't use bleach or detergents that you are sure to taste on the final product.
Once you break the seal to remove the duck pieces you need to eat all the duck in the pot. Don't leave exposed duck meat in your fridge for more that 24 hours.
Removing Confit can be a challenge. The easiest way is to take your storage container and put it in a warm oven. When the fat melts the legs will come right out. Alternatively you can use the microwave to do the same thing. Be careful you don't cook the meat in the microwave, just heat it up slightly so you can pull a leg out. Your last option is just to spoon the fat out and chip the leg loose.
Notes
Getting enough duck fat is really a tough thing to judge. You will need enough fat to completely submerge the legs in fat while they cook. Then you will need enough fat to completely cover the legs when they go into your storage container. I used a simple ration of 1/2 pound of grease for each leg. But, this is just a ballpark figure. If the only pot you have is huge then it'll take more grease.