Fariz's Duck Confit

Okay......now we're getting into a little tougher cooking territory. By definition "confit" means to cook in its own fat........some of you may find this very unappealing, having to deal with animal fat. Well, especially I've put it that way............:o)

So in many ways a confit technique is like a slow deep fry in the oven.

Duck confit typically requires a lot of time and focus, since one needs to pay attention so as not to cook too fast. However, the end result is one of the dishes you can get within the french cuisine repertoire. This is also a crowd pleaser and impresses your friends to no end.....:o). You will get off the bone tenderness, rich, yet lighter than most dishes as one person gets one piece of duck leg (most times it's less than a 6-7oz chicken breast).

So, here is what you'll need to make duck confit for 4:

4 duck legs.....may not be easy to find, so buy 2 whole ducks and you can save the breasts for another dish, which I also have good recipes for.

A true duck confit will require duck fat that you may be able to find at specialty grocery stores such as whole foods, or Williams sonoma, etc....but substitute with olive oil is possible

Herbs de provence: thyme, basil, savory, fennel and lavender.

Salt and pepper.

Procedure:

When cutting legs off from the whole ducks, make sure to keep as much skin as possible.

Pat dry the skin with towel.

Season liberally with coarse salt and pepper

Leave it for up to 30 mins to let the salt seep into the skin.

Chop coarsely the herbs de provence

Rub the herbs onto the skin and let it rest again for another 30 mins

Preheat oven to 300F, when it reaches it turn it down to 260F

Place duck legs in roasting pan skin side up and cover with duck fat or Olive oil

cook and checking often, if the fat/oil gets bubbly, the temp needs to be turned down

Total cooking time should be no less than 60-90mins, depending on size of duck legs, but it could also be slightly longer.

The skin should be crispy and the meat off the bone when serving.

Et voila......Confit de Canard