Before my first attempt at confit duck a few years ago, I read up extensively on the technique.
Given the revered tones it was always afforded by food writers, I’d assumed that it was a complicated, detailed process. I tried to wrap my brain around the amount of salt needed to cure the meat and how that would affect the keeping time, whether it was better to cook at a higher temp for a shorter time, or a lower one for longer, how different spices would affect the dish, and so forth.
What I’ve since come to realise is this: confit is a doddle.
It’s actually a remarkably easy process that simply involves cooking something (usually meat) submerged in a melted fat at a low temperature for a long time. The very gentle cooking produces tender, delicious results.
In days past, the French would confit duck legs in its own fat, then store them buried deeply under yet more fat, in jars on their pantry shelves. If you’re planning to do that, then the salting part of the process is very important to preserving the meat. Plus you’re on your own, I’ve never been game to try that in our hot Australian climate.
Even if you plan to store the confit for any length of time in the fridge, the salting of the meats is still important to the keeping time. But as I now store all my confit in the freezer or eat it within a few days, I now only salt for flavour. Duck fat is the ideal medium for cooking in, but other fats will work as well, and the filtered fat can be reused several times.
I confit all sorts of meats on a regular basis. The other day I uncovered a packet of mystery chicken fillets in the freezer (a freebie from Haverick Meats as part of their weekly promotion) and a small piece of belly pork. I rubbed them with a little salt and let them rest for about half an hour. The salt was then rinsed off and the patted-dry pieces were submerged under a combination of garlicky Portuguese lard and duck fat (photo above). Garlic cloves, a few sprigs of thyme and a couple of bay leaves were tossed in for good measure.
After three hours at 120C (no fan), the meat was tender and flavoursome…
We crisped the skin up in a frying pan and served it with rice and salad for dinner, but it was so rich that we only managed a small piece each. The remainder was frozen in vac-sealed bags for later use…
Having confit in the freezer lets us pull together dinner at a moment’s notice. We cook down a large quantity of garden greens and combine it with a little of the meat to form a pasta sauce. It’s so flavoursome that just 150g is enough for dinner for four – we use it sparingly, as we would prosciutto or guanciale…
All sorts of meats can be cooked in this way, even cheaper cuts like this pork hock – I deboned it first, keeping the skin…
After cooking, I discarded the skin then divided the meat into three bags for the freezer. The fat was filtered for reuse…
I found these Pepes duck supremes (breast and wing cut) at a butcher in Flemington for just $11.50/kg…
I put them in the oven to cook slowly for ten hours overnight at 90C, following this Maggie Beer recipe. The pieces were rubbed with a seasoned salt and left in the fridge for four hours, then rinsed and patted dry before being submerged in a combination of all the leftover fats from the previous confits…
The following morning they were falling off the bone tender…
I stripped all the meat from the skin and bones…
…vacuum sealed two portions and stashed them in the freezer for future meals…
…and combined the remainder with a little finely chopped rosemary fried in a spoonful of the fat. The meat was pressed into small dishes…
…and covered with a sheen of fat. They’ll live in the fridge for a week or so, waiting to be eaten cold on crackers or toast, or stirred through a pasta…
The leftover liquid was strained through muslin and left in the fridge to set. I ended up with a litre and a half of fat and two small containers of strongly flavoured gelatinous stock…
When cold, the fat sets to a snowy white. I stored half of it in the fridge and the rest in the freezer…
The skin and bones weren’t wasted – they were simmered in water for a couple of hours more…
…resulting in nearly a litre of extra duck stock (lightly flavoured), which will be used in a future risotto…
So…don’t be put off by all the recipes that make confit sound like a complicated process – it really doesn’t have to be. It’s a great way to get maximum value from meat and it allows us to fill our freezer with ingredients that can be quickly pulled together for delicious mid-week meals. And as the meat is so rich, a little goes a very long way!
PS. Perhaps the hardest part of confit is getting together enough fat to cover the meat. It’s possible, but expensive, to buy duck fat for this purpose. We’ve collected ours gradually from our duck roasts, but I’ve read that it’s also possible to confit in olive oil – I’ve never tried it though. Would love to know how you go if you do!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I’ve done salmon Confit, but again its relatively expensive, given the submerging of almon in good oil.
You make everything look simple Celia! BTW, I have young Celia busy at work today on a half-half wholemeal white sourdough. Lets see if she likes the mix!
Francesca, hope my namesake is behaving well for you! I baked two giant loaves today – I was half asleep and ending up trying to bake a double batch all at once. Thankfully the end result was edible.. hahaha
She behaved very nicely on the wholemeal mix, despite having been ignored all Sunday during Oliver the Dolliver’s birthday party. The end result was sublime. One for me, one for the freezer.
You make this process sound so easy Celia. I’ve always been put off confit by all the fat and salt….. BTW the nuts are seriously good!!
Sandra, hooray for the nuts, I’m so glad you enjoyed them! My boys have been demolishing them here. My confit isn’t very salty, and it does stretch a long way – I’ve made a big batch now, so probably won’t do it again for months!
I think I need a vacuum pack gadget. That’s a lot of confit and I love how you explore with other cuts of meat other than duck. I’ve only made confit duck before and I have a Thai-based recipe and a more traditional Jamie Oliver recipe. Both are amazing and like you say, it’s rich and a little goes a long way xx
Charlie, my vac sealer was a cheapie $69 one and it’s lasted for years!
