Duck Confit

Two Legs, enough for two people in Cassoulet
From L'Academie de Cuisine class taken 2002-03-13


A "fresh" duck must be kept no colder than 24F, and will exude some
internal liquid when thawed. Since the Confit process dehydrates it
further, this is all right, as would be using frozen duck.

Confit can be made of other meats including pork loin (in lard) or
fish which get rubbery when overcooked (including shellfish, but not
flakey fish).

1		Duck, "fresh" or frozen
		Salt, course, sea
		Garlic
		Pepper
		Duck fat
1/4	C	Stock or water


Pull leg away from body, cut through skin, through oyster, then PULL
the leg off; cutting through the flesh wastes it.
Remove and save the fat.

Cure:

Put course sea salt in a soup plate big enough for the legs, lay
leg skin-side down; cover with more salt, generous amount o garlic, a
pinch of thyme, and pepper. 

Top with the other leg, skin down with seasonings in the center, then
top with more salt. 

Cover tightly with film.
Refrigerate 24 hours.
About 1 Tbs liquid will be rendered. 

Confit:

Heat duck fat with about 1/4 Cup stock or water to 185F.
Add legs; make sure there's enough fat to cover them.
Simmer 2 hours in a 350F oven, slow bubbles. 
The fat must not exceed 185F.


Fat:

Grind the saved duckfat and render in a slow oven.
The fat of one duck is not enough to confit two legs.
After the confit is done, allow the sediment to settle in the fat,
strain the clear fat into the bucket-o-fat and keep in freezer.
The fat with sediment is highly seasoned and can be used for other needs.
If the fat stays below about 200F, it can be reused somewhat indefinitely.
Do not use fat from roasting duck, as it's been over 200F.


$Id: LAdC_duck_confit.txt,v 1.1 2002/03/15 20:27:22 chris Exp $