Confit de canard is a centuries old French preparation method in which duck legs are slowly cooked in their own fat. Originally intended as a preservation technique, but nowadays mainly praised for its buttery tender meat and deep flavor. It takes some time, but is surprisingly simple and absolutely worth it. Siebe from @bbqmoods made this beautiful dish!

Summary confit de canard

For this recipe you preferably use your oven and a skillet for searing. These are steps that take time but are not difficult. It can hardly go wrong.

-       Preparation: 15 minutes
-       Dry brine: 1 day
-       Confit: 4 hours
-       Optional: Aging in refrigerator: 2 days
-       Reheating and searing: 40 minutes

Marinating / dry brining (24 hours)

Place the sea salt, garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, black pepper and olive oil in a food processor and grind into a coarse paste. Remove the duck legs from the packaging and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Place them in a large dish and rub them thoroughly all over with the curing mixture. Cover the dish with cling film and let the legs marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Preparing confit de canard

After 24 hours, remove the duck legs from the refrigerator and briefly rinse them under cold water to remove excess cure. Then pat them dry thoroughly with kitchen paper. 

The confit process (4 hours)

Preheat the oven to 95 °C. Melt the duck fat or goose fat in an oven dish large enough to hold all the duck legs comfortably. Add the bay leaves, half a bulb of garlic and peppercorns. Place the duck legs in the melted fat and make sure they are fully submerged. Let the legs gently confit for about 4 hours at 95 °C. Check doneness by inserting a fork or knife: if it slides through the meat without resistance, they are perfectly cooked.

Aging (optional, but highly recommended)

Let the dish with fat and duck legs cool down. Remove the herbs before cooling. You can use them immediately, but for extra flavor let the legs age for another 2 days submerged in the fat in the refrigerator.

Searing the duck legs

When ready to serve, slowly heat the dish to about 85–95 °C (± 30 minutes). Remove the duck legs from the fat and sear them in a skillet or frying pan without extra fat over medium high to high heat. Sear briefly on both sides until golden brown and crispy.

You can easily save the duck fat or goose fat for next time. Make sure to strain it through a sieve with a filter and pour it into a plastic container. You can store it in the refrigerator for a few weeks or freeze it to keep it for months.

Serving confit de canard

Serve the confit de canard for example with:

• Red cabbage
• Caramelized carrots
• Baby potatoes fried in goose fat
• Freshly cooked mushrooms

Classic, rich and full of flavor.

ENJOY!