According to gourmets, French cuisine has long been considered a real classic in the art of cooking. If there is a desire to try dishes of different countries, many believe that you should start with it. The best option is a duck confit. The dish is considered one of the simplest. If desired, even a beginner can handle it. About cooking secrets and ways of serving - later in the article.
What is duck confit?
In French cuisine there is a huge amount of traditional recipes, which subsequently spread and became quite popular in many countries of the world. They are distinguished by special sophistication and excellent taste, and most importantly, many of them do not require special skill, it is enough to follow the instructions accurately and improvise a little.
Special attention should be paid to dishes prepared using the confit method, that is, multi-stage, prolonged languishing with your own fat over low heat. That is how the confit duck recipe came into being, which many housewives took note of.
If we turn to history, then we started using the confit method for cooking various dishes a very long time ago. Fat is an excellent preservative that allows you to keep food for a long time. This property was often used in those days when refrigerators did not exist. And since duck fat hardens even at room temperature, it was he who became the most popular method of preventing food spoilage.
Required Ingredients
We offer the recipe for confit duck (photo later in the article), which can be easily prepared at home and added to the list of favorite dishes.
All secrets will be indicated in stages below, but first you need to prepare all the necessary ingredients. For duck confit, you will definitely need to purchase:
- a pound of duck fat;
- 4 fat legs of a duck;
- a couple of tablespoons of coarse sea salt;
- 2 shallots;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- a small bunch of fresh thyme;
- a bunch of rosemary;
- half a teaspoon of allspice;
- olive oil if necessary.
Step by step cooking
To prepare confit duck with a prescription at home, the following sequence of actions should be followed:
- The first step is to prepare the fat. It can be purchased at the store, but if you can’t find it, you will have to heat it yourself. To do this, you need to take all the fattest parts of the duck carcass and put them to simmer over low heat for several hours. As it cooks, the fat will gradually separate, so it needs to be periodically drained into a separate bowl.
- When the right amount of fat is already there, special attention should be paid to the preparation of the legs. They need to be pickled. To do this, first wash them, dry with a paper towel, grate with salt, put in a deep, closed bowl and put in the refrigerator for a couple of days so that the meat "accumulates" a sufficient amount of salt.
- After marinating, the excess salt that has not been absorbed must be cleaned.
- Now we proceed to the direct preparation of the confit from the duck. To do this, take a pan with a thick bottom and walls and pour all the fat. Add seasonings, chopped shallots and garlic cloves to it. The legs must be immersed in fat so that it completely covers them. We put on a slow fire and cook for 5 - 6 hours.
If desired, the duck can be cooked in the oven. At the same time, the temperature should not exceed 150 degrees, otherwise the meat will cook quickly and confit will not work.
Serve with orange sauce, it goes well with duck. If you like this combination, you can try duck confit with oranges. There are many ways to cook. Consider one of them.
Duck with oranges
- 5 - 6 legs of a duck (you need to use the whole leg, with the thigh);
- orange zest (with 1 pc.);
- ground black pepper - 1 tsp;
- salt - 2 tsp (it is better to use the sea);
- brandy (orange liquor) - 50 ml;
- fresh orange - 150 ml;
- a set of spices (bay leaf - 2 pcs., thyme - 4 pcs., parsley, rosemary - 1 pc.);
- pink pepper - 0.5 tsp. (if desired);
- juniper berries - 5 pcs.;
- onion (choose larger).
Mix pepper with salt and orange zest. With this mixture we rub the duck legs and spread in a wide dish in one layer.
Pour brandy with orange juice. cover with cling film or a lid and send to the refrigerator to marinate for a day, two can be. That the meat is well pickled, it must be periodically turned over.
We remove the duck legs from the refrigerator an hour before cooking, clean from excess spices and moisture with a paper towel.
We spread in one layer the outer side down on a well-heated wide pan. Keep on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, melting fat. Do not cover with a lid.
We cut the onion in half rings, chop the juniper berries with a knife, mix with spices and add to the duck, turning it over. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for one and a half to two hours at a temperature of 175 degrees.
Then remove the foil and leave for another 40 minutes in the oven.
From the finished duck you need to drain the excess fat.
Serving to the table
Duck confit goes well with potatoes. You can make mashed potatoes or just bake in duck fat. Other seasonal vegetables, baked or grilled, are also suitable.
From the drinks to the duck, it is best to serve red wine, preferably dry, but also semi-sweet. The drink will best reveal the taste and aroma of the dish.
Shelf life
As mentioned earlier, the confit method for cooking has long been used to increase the shelf life of products. If the dish was cooked according to the rules, languished for a long time on low heat, then the shelf life in the refrigerator is up to 3 months.
The meat can be rolled into a jar of fat, which will further increase the shelf life, up to one year. But freezing the duck is not recommended. In this case, after defrosting, the meat will cease to be tender, many taste qualities will be lost.
Useful Tips
Here are some useful tips on how to use the confit duck:
- The dish can be eaten even in cold form, simply spreading the tender meat on the bread, like a paste. If you add a little green, it will only improve the taste. Well, if there is no desire to eat a cold duck, you can warm it in an ordinary pan to a slightly golden crust.
- The fat remaining after cooking the duck is better not to pour out. It is great for preparing other delicious dishes. Often it is used instead of cooking oil for frying. The food becomes more high-calorie, but the taste is simply amazing.
- It is very important that during cooking the legs are completely covered with fat, because the recipe requires them to languish. Then the meat acquires an extraordinary tenderness, it melts in the mouth. If the required amount of duck fat is not there, the disadvantage can be added with olive oil or pork fat.
- A properly cooked confit duck (photo above) must be roasted, with a delicious golden crust. If not, remove the leg from the pan and bake in the oven at 170 degrees for about fifteen minutes. Or just fry in a pan until you get the desired result.
- If you want to experiment with tastes, then you can serve the duck with a side dish of fruits or berries. It is best to choose acidic varieties, as duck meat is a bit sweet. The dish will sparkle with new tastes. In addition, a fatty calorie product prepared in this way will become easier to digest. The best garnish option would be apples or lingonberries stewed in wine as a spicy addition to the new dish of your menu.
Conclusion
As you can see, with the necessary ingredients, making confit from ducks is quite simple. Of course, you have to spend a lot of time, but the result is worth it. Stunning and refined taste will be appreciated by many gourmets. By the way, you can cook a lot of duck legs and eat them gradually, because you can store this product for a long time. Confit duck is a great option for the main course on the table for the holidays.