Confit refers to the process of slow cooking and storing food in fat. 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. The meat that has been through this cooking process is also called confit, as in duck leg confit or confit of goose.
Preserving Meat
We've been preserving food, including meats,since prehistoric times. Before refrigeration we lived in cycle with nature, preserving the bounty of the season. Some techniques that developed: smoking, curing, drying, and slow cooking.
With the confit technique,meats are cooked in fat for a long time, sometimes days, at a low temperature.Once cooked, the meat is placed in a jar and covered with the rendered fat. In the days before vacuum packing, confit meats were placed in crockery pots or jars filled with duck fat, then covered with pork fat, and stored in a cool cellar. This impenetrable top protected the confit throughout the long winter and on into the spring.
Confit in France
In Gascony, the Southwest region of France,you’ll still find many small jars filled with confit of all kinds stored in the cellars. Duck leg confit is a favorite in that region, and is a vital ingredient in the classic cassoulet. Because it is so tender, duck confit can be shredded and served over salad, in stews, or on bread. But confit can be made from any part of the bird. Legs, breasts, giblets, and even foie gras can be salted and simmered, then preserved in fat.
“A Gascon will fall to his knees for a good confit,” goes an old saying. And it’s true that confit meats will add a dimension to any dish in which they are used. Many feel that cassoulet cannot be made without some confit in it, and garbure, a regional stew, usually contains confit.
Preserving Vegetables
Another secret of Gascon cooking is garlic confit. The slow simmer in duck fat takes the punch out of garlic, rendering mellow and flavorful cloves that are delightful when spread onto bread or whipped into potatoes. They add flavor to any savory dish and can replace fresh garlic in many recipes.
A popular method of preserving summer’s bounty is tomato confit. In most cases, tomatoes are sun-dried (or slowly roasted in the oven), given a brief dip in boiling vinegar, packed into jars, and then topped with olive oil. While the tomatoes are not cooked in the oil, packing them in the oil still places them firmly in the confit camp. It’s an effective method for tomato preservation that’s been used in Europe for generations.
Confit trivia: When Henri IV, who hailed from Gascony, was king of France he sent for whole barrels of confit from home, since nobody in Paris made it!
FAQs
Confit has its roots in the cuisine of southwestern France, where it was originally used to preserve duck and goose meat. The method was particularly popular in the region of Gascony, where the abundant supply of ducks and geese made confit a common part of the local cuisine.
Is confit a healthy way of cooking? ›
Confit cooking is an innovative technique you can use to prepare meats at relatively low temperatures to get a delicious and healthy meal.
What does confit mean in cooking? ›
Confit refers to the process of slow cooking and storing food in fat. Confit is a French word that means "preserved." In the confit method, meats are cooked in fat for a long time at low temperatures.
What is the derivation of confit? ›
The word confit (pronounced "kon-FEE") derives from the French verb confire, which simply means to preserve. Traditionally, confit simply refers to any sort of preserved food, whether it's meat, fruit, or vegetables.
What does it mean to confit? ›
Confit (/kɒnfi/, French pronunciation: [kɔ̃fi]) (from the French word confire, literally "to preserve") is any type of food that is cooked slowly over a long period as a method of preservation.
What is the best meat to confit? ›
Go classic with duck confit
Duck confit is, of course, a French classic that brings you back to the origins of the process. The traditional duck confit recipe involves submerging salted duck legs in large amounts of duck fat and cooking them for about 2½ to 4 hours.
Can you use vegetable oil instead of olive oil for confit? ›
Though this garlic confit recipe calls for thyme and bay leaves, you can customize the flavor notes by swapping these out for other herbs or by omitting them altogether. We like the marriage of garlic with olive oil, but there's no reason not to try this with another neutral vegetable oil, such as grapeseed.
Who invented confit? ›
This method has been used for hundreds of years and its origin is claimed by the folks in the Gascony region of southwestern France. Preservation of food was created out of necessity. Prior to refrigeration, there needed to be a way to preserve meats. Families would put up enough confit to last through the winter.
What is the difference between saute and confit? ›
To Sauté, means to brown quickly in oil or fat. Stir frying is like sautéing. Confit is the term where you cook ingredients really, really slowly, ie. Confit of duck, potatoes or fish, usually cooked immersed in fat or oil.
Is sous vide the same as confit? ›
The main difference between confit vs. sous vide lies in how the food is heated on the cooktop. With confit, food is immersed and cooked at low temperatures in fat, oil or syrup. With the sous vide method, ingredients are sealed in a vacuum-sealed bag and cooked in hot water.
Use Low-Temperature Cooking: The key to safe garlic confit is to cook it at a low temperature. The oil should never reach a temperature below 250°F (121°C) to ensure that any potential botulinum spores are killed during the cooking process. If you follow the cooking instructions in this recipe, you will be alright.
Why is garlic confit so popular? ›
The process of preserving garlic is a good one because it renders garlic sweet and spreadable. Perfect for sandwiches, salads, stirring into pasta, etc. You name it, and confit garlic can make it better.
Can you reuse fat from confit? ›
You can reuse the fat for subsequent rounds of confit or other duck fat–related recipes. Just strain the fat into a clean container and pop it back in the fridge. Once the fat has chilled and solidified, you can separate it from the jellied duck confit juices that will have settled at the bottom of the container.
Is confit cooked in its own fat? ›
Confit is a type of cooking method that involves cooking food, usually meat, in its own fat. The word "confit" comes from the French word "confire", which means "to preserve", and this cooking method was originally used as a way to preserve food by sealing it in fat.
Is duck confit high in cholesterol? ›
Duck fat and meat is lower in cholesterol and higher in monounsaturated fat than butter, diary fat or beef fat. It can be substituted in cooking with tasty results and a better nutritional profile.
Is confit the same as fat poaching? ›
The difference between the two methods is that confiting requires more time and less oil than oil-poaching. However, the more exposure the fat has to the fish, the more infused it will become.
