Canned Confit De Canard Recipes

CONFIT DE CANARD

Steps:

• Quarter the ducks and remove the backbones. Cut and trim off as much fat as possible. Grind any excess skin and all the fat in a food processor, place in a deep saucepan with 1 cup water and render the fat (simmer it over low heat for about 45 minutes, uncovered), strain, and reserve.
• Cut each breast into halves with the wings attached. Roll each piece of duck in the salt and place it in a large stainless glass or earthen bowl. Sprinkle each piece of duck with a mixture of the shallots, herbs, and spices and scatter any remaining salt over the top. Cover loosely and refrigerate 24 hours. NOTE: This may be cut down to a few hours if it is to be eaten within a week or two.
• Rinse quickly, then wipe the pieces of duck to remove all the salt, herbs, spices, and liquid.
• Heat the strained fat in a deep, wide kettle. Add the duck, 1/2 cup of water, the halved garlic head, and enough rendered poultry or pork fat to cover. Bring the mixture to a boil. Lower heat and cook at a simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until the duck flesh can be easily pierced with a straw. Do not let the mixture boil.
• Remove the duck, drain and discard any loose bones. Strain the warmed fat. Put about 1 cup of warmed fat into each of the bowls or mason jars intended for storage of the confit and cool in order to congeal the fat.
• Arrange the duck pieces in the containers without compacting them. Strain the remaining fat, tepid but not hot, over the duck to cover. The pieces of duck must be completely submerged in the fat. Cover and chill until solid. Cover with a layer of melted lard. Cover tightly with a glass top or with plastic wrap and store in a cool place such as a cold cellar or the refrigerator. Leave to ripen at least 1 month. It keeps well for 6 months.
• To use the confit, set the jars or bowl in a warm oven. When the fat softens, remove pieces desired. Return jar or bowl to the refrigerator. Be sure all of the remaining pieces are covered with fat. The duck can be served at room temperature or warmed in an oven, then Sauteed to crisp the skin.

CONFIT DE CANARD

Steps:

• Rub the duck legs all over with the split garlic cloves and put them in a glass bowl with the salt, pepper, bay leaves, and thyme. Cover with a tea towel and refrigerate overnight or up to 48 hours, turning once.
• Heat the oven to 200 degrees F. Rinse the duck and pat dry with a towel. Set the legs in a baking dish and tuck in the garlic cloves. Pour over enough fat to cover them, place over heat and when you see the first bubble, set it on a rimmed baking sheet in the oven and bake uncovered until the meat is very tender and shrinks away from the bone, about 4 hours. Cool slightly in the fat, then carefully lift them out.
• While the confit cooks, soak 2 wooden skewers in a saucepan and boil 5 minutes to sterilize. Lay in the bottom of two sterilized glass loaf pans (breaking the sticks if needed). Lay on the duck legs and ladle over the fat, leaving any juices behind. Make sure they are well covered. Cover with foil or plastic wrap, and refrigerate a week to mellow.
• To cook, remove the pans from the fridge and set in simmering water about 20 minutes, so you can pull the legs out without breaking. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and lay the legs skin-side down with a little fat around them in a cast iron pan. Bake until hot, about 15 minutes. Remove and turn oven to broil. Turn legs skin-side up and broil to crispen skin, about 3 minutes.

CONFIT DE CANARD AUX HARICOTS (PRESERVED DUCK WITH BEANS)

Steps:

• Pick over the beans, if necessary, to remove any foreign particles. Put the beans in a kettle and add cold water to cover about one inch above the top of the beans. Bring to the boil and let simmer about two minutes. Drain. Return the beans to the kettle and add eight cups of water and salt to taste. Add the onion with the cloves, bay leaf, carrot, thyme and salt pork. Bring to the boil and let simmer one to one and onequarter hours or until beans are tender.
• Remove and reserve the salt pork, carrot and onion. Discard the cloves.
• Brown the duck pieces as indicated in the original recipe and set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat the duck fat in a saucepan and add the chopped onions. Cook, stirring, until wilted. Add the tomatoes and cook about 15 minutes.
• Add the tomato mixture to the beans. Cut the salt pork, carrot and whole onion into small cubes. Add this to the beans and tomatoes. Stir and cook about 10 minutes. Add the parsley.
• Serve the beans with the hot, preserved duck pieces.

PRESERVED DUCK (CONFIT DE CANARD)

Steps:

• two legs with thighs attached, two breast halves, two wings and neck.
• Trim away any peripheral fat from the duck and from the inside of the cavity, reserving it for rendering. In a large, shallow bowl layer the duck pieces, sprinkling them with the salt and pepper. Add the garlic, cloves, bay leaves and thyme. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 24 hours, turning the pieces occasionally.
• Rinse the pieces to remove the salt, drain and wipe dry with a paper towel. In a very large pot heat the goose fat or duck fat just enough to melt it and add the duck pieces, garlic and herbs. (Preferably, the pan should be large enough to hold the pieces in one layer. Use a copper pot if you have one; it will allow the duck to cook slowly and evenly.)
• Bring the fat almost to the boil, then quickly lower the heat to a gentle simmer and simmer slowly and evenly, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours. Do not allow the fat to boil or the meat will be fried, not gently cooked. After 1 1/2 hours pierce the duck meat with a metal skewer. If the juice flows clear, the duck is cooked. If it flows red continue cooking until the juice flows clear. The meat should be soft and not offer the least bit of resistance.
• Remove the duck pieces and arrange them in a large, round earthenware terrine, a large, wide-mouth canning jar or several jars. (If you will be using the confit right away or the next day, just cover and refrigerate). To store the confit for more than a day strain the fat through a very fine sieve over the duck pieces. There should be enough fat to fully cover them. If not, add additional goose fat or duck fat to cover. Cover the terrine with a lid or plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate (or store in a very cool cellar) for several weeks before using. The confit should keep for several months as long as it is well-covered with fat.
• When ready to serve, allow the confit to rest at room temperature for an hour, then lift as many pieces as you will need out of the fat.
• To serve at room temperature, brown as described above, then drain and allow to cool before serving. Cold duck is excellent with a green salad with a garlicky dressing.
• Broil the pieces or cook them in a very hot oven in a little of their own fat or pan-fry them in a little of their own fat until the skin is crisp and deep brown and the meat is heated through. Drain and serve.

