What is confit? Confit is a French word that means “preserved,” and refers to a method of slow cooking food – and storing it – in fat. Duck confit is a common ingredient in Gascony, the Southwest region of France, where you’ll find many small jars filled with confit of all kinds stored in the cellars. It was developed long before refrigeration to tenderize a tough cut and to store it over the winter. Both the process and the meat that has been through this process are called confit. Duck leg confit is a signature D’Artagnan product, and a vital ingredient in our cassoulet recipe kit.
It’s very easy to make your own confit, but it is time-consuming. You will need plenty of duck fat to bathe the duck legs - or rabbit legs, as in our recipe. Conquer confit at home, or go the easy route and buy our duck leg confit or our chicken leg confit.
How to Cook with Duck Confit
There’s no end of ways to eat duck confit. The classic way to enjoy it is to simply warm it, either skin-side down in a pan with duck fat, or put it under the broiler for a few minutes until the meat is heated through and the skin is super crispy. Confit will add a dimension to just about any dish, but here are a few ideas for enjoying duck leg confit.
Perfect Pasta
Choose your favorite pasta, and add a serving of shredded duck confit on top, or toss it with pasta for duck confit carbonara. Add a fried duck egg on top – with a runny yolk – for the ultimate pasta dish.
Best Biscuits and Gravy
A comfort food classic becomes even more delicious with shredded duck confit. Pour thick gravy over flaky biscuits and duck confit for a truly delightful experience.
Duck Confit in Pie
Swap out chicken in a pot pie, or beef in shepherd’s pie, and use duck instead. Nothing says comfort like duck confit in a pie. Ourduck confit shepherd’s pierecipe is a fall and winter favorite.
Potatoes and Duck
Grated or sliced potatoes browned with duck fat in a pan are the perfect nest for shredded duck confit. Another way to enjoy duck confit with potatoes is our easy sheet pan recipe with green beans and fingerlings.
Duck Sandwiches
Shredded duck confit can serve as the center of attraction in many types of sandwiches; try it with your favorite BBQ sauce or in our Vietnamese-style duck confit banh mi recipe.
Duck Confit with Beans
Of course, duck confit and white Tarbais beans are a natural pairing, best experienced in cassoulet. But another favorite isduck confit with lentils, as this recipe attests. Get French green lentils, often called lentilles du Puy, if you can find them. Serve over creamed sorrel or spinach.
Duck Nachos and Tacos
Use shredded duck confit instead of ground beef and layer into nachos for your next game-day treat. Many chefs offer duck confit tacos, which are easy and fun to cook at home.
Duck Salad
Crisped in the oven or on a grill, shredded duck confit is perfect on a salad. Our recipe for crispy duck salad with Thai chile and lime dressing is bright and refreshing. Or try an Ariane favorite: duck salad in the style of Gascony.
Duck Confit with Greens
Steam spinach or sauté Swiss chard in duck fat, and stir with shredded duck confit until well heated.
Duck Confit with Cabbage
For a savory meal, place duck confit in a pot with shredded cabbage, white wine, and chicken broth and bake it all for about an hour. Garbure is a classic dish of Southwestern France and is the epitome of comfort food.
Duck Chili
This quick andeasy chili recipe uses three types of duck charcuterie, a little beer, and plenty of fresh chile peppers for great depth of flavor and a hearty texture.
FAQs
Cooking with Duck Confit
- How to Cook with Duck Confit. There's no end of ways to eat duck confit. ...
- Perfect Pasta. ...
- Best Biscuits and Gravy. ...
- Duck Confit in Pie. ...
- Potatoes and Duck. ...
- Duck Sandwiches. ...
- Duck Confit with Beans. ...
- Duck Nachos and Tacos.
Cooking Instructions
- If frozen, thaw duck leg confit in refrigerator overnight.
- Remove from bag.
- Place duck legs on a pan.
- Cook in a 375 degree F preheated oven for 25-35 minutes.
- Can place under the broiler for additional browning.
The most traditional way Duck Confit is served in France is on a bed of lentils. The earthy lentils are a perfect match for the rich and gamey duck. This is a French Lentil Ragout – yes that's right, I said a ragout! It's mouthwateringly good, and a worthy serving companion to Duck Confit.
What is the confit method of cooking? ›
Traditionally, confit simply refers to any sort of preserved food, whether it's meat, fruit, or vegetables. This preservation takes place by slowly cooking food in a liquid that is inhospitable to bacterial growth. With fruits, this is generally a very concentrated sugar syrup;* with meats and vegetables, a pure fat.
What is the best pairing for duck confit? ›
Pinot Noir
Most wine discussions and forums agree Pinot Noir is the ultimate pairing for Duck Confit. It's a light-to-medium-bodied red wine with delicate fruit flavours and a moderate level of tannins.
How long can you keep duck confit in the fridge? ›
The preserved duck can be stored in the fridge for 6 months or more. When required, it is freed from its suspended animation in the solid fat, and given a quick, hot blast of cooking that crisps the skin.
Is duck confit good for you? ›
Duck confit is a good option for anyone monitoring their weight because it is low in calories. High quantities of oleic acid found in duck fat have been demonstrated to decrease cholesterol and lessen the risk of heart disease. Duck fat also has antioxidants that can help shield your cells from harm.
What does duck confit mean in French? ›
Confit is a French word that means "preserved." In the confit method, meats are cooked in fat for a long time at low temperatures. This renders tough cuts like duck legs more tender, and when stored in duck fat in a cool place, they last all winter.
How to get crispy skin on duck confit? ›
Pour off the duck fat. Brush a grill pan with some of the used duck fat and heat over medium-high heat until smoking. Add baked duck; cook in batches until skin is crispy, about 90 seconds per side.
Can you overcook duck confit? ›
It sounds like a reliable and mistake-proofed cooking method — that low and slow approach. But it is possible to overcook duck confit.
Take your time! It's much better to cook the Confit more slowly than to rush the process and end up with tough meat. In most cases, it will take at least four hours for the duck to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F or until its flesh can easily be pulled away from the bone using two forks.
What do you do with confit? ›
The French word “confit” literally means to preserve. It's a time-honored tradition used by home cooks and chefs to salt and slowly cook an ingredient in fat. A confit is a technique traditionally used to preserve meats by cooking them in their own fat. The best-known example is duck confit.
What is special about duck confit? ›
Duck confit is a classic French preparation that produces silky, tender meat that can be preserved (what "confit" means in French) for a long period of time, thanks to the protective, air-blocking seal formed by the rendered fat that the duck is submerged and cooked in.
Is confit duck healthy? ›
We also stumbled across a lovely website called Cooking Gorgeous whoes duck fat roasted potatoes recipe looked mouth-wateringly good! At The Good Food Network, One thing to note about duck confit is that the fat is surprisingly healthy because it is low in saturated fats.
Is duck confit served hot or cold? ›
Keeping duck confit on hand in your refrigerator makes for a quick and easy meal. It can be served warm with crisped skin as described in this recipe, served warm or cold as a salad with greens or lentils, or used as an ingredient in another recipe, such a cassoulet.
