Making Your Own Duck Confit

I have been so busy cooking that I am forgetting to take pictures!  It was late last night when I finished cooking the confit and I forgot to take a picture while it was still in the pan.  So I snapped the bones this morning!  Imagine tender, fall off the bone duck bubbling away in duck fat!  Sounds yummy, doesn't it?  

All that fat can be used for sauteing.  It is actually a liquid at room temperature.  Duck fat, a decadent staple of southwestern French cuisine, turns out to be good for you! Well okay, not as good as olive oil, but much better than butter, and all things considered, not that bad, thanks to duck fat's high percentage of mono-unsaturated fats, the kind that help raise good cholesterol.

Once esteemed as a preservation method, cooking and keeping duck in its rendered fat results in meltingly tender, moist, and extremely flavorful meat which can be used in a variety of simple preparations. Sear the duck legs in a hot skillet or shred the meat and add it to salads, or, perhaps best of all, make duck rillettes.

 Duck Confit

• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 shallot, peeled and sliced
• 6 sprigs thyme
• Coarsely ground black pepper
• 4 duck legs with thighs
• 4 duck wings, trimmed
• About 4 cups duck fat

1. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of salt in the bottom of a dish or plastic container large enough to hold the duck pieces in a single layer. Evenly scatter half the garlic, shallots, and thyme in the container. Arrange the duck, skin-side up, over the salt mixture, then sprinkle with the remaining salt, garlic, shallots, and thyme and a little pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 days.
2. Preheat the oven to 225°F. Melt the duck fat in a small saucepan. Brush the salt and seasonings off the duck. Arrange the duck pieces in a single snug layer in a high-sided baking dish or ovenproof saucepan. Pour the melted fat over the duck (the duck pieces should be covered by fat) and place the confit in the oven. Cook the confit slowly at a very slow simmer — just an occasional bubble — until the duck is tender and can be easily pulled from the bone, 2-3 hours. Remove the confit from the oven. Cool and store the duck in the fat. (The confit will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.)

Note: The duck fat can be strained and reused.