With fresh, sweet cherries, this cherry cake recipe makes a delightful homemade Polish cake. The entire family will love this summer treat when served warm with vanilla ice cream!
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 6 hrs |
| Additional Time: | 1 day |
| Total Time: | 1 day 6 hrs 15 mins |
| Servings: | 2 |
Ingredients
- 2 uncooked Peking duck legs
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 lemon, zested and thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
- 1 tablespoon juniper berries
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cups rendered duck fat
Instructions
- Season duck legs with kosher salt on both sides. Place in a large resealable bag. Add lemon zest and slices, garlic, allspice berries, juniper berries, and fresh thyme. Seal the bag; massage duck legs through the bag until all of the ingredients are evenly dispersed. Marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
- Remove duck legs from the marinade. Rinse them off and pat dry. Place remaining marinade ingredients in the bag in the an oven-safe dish, preferably enameled cast iron or glass, just large enough to hold the legs in a single layer. Arrange legs skin-side down in the dish.
- Pour duck fat into a small saucepan and warm over low heat until liquid. Pour over legs until they are completely covered. If the legs are not covered, add olive oil until they are. As the legs cook, more fat will be rendered from the skin. Cover the dish with a lid.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the meat pulls easily from the bones, 6 to 7 hours.
- Remove legs from fat and place in a sealable container. You may leave the bones in or remove them. Make sure there is room at the top of the container. Strain all of the solids from the remaining fat and discard the solids. Pour the fat over the duck until it is covered completely. Seal and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cool, refrigerate and let duck meat cure for 2 months. Reserve any leftover duck fat for other uses.
- The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of duck fat. The actual amount consumed will vary.
Reviews
I used whole duck, not just the legs. It produced A LOT of fat, so use a deep dish and a tray below to catch spill over.
Hands down one of the most flavorful marinades ever. Even though this is for duck, I had leftover spices mixed up, so I thawed some ground pork and it made amazing sausage. I adapted this recipe to my sous vide setup by cooking at 175F for 24 hours. It may have been possible to do it at a higher temp for a shorter time, but it was silky and tender. Also, only needed a spoonful of duck fat for each duck quarter. It still produced a fair amount of rendered duck fat which I strained and am using for duck fat potatoes to go with the duck. YUM YUM YUM.
Hard recipe, but so worth it!
I really enjoyed this. I didn’t have the berries this called for so I seasoned my duck a little differently. Next time I will try it with the recommend seasonings.
There is nothing I would change about this amazing dish. Duck might just be my #1 favourite food. It was amazing. I will definitely do this recipe every year.
I used two whole ducks and cut them up to confit the breasts too. Fortunately it was a rainy Saturday so I had the whole day, and kitchen to myself. Thank you honey. Make sure you buy fresh juniper berries. It really makes a difference. I would also slightly brown the duck pieces, skin side only, before putting in the fat and baking. The caramel color makes it more appetizing and keeps the skin on each piece better. This dish is worth the work if you have a little french brandy on hand too!
Awesome.
Really a great recipe, wonderful with roasted garlis paste in the marinade rather than raw garlic.yum!
Duck confit may be my favorite food, and this recipe did not disappoint. I made it for a large dinner party, and everyone cleaned their plate, including those who had never eaten duck before. However, this recipe leaves out a crucial step, which this the final frying before serving – warm the jar until the fat melts so you can remove the meat, pat it dry, then put it in a frying pan over moderately high heat until the meat is crispy and golden. I also made this recipe with turkey thighs, and it was a big hit – people who hated dark meat before couldn’t get enough – I served it with Harry and David’s cranberry relish.
This recipe is better than Cats!