Tonys Duck Confit Recipes

DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• Season the duck legs with kosher salt on both sides. Place them in a large resealable bag. Add the lemon zest and slices, garlic, allspice berries, juniper berries and fresh thyme. Seal, and massage the duck legs through the bag until all of the ingredients are evenly dispersed. Refrigerate for 24 hours to marinate.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (93 degrees C).
• Remove the duck legs from the marinade. Rinse them off and pat dry. Place the rest of the contents of the bag into the bottom of an oven safe dish just large enough to hold the legs in a single layer, preferably enameled cast iron or glass. Arrange the duck legs skin side down in the dish. Pour the duck fat into a small saucepan and warm over low heat until liquid. Pour over the duck legs until they are completely covered. If the legs are not covered, you can top it off with some olive oil. As the legs cook, more fat will be rendered from the skin. Cover the dish with a lid.
• Bake for 6 to 7 hours in the preheated oven, until the meat pulls easily from the bone. Remove the duck legs from the fat and place in a sealable container. You may leave the bones in or remove them. Make sure there is room at the top of the container. Strain all of the solids from the remaining fat and discard the solids. Pour the fat over the duck in the container, covering completely. Seal and allow to come to room temperature. Once the jar is cool, place in the refrigerator and let the duck meat cure for 2 months. Reserve any leftover duck fat for other uses.

DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• Combine salt, sage, lavender, allspice, juniper berries, coriander, canela or cinnamon and pepper. Spread over the duck legs, and allow to cure, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 3 days.
• After removing the duck legs from the refrigerator, brush off the excess spices, and place the duck in an oven-proof pottery or ceramic casserole that holds them snugly. If necessary, separate the legs from the thighs. Add the chili powder and garlic.
• Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Warm the duck fat in a saucepan, and pour enough into the casserole to cover the duck legs. Place in the oven, and bake about 3 hours, until the duck is very tender. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 10 days in the casserole.

ANNE'S CONFIT OF DUCK LEGS

Steps:

• Rub duck legs with 1 tablespoon salt, and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with pepper and remaining salt. Add thyme and bay leaves. Refrigerate covered, turning duck occasionally, for 10 to 12 hours, depending on how strong a salt cure is desired.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Rinse duck under cool running water, and pat dry. In a skillet over medium heat, place duck skin side down; cook until fat renders and skin browns, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Transfer meat and reduced fat to a small casserole, placing duck skin side up in one layer. Add enough lard to cover. Cover casserole with a lid, and place it in the oven. Cook until duck has rendered all of its fat and the meat is falling from the bone, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• To preserve duck, pour a layer of fat from the casserole into the bottom of a small terrine. Pack duck on top, and strain the remaining fat from the casserole over the meat. Add additional melted lard, if necessary to cover. Be sure there are no air bubbles in the fat, or the duck will not be properly preserved. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 week to allow flavors to mellow.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place terrine in warm water to melt fat. Remove duck from fat; wiping off excess fat and reserving it for other uses (it makes a wonderful substitute for butter in savory dishes). Place duck in a shallow baking dish, and bake for 5 minutes. Pour off fat, and add to reserved fat. Continue baking until duck is very hot and the skin is crisp, 10 to 15 minutes more.
• Divide greens between four plates. Drizzle with vinaigrette, and top each bed of greens with a crispy duck leg.

TONY'S DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• Day One:.
• Rub the duck legs fairly generously with sea salt, place in the shallow dish, cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight. At all times, keep your work area clean and your ingredients free of contamination - meaning don't allow any other food, like bread crumbs or scraps, to get into your duck, duck fat or confit, as they will make an otherwise nearly nonperishable preparation suddenly perishable.
• Day Two:.
• Preheat the oven to 375F/190°C Render (melt) the duck fat in the saucepan until clear. After seasoning with the black pepper (not too much), place the duck legs in the clean, ovenproof casserole. Nestle the thyme, rosemary and garlic in with it, and pour the duck fat over the legs to just cover. Cover the dish with foil and put in the oven. Cook for about an hour, or until the skin at the "ankle" of each leg pulls away from the "knuckle." The meat should be tender.
• Allow to cool and then store as is in the refrigerator, sealed under the fat. When you need the confit, you can either warm the whole dish, in which case removing the legs will be easy, or dig them out of the cold fat and scrape off the excess. I highly recommend the former. A nice touch at this point is to twist out the thighbone from the cold confit. Just place one hand on the drumstick, pinioning the leg to the table, and with the other hand, twist out the thighbone, plucking it from the flesh without mangling the thigh meat. Think of someone you hate when you do it.