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Confit of Duck
Confit of Duck is a traditional French recipe for preparing a duck for storing it in its own fat so that it can be used as the base for other dishes. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic French version of Confit of Duck.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
360 minutes
Total Time:
380 minutes
Serves:
6–8
Rating: 
Tags : Fowl RecipesFrench Recipes
A classic French dish and a way of preparing the duck several days before you need to serve.
Ingredients:
1 large duck (about 1.6kg)
3 tbsp good sea salt
4
bay leaves
several sprigs of thyme
750g duck fat
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Cut the duck into four pieces and remove the backbone and the wing-tips (save or freeze these to make a stock if desired). Place the duck pieces in a shallow glass or ceramic dish and liberally rub the salt into them. Grind plenty of black pepper over them then tuck the bay leaves and thyme under the skin and/or inside the cavities of the duck pieces. Put in a cool place and leave for at least six hours (the longer you leave them the more pronounced the flavours will be).
Pre-heat an oven to 150°C (150°C Fan/300°F/Gas Mark 2) then wipe the excess salt off the duck pieces (saving the bay leaves and thyme) and arrange them snugly in a casserole dish. Place this on a low hob and allow the pieces to colour slightly on all sides (turning as needed). Add the duck fat and make sure that the duck pieces are completely covered. Add several twists of pepper along with the salvaged bay and thyme, then place the lid on and put the casserole dish in the oven. Leave to roast slowly for about 100 minutes then take out of the oven and allow to cool. If the duck is completely covered it can be kept in a cool place for several days.
To finally prepare the dish pre-heat your oven to 200°C (180°C Fan/400°F/Gas Mark 6) remove the excess fat from the duck and wipe off most (but not all) fat from the duck pieces. Place the duck pieces on a baking tray and roast in the oven for between 15 and 20 minutes, until the skin has crisped. You can also shallow-fry the duck if desired, though oven baking tends to give a better, crisper, result.
Serve with chilli marmalade as a dipping sauce.
