Confit Duck

Confit ‘anything’ is not a weeknight recipe. It's special, slow, but oh so rewarding. Our confit duck preparation takes days. The flavour depth depends on the marinade, so cook it for your next dinner party or date night; it’s sure to be a winner, winner ducky dinner.

You will need a roasting pan, sieve and bowl for this recipe

Ingredients

4 duck maryland

1 cup salt

1 cup sugar

1 cinnamon quill

2 star anise

1.5 litres duck fat

Confit garlic – see our recipe for confit garlic – this should be a fridge staple!

 

Method

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon quill, star anise in a bowl

Cover the duck in this mixture and leave in the fridge for two to three days – this will allow for a deep delicious flavour to penetrate the flesh

Prior to cooking, wash off the salt mix and pat dry with a paper towel

Place duck in a deep baking dish and cover completely with the duck fat and confit garlic then cover the dish with aluminium foil or a tight fitting lid

Place in oven on 140°C for 2.5 to 3 hours or until tender and the meat starting to fall from bone

Remove from oven and allow the duck to cool in the duck fat.  You can now either divide the confit legs up and freeze for later use – make sure you add duck fat to the container or refrigerate until required.

When reheating, simply add some of the duck fat to a skillet and gently warm the duck skin side down – gently is the operative word – you want beautifully crispy skin and warm duck.

It’d be a crime to waste all the duck fat, so strain or sieve it into a clean, lidded container and refrigerate it for next time. Save a few tablespoons for duck fat roasted potatoes. Who doesn’t love them?

Serve the duck with bitter leaves, or fresh peas (petit pois) and duck fat roasted potatoes. For a dinner party hit, serve also with a decadent jus - Bowles Veal Glaze is a knock out.