Confit De Canard!
Or in other words…Duck Confit!
To confit something means to preserve it in its own fat. The act of confit has been around for centuries as a sure way to preserve meats and even vegetables for extended periods of time. I am well aware that vegetables don’t naturally have fat so how could you truly confit veggies. What are you the police? 😂 It’s an exaggeration and doesn’t necessarily have to be in “their own” fat but loosely we have moved to just preserving safely in fat in general. Now, aside from stretching their shelf life, gently cooking anything in fat is going to give way to a super tender, deliciously unctuous product.
I cure my legs for about 48 hours in a mix of equal parts salt and sugar and then sometimes add whatever fresh herbs I have, in this case it was rosemary and marjoram. Be sure to keep these fully submerged in the salt, cure them anywhere from 1 to 7 days.
After you remove the salt, give em a quick rinse and good pat dry. We’re going to cover these in rendered duck fat and bake them low and slow in the oven. Set your oven to 285 degrees and let them cook covered for about 2 hours. Allow them to fully cool at room temp before dealing with them. The rest period is crucial.
To store these guys, your best bet is to put them in the fridge covered in the fat as it will resolifiy and keep the legs fresh. These will hold for weeks in the fridge, yeah, weeks!
To finish, in a hot pan skin side down render out the duck skin/fat until golden brown, flip and then gently cook on the other side until warmed through.