Last month, I wrote about making Consommé. I used most of two whole ducks to prepare that recipe. What I did not use in the Consommé were the four leg and thigh portions. These I turned into Duck Confit.
Confit is a style of cooking that involves salt curing and slow cooking in fat. This was traditionally used to preserve meats, most commonly duck.
Start with four duck leg and thigh portions. Pat them dry with a paper towel and generously coat them with kosher salt and a little ground pepper. You need a nice solid layer of salt. You can also add some chopped herbs like thyme, or some minced garlic to the salt mixture for more flavor.
Melt about 4 cups of duck fat in a pot and pour the melted fat over the duck in the baking dish. Duck fat can usually be purchased at a poultry house or butcher, sometimes frozen in a small tub. If duck fat can't be found, olive oil will work as a substitute. Place a few sprigs of thyme and a couple of bay leaves in the baking dish as well. The fat should cover the duck completely. Place the duck in an 225 F oven and cook for approximately 8 hours.
If you would like to learn more French cooking techniques like confit, don't miss our Celebrating Julia Child and French Feast: Gluten-Free Gourmet classes coming up in April and May.