It takes some time to make duck confit properly, but the work is definitely worth it. This mouthwatering duck delight will quickly become a favorite. I get whole ducks and remove the bones from the breasts and legs/wings. Keep the duck skin on at all times! This dish is simple to double if you’re hosting a dinner party. Chef Uriah of the Columbian Cafe in Astoria, Oregon taught me how to use this technique. The legs/wings become confit, while the breasts are pan-roasted Muscovy duck (see my recipe). Roasting a Muscovy duck entire is never a good idea since the breast turns out dry, musty, and bitter.
| Prep Time: | 35 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs 8 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 day 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 day 3 hrs 13 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 shallot, minced
- ¼ cup evaporated cane sugar
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 sprigs thyme, chopped
- 4 duck legs with thighs
- 4 duck wings, trimmed
- 4 cups duck fat
Instructions
- Combine shallot, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic, and thyme in a small bowl. Rub all over duck legs, thighs, and wings.
- Arrange duck parts skin side-up in a dish and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until the seasoning is well absorbed, 24 to 48 hours.
- Rinse off the seasoning and pat the duck dry. Arrange duck in a single layer in a 9×13-inch baking pan. Let duck stand until it reaches room temperature, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C).
- Melt duck fat in a saucepan over medium heat until bubbles begin to form, 6 to 8 minutes. Pour duck fat over the room-temperature duck.
- Bake duck in the preheated oven until tender and the juices run clear, 2 to 3 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 135 degrees F (57 degrees C). 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.
- Regular white sugar can be substituted for the cane sugar.
- If not serving right away, let duck cool completely after baking and store in its cooking fat. Fish it out of the fat and gently warm the duck in a pan prior to crisping the skin.
- Never serve wobbly-skinned confit; the crispy duck skin makes the dish absolute heaven! You can substitute the grill pan with a stainless or cast iron pan, but not a nonstick pan.
- Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of duck fat. The actual amount of duck fat consumed will vary.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 554 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 138 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 24 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Sodium | 3103 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 47 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Ok, so it takes a bit of work to make–it’s not hard by any means, just takes a while. But it’s definitely delicious! The flavor is just fantastic! I halved the recipe and it worked great. Took 3 hours to cook. I also don’t have a grill pan, so I just crisped the skin in a regular skillet. The crispy skin is to die for! It is pretty rich, so a little goes a long way! Thank you for the recipe!