Confit de canard – a recipe for homemade confit duck legs with tender meat and crispy skin. You probably know confit de canard from the big tins in the supermarket at Christmas time. But it is easy and really delicious to make the confit duck legs yourself. The fresh duck legs are cured in the fridge for about 24 hours with salt, sugar, garlic and herbs. Then they are cooked slowly in duck fat or lard over low heat. When the meat is completely tender, they are fried skin side down in a hot pan until crispy. You can also crisp them in the oven.
What is confit?
Confit is an old-fashioned cooking and preserving method, where the meat is first salted and then cooked slowly in its own fat. Once cooked, it can be kept covered in the fat for a very long time in the fridge. It is important that the meat is completely covered in fat, both when cooking and when storing it.
Confit de canard is perfect for Christmas Eve. Serve it with homemade red cabbage and potatoes fried in some of the duck fat. Also try my Danish roast duck or duck breast with orange sauce. Enjoy!
Confit de canard
Ingredients
Instructions
Pat the duck legs dry with kitchen paper and place them in a dish. Peel and crush the garlic and rub it into the duck. Rinse the rosemary and thyme thoroughly and pick off the leaves.
Mix salt, sugar and coarsely ground pepper in a small bowl. Rub half of the herbs and salt mixture into the duck, turn the legs over and rub in the rest. Cover the dish with cling film and put it in the fridge for about 24 hours.
Melt the fat in a pot. Remove the salt and herbs from the duck legs and place them in the fat. They must be covered. Cook the duck legs gently over low heat in the fat for about 2.5 hours, until the meat is completely tender. The fat should bubble gently. Make sure it doesn’t get too hot, as the duck legs must not start to fry.
Carefully lift the duck legs out of the fat with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Heat a frying pan and fry the legs skin side down for a couple of minutes until crispy. Then they are ready to serve.
**If you make more duck legs than you need, place them in a clean container. Let the fat cool a little, strain it and pour it over the duck legs. They must be completely covered, as the fat is what preserves them. Put a lid on and keep in the fridge. They keep for several weeks this way.
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