Description
Duck confit only sounds fancy… it’s actually quite a humble dish and such a delicious way to practice nose-to-tail eating. All you need is a little bit of patience!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar (omit for SCD)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- pinch of ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- duck legs, wings, neck, and other meaty trimmings from a whole bird (reserve breasts to make this recipe)
- 3 bay leaves, crumbled
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 medium shallot, sliced
- 2–3 cups duck fat
Instructions
- Combine salt, sugar, thyme, cloves, and cinnamon. Place duck pieces in a baking dish and sprinkle the combined seasonings to coat all sides evenly and rub to distribute. Tuck the crumbled bay leaves, garlic, and shallot on, under, and around the duck pieces.
- Cover the baking dish and refrigerate for 24-48 hours. Halfway through that time, remove from refrigerator and use your hands to redistribute the solids and rub in the seasonings for even flavor.
- Preheat oven to 225 °F. Warm the duck fat in a saucepan on the stove until it is melted.
- Gently rinse seasoning off the duck pieces and pat dry (it’s OK if some of the spices remain, but you want to remove some of the saltiness and the solids).
- Place duck pieces in a baking dish or ovenproof skillet that is just large enough for the to fit snuggly in a single layer. Pour the melted duck fat over so that all pieces are completely submerged in the fat.
- Place in oven and cook slowly at a very slow simmer for 4 hours.
- Allow the duck to cool in the pan, then strain them out of the fat and shred the meat off the bones. Serve immediately, or store submerged in the cooking oil in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
- Prep Time: 48 hours
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: French