CONFIT OF DUCK

Steps:

• The day before you want to make the dish, scatter half the salt, half the garlic and half of the herbs over the base of a small shallow dish. Lay the duck legs, skin-side up, on top, then scatter over the remaining salt, garlic and herbs. Cover the duck and refrigerate overnight. This can be done up to 2 days ahead.
• Pour the wine into a saucepan that will snugly fit the duck legs in a single layer. Brush the salt off the duck legs and place them, skin-side down, in the wine. Cover the pan with a lid and place over a medium heat. As soon as the wine starts to bubble, turn the heat down to the lowest setting and cook for 2 hours, checking occasionally that the liquid is just barely simmering. (If you own a heat diffuser, it would be good to use it here.) After 2 hours, the duck legs should be submerged in their own fat and the meat should feel incredibly tender when prodded. Leave to cool.
• The duck legs are now cooked and can be eaten immediately - or you can follow the next step if you like them crisp. If you are preparing ahead, pack the duck legs tightly into a plastic container or jar and pour over the fat, but not the liquid at the bottom of the pan. Cover and leave in the fridge for up to a month, or freeze for up to 3 months. The liquid you are left with makes a tasty gravy, which can be chilled or frozen until needed.
• To reheat and crisp up the duck legs, heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Remove the legs from the fat and place them, skin-side down, in an ovenproof frying pan. Roast for 30-40 mins, turning halfway through, until brown and crisp. Serve with the reheated gravy, a crisp salad and some crisp golden ptoatoes.

MICHAEL LEWIS'S CASSOULET DE CANARD

Steps:

• DAY 1 Act 1: Nasty Work
• Bring 5 quarts water to a boil in an 8-quart heavy pot. Boil beans, uncovered, 1 1/2 minutes, then turn off heat and let them soak 50 minutes.
• While beans soak, do all the really disgusting work with the meat. Put pork rind in a 3-quart saucepan three-fourths full of cold water and bring to a boil. Boil pork rind 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold running water, then do it again. (Sometimes you know it's ready because it grows nipples.) After draining, cut the truly repulsive boiled pork rind into pieces that are big enough to identify (about 2 inches), so you can fish them out before serving.
• Scrape off and discard fat from confit duck legs and shred meat (the more it shreds the better). [Editors' note: Those who have no problem with identifiable meat in their food might want to keep the shredding to a minimum.]
• Act 2: Slightly Less Nasty Work
• Put parsley stems, thyme, whole cloves, and 8 garlic cloves in cheesecloth and tie into a bundle to make a bouquet garni.
• First seasoning of beans: Add rind pieces, bacon halves, 1 cup onion, bouquet garni, and salt to beans. Simmer, covered, 1 1/4 hours, skimming regularly. Cool, uncovered.
• While beans simmer, brown mutton bones. Do this by heating goose fat in enameled cast-iron pot over moderate heat until it smokes, then cook mutton bones, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Set them aside on a plate. Drop remaining 2 cups onion into pot and brown that, too. This can take as long as 15 minutes. Stir regularly.
• Peel seed, and chop tomatoes.
• Act 3: Nasty Gets Nice
• Flavoring the meat: Add browned bones and shredded duck to onion. Add bay leaves, beef stock, tomatoes, remaining 4 garlic cloves, white wine, and pepper. Simmer, covered, 1 1/2 hours. Cool to room temperature,uncovered.
• Put pot with meat and pot with beans in refrigerator, covered, overnight.
• DAY 2 Act 1: Crescendo (1 hr)
• Poke holes in sausage with a fork and grill it slowly in a well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately low heat 20 minutes (to get the fat out). (Sausage should still be slightly undercooked on the inside when you're done.) Transfer to a cutting board and cool slightly. Slice into thin (1/4-inch) rounds.
• Remove and discard bones and bay leaves from meat pot. Remove duck with a slotted spoon and put on a plate. Reserve cooking liquid remaining in pot.
• Remove bacon from beans and cut into tiny, fat-free pieces. Put pieces on a plate and discard remaining bacon fat. Discard pork rind and bouquet garni from beans.
• Julia Child says: "Now is the time to drain the beans and dump them into the ample, leftover meat cooking juices." In my experience, there is nothing left to drain. What you are looking at, when you stare into the bean pot, is a fairly solid wall of beans, with some gluey goop in between. So, pour reserved meat cooking juices into bean pot. Bring to a simmer over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, and simmer 5 minutes, skimming any scum. Then turn off heat and let sit another 5 minutes.
• Act 2: Final Assembly
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Spread a layer of beans on bottom of enameled cast-iron pot. Layer half of sausage and bacon on top, then another layer of beans, then half of duck (and any mutton), then another layer of beans, et cetera, ending with a layer of beans. Then add enough remaining liquid from bean pot until beans are submerged. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and parsley.
• Bring the whole thing to a simmer, uncovered, over moderately low heat. Then stick it in oven 20 minutes. Break through bread crumbs in several places with a spoon, allowing the liquid to mess up the look of the thing. Then reduce heat to 350°F and leave it in another 40 minutes. Serve very hot.