Duck Confit

Easy roast duck legs on a sheet pan.
Photo by Hank Shaw

Duck confit is an old French method of slightly curing meat, then poaching it gently in fat until it is meltingly tender.

This is perhaps the best way to preserve and eat the legs and wings of wild geese, which can be tough; this also works well with wild ducks, but they are often more tender than goose legs — and they are far smaller.

Once the meat is almost falling off the bone, you can either shred it and use it in all sorts of ways, from topping salads to filling a taco. Or you can leave the legs whole and crisp them up in a pan before you serve. Confit is also a requirement if you want to make a real-deal, classic French cassoulet.

A cold, confited goose leg is also a helluva thing to bring into the duck blind for a snack…

Do not use breasts for this recipe. While you can technically confit duck or goose breasts, I don’t recommend it. I like my breasts cooked medium-rare, not slow-cooked. Even in fat.

In my kitchen, I confit my ducks and geese in a SousVide Supreme Water Oven because it uses less fat than the traditional method, which involves submerging the goose in 4 or 5 cups of fat. You can also vacuum-seal your legs with some fat and cook them in a large stock pot with steaming — not simmering, and definitely not boiling — water. That technique requires a little more attention so the water doesn’t get too hot.

And of course you can do this the traditional way, but you will need a lot of duck fat. You can buy duck fat online, however, or at really good butcher shops.

Once made, this confit will last — sealed in its bag — for a month in the fridge. It can also be frozen.

Duck confit crisped up in a pan
4.95 from 18 votes

Duck Confit

This is a standard French duck confit recipe, one I've adapted from experts like Paula Wolfert and Kate Hill. I prefer to do this with legs and wings, but you can confit breasts if you like. Also know that this works with any duck or goose; the gold standard for me are skin-on specklebelly and Canada goose legs. 
Course: Cured Meat
Cuisine: French
Servings: 6 people
Author: Hank Shaw
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Curing Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 14 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 3 to 4 pounds legs or wings of geese or ducks
  • Salt (See "curing" above)
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 bay leaves (optional)
  • 1 cup goose, duck or pork fat (or 5-6 cups for traditional method)

Instructions 

  • Mix the salt, thyme and black pepper together. Massage the mixture into the legs and wings. Make sure every part has some on it. Vacuum seal or put into a sealed container and refrigerate overnight, or up to a few days. 
  • When you are ready to cook, rinse off the legs, then dry well. If you are vacuum sealing, make sure the legs are not stacked. They need to be in one layer. Divvy up the fat into the bottom of each vacuum bag. Divide up the bay leaves into each bag. If you are not vacuum sealing, put the bay leaves in the pot of fat.
  • Get a large stockpot mostly full of water and bring that to a bare simmer, a shimmy, really. Set the sealed vac bags in the water and cook at about 180°F for at least 3 hours, for store-bought ducks, and 6 hours or more for wild geese. The cooking time is about the same for the traditional method, which I do in an oven-proof pot in a 200°F oven. 
  • Remove the bags from the water and plunge into an ice water bath to cool. Remove them to a rack to dry, and when they're dry on the outside, store in the fridge for up to a month. 
  • To eat, you can shred the meat and use it that way, or eat whole and cold (a very good duck blind snack!), or crisp up the skin in any of the ways mentioned above. 

Nutrition

Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 178mg | Sodium: 173mg | Potassium: 9mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @huntgathercook or tag #hankshaw!

 

IF YOU DON’T HAVE A VACUUM SEALER:

  • Rinse the cure off as above, then pat dry very, very well.
  • Totally submerge in fat — you will need 5 to 6 cups — and put, uncovered, in an oven set on “warm,” or not hotter than 200°F. Alternatively, you can do this on a stovetop with a weak burner set on low, or with a flame tamer. Watch that the oil never sizzles.
  • Cooking time will be about the same.
A charcuterie board.

Charcuterie

You can find all sorts of recipes for cured and smoked meats and fish, as well as fresh sausages, here on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook!

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