Confit Duck Legs

This recipe is for the traditional French preparation of duck confit where duck legs are cured in salt, then rinsed and slowly cooked at a low temperature in duck fat or other lard.

Course Main Course

Cuisine French

Keyword duck, duck fat, duck legs

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 2 30

Servings

Calories 378kcal

Equipment

FoodSaver FM2000 vacuum sealer

Ingredients

8 large duck legs, about 7 pounds
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
6 sprigs fresh thyme
6 dried bay leaves, broken into pieces
6 pounds duck fat or lard, melted

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Rub each duck leg with the salt and add them to a bowl. Sprinkle with the remaining salt as well as the peppercorns, thyme and bay leaves. Cover and refrigerate, turning occasionally for 6 to 12 hours.
Thoroughly rinse the duck legs and pat dry with paper towels. Working in batches in a cold large sauté pan, lay the duck legs skin-side down. Lightly fry over low heat until the pieces are lightly browned on both sides, about 15 minutes total. Repeat with the remaining duck legs.
Heat oven to 300ºF (150ºC). Transfer the duck legs to a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot a secure lid and arrange in a layer and cover with the melted duck fat or lard (the legs should be completely covered). Seal tightly with a lid and cook until the duck has rendered all of it’s fat and the meat is almost falling off the bone, about 2 to 2 ½ hours.
Remove the legs from the pan and let cool completely. Let the duck fat cool to almost room temperature. Add the duck legs in batches of two to a vacuum seal bag with about 3 tablespoons of the fat.
Vacuum seal and secure the bags and store in the refrigerator for up to several weeks or in the freezer for several months. Reserve the remaining duck fat for another use or next time you make duck confit.
To reheat the legs, scrape off the majority of the fat and cook, skin-side down in a large non-stick skillet over low heat, until the skin is crisp and the duck is heated, about 15 minutes.

Nutrition