Duck Confit

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon whole juniper berries, toasted and ground in a spice mill
• 4 skin-on bone-in duck legs, duck legs and thighs, attached, Frenched
• 4 cups rendered duck fat or lard
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 2 (1/4-inch) round slices of lemon
• 4 garlic cloves

Preparation:

Trim fat from legs and thighs, leaving skin intact over meat, but removing excess. In a bowl, combine duck with sea salt, and juniper berries.

Rub the mixture all over the duck to cover completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours and up to 2 days.

Remove the duck legs from the refrigerator and rinse and pat dry. Using a paring knife, make small pricks all over the skin. Melt the duck fat in an Enameled Cast-Iron 7-1/4-Quart (Dutch) Oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 200 degrees F. Add the duck legs, thyme, lemon, bay leaves and garlic and cook, maintaining a temperature of 190 degrees F to 210 degrees F, until the duck legs are very tender and there is no resistance when pulling the bones, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (The fat should never go much above 220 degrees F during the cooking time.)

Remove the pot from the heat and let the duck cool in the fat to room temperature. You can either eat the duck as it or transfer it to a storage container, cover with the strained fat, and chill until ready to use.

To serve the duck, pull a leg piece out of the fat, being careful not to pull out the bone and leave the meat behind. Add the duck legs to a preheated grill skin side down, to crisp up and heat through before serving, for 6 to 8 minutes. (Alternatively, heat a dry frying pan, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat and place the leg in the pan, skin side down, about 6 minutes. Or, you can brown and crisp the duck, skin side up, under a broiler for about 8 minutes.) I served the Duck Confit with Grilled Dick Breast,  Wild Mushroom Potato Gratin  and Roasted Carrots.

Cooks’ Note: The duck fat can be strained, cooled and reused.

Tools Used:

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Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.

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