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Easy Duck Confit

By Melissa Clark

Easy Duck Confit
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
3½ hours, plus 24 hours' refrigeration
Rating
4(691)
Comments
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The name of this recipe may seem laughable. Isn’t confit meant to be an arduous, messy, not-really-easy thing to make at home? Doesn’t it involve large quantities of hot liquid fat and even larger reserves of patience? Surely chefs have a trick to getting those duck legs to be so rich, so luxurious? This version is not traditional, and it is still a time investment for home cooks (the legs are cured for 24 hours, and then cooked for about 3 ½ hours more). But by allowing the duck legs to cook in their own rendered fat, rather than adding quarts of extra fat to the pan, you have a recipe that is far less of a pain to both prepare and clean up. And the method is truly simple, with results that are just as outrageously good. The duck lasts for at least 5 days in the refrigerator, and should be reheated in a 350-oven until warm. Then run the legs under the broiler until crisp.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1½teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ½teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1bay leaf, crumbled
  • 8moulard duck legs (about 4 pounds total), rinsed and patted dry but not trimmed
  • Roasted potatoes, noodles or sturdy salad greens for serving
  • Bitter salad greens such as arugula, chicory and/or radicchio, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

1905 calories; 178 grams fat; 60 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 85 grams monounsaturated fat; 23 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 53 grams protein; 995 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaf pieces. Sprinkle duck generously with mixture. Place duck legs in a pan in one layer. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.

  2. Step 2

    The next day, heat oven to 325 degrees.Place duck legs, fat side down, in a large ovenproof skillet, with legs fitting snugly in a single layer (you may have to use two skillets or cook them in batches). Heat duck legs over medium-high heat until fat starts to render. When there is about ¼ inch of rendered fat in pan, about 20 minutes, flip duck legs, cover pan with foil, and place it in oven. If you have used two pans, transfer duck and fat to a roasting pan, cover with foil and place in oven.

  3. Step 3

    Roast legs for 2 hours, then remove foil and continue roasting until duck is golden brown, about 1 hour more. Remove duck from fat; reserve fat for other uses.

  4. Step 4

    Serve duck hot or warm, over roasted potatoes or noodles or sturdy salad greens.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
691 user ratings
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Comments

Robert

Or, you can throw the duck legs and salt/spices in a crockpot for 6-8 hours. Take out the duck and strain the fat. When you want to eat the duck, brown it in a saute pan to desired doneness. You will have perfect confit, and lot's of duck fat to fry potatoes. Have you ever fried eggs in duck fat? Too delicious for words.

JF

With these temperatures, you are for sure going to completely dry out any duck. Confit is a method called poeler, which happens at very low temperatures. There's no way this recipe will ever meet the standards of any french home cook...

Nancy

This is one of my favorite recipes...with minor changes. I roast the duck for less time, probably 1 1/2 hours with the cover and a half hour without. I also add a tiny bit of honey to each duck leg 10 minutes before the total cooking is done. This was how I had it in Paris therefore, voila, how I wanted it at home.

Ivy

Correct to lessen cooking time. I made this in France, so degrees Celsius 160. I wanted to stay true to the recipe with my first try, but I could see that the duck really only needed a final 30 minutes without cover, not a full hour. I made this for one, so it might take longer for a more numerous dinner party…. Delicious and *easy*. I paired it with a rice pilaf (golden raisins, shallot, salted butter, pepitos, broken angel hair pasta) and also paired with a Saumur Champigny wine. Absolute perfection. WOW!

Rathpex

I cooked this and it was excellent. My slight differences were as follows: The pan I kept my duck in for 24hours prior was the same pan I used to cook in. It took my legs ~25mins on setting 5.5/10 on induction cooktop. After reading the comments, I too did 1.5hrs in oven covered. When I took the cover off (after 1.5hrs) I spooned 2 tablespoons of the rendered duck fat over the ducks legs. I placed back in the over for 30 mins to bake uncovered. I served with a pomegranate sauce. Delicious

Stacey

Can you do this with chicken legs and some added duck fat?

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