Glad you mentioned about other meats as I have issues with duck. Might give some a go.
Maree, it needs a low oven, so you might need to wait a bit – not sure how it would work in the wood fired stove! :)
I love confit – haven’t done it for a while,but you have inspired me:)
Wonderful – hope you have as much fun with it as I did.. :)
I loove duck and this looks so absolutely delish! I had never thought of confiting duck myself-for one hubby doesnt eat duck! and for another I thought it would be too hard but this looks easy enough and sublime!
Sherry, as I said, if you’re going to make it and eat it soon, then you really only need to salt it enough to get the flavour you want. The duck meat makes a fabulous pasta ragu as well!
salt doesnt worry me celia! i love it. oh yum duck ragu.. if only hubby liked duck.:(
‘Cause I SO respect what you teach us, I shall try the method your way [and actually shall fully expect to enjoy!!] That has never been the point!!!! It is a balance of plusses and minuses and perchance the time has come to think of terms of the ‘fun’ plusses!!!! . . . shall think of the flavours . . . thank you for being there, Celia!!!!
Ah, you’re always so kind, thanks Eha! :)
G’day! Enjoyed your post that brightened my day Celia and I love your confit and love a vac pac hand held sealer system I have makes sealing anything so easy to do! Wish I could come and try some right now!
Cheers! Joanne
Jo, isn’t the vac sealer just the best thing? We use ours all the time!
i’m so impressed with your versatility, Celia. I love the way nothing is wasted. I can just taste the duck. Yum!
Debra, thank you! It’s way to good to waste even a bit of it! :)
I’d never have thought of getting stock and fat from the confit process. I’ve done salmon in olive oil before and it’s delicious and cooking times are much quicker. Confit pork belly though? Will have to give that a go.
Your lovely hubby will thank you for it! :) I wonder if we could confit pork trotters? I did read a recipe recently for confit pig’s ears – haven’t managed that yet.. hahaha
I love confits and rillettes! The latter is meat/fish cooked in fat and made into a rustic pâté. As you say, a doddle, but time consuming. I love how you got the most out of the meat, rendering the fat and boiling the last bits down for fat and stock. Must think of doing this once the cold weather sets in. By the way, these techniques are a good way of dealing with rabbit which otherwise is a bit boney. Fish (tuna, salmon…etc.) tends to be simmered in olive oil to make confit and I have even seen garlic confit in olive oil. I guess it is a similar technique to the Tuscan recipe, Tonno Toscano – salted and spiced pork slow cooked in olive oil. I think the technique and name comes from the traditional way tuna (tonno) is cooked.
Debi, rabbit seems like a popular meat over there, and I’ve never tried confit fish – must give it a go. Forgive my bad punning brain, but I read.. “rabbit which otherwise is a bit bunny..” :)
A very interesting post, Celia, and, as always, thoroughly researched information from you. Thanks lovely.
Cheers Lizzy! Confit is great fun! Looks like you’re having a ball, love xxx
Fascinating read – I love your explorations of different techniques and working with what you have to hand. I will have to try one day, though knowing me it might take me years to get round to it xx
And you know me, I love to experiment! Pete isn’t a huge fan of eating the confit straight, but he does love using it as a “preserved” meat – it’s so flavourful! :)
I make confits and rillettes with rabbit. I have a box that’s been sitting in the fridge for months and should probably be eaten. Perhaps I shall just lift the lid to see if it’s OK.
I’m starting to pick up on a theme here, Anne. Rabbits, rabbits and more rabbits? :D
We do duck confit each year for our Bastille Day cassoulet – very rich and utterly delicious. A lovely post, Celia.
Hi Chris! Thank you, and I can just imagine it would be the perfect Bastille Day dish!
Hi Celia, Anne sent me a recipe for rabbit confit ages ago but I haven’t got around to it… maybe one day.
First you have to catch a rabbit.. :)
Another wonderful post! You make it look so simple.
It really is, so long as you’re not trying to preserve it for long term storage! I like waking in the morning to the scents of slow cooked duck – Pete is less enamored..hahaha
What a fascinating post, Celia. You sure do know your confit! I recently watched a cooking show and they suggested using a neutral oil, like canola, to make confit. Seeing that it can be frozen makes confit a possibility for me. Still, I don’t know where I’d get enough duck fat; I cook duck so rarely. This last time resulted in 4 meals, one of which was risotto, like you mentioned. What little duck fat I have I’m guarding like it was gold. :)
John, it’s a big issue! If you can bring yourself to turn the oven on for just a small serve, you could find a small container and just confit maybe a single duck leg? For the adventure more than anything else! :) Michael Ruhlman (I think he’s a US food personality?) confits in olive oil – link at the bottom of the post.. xx
what a great idea to confit and freeze! I have done confir tomatoes in olive oil but not anything else. I also want to try using butter :)
Confit tomatoes! That’s a brilliant idea Tandy, thanks!
Great tips, Celia! With you around, nothing is put to waste :) Winner!!!
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Thanks Julie! This really was too good to waste any of it! :)
Can’t say all that meat looked appealing(l am vegetarian after all) but l so like how you try different things in the kitchen and are so willing to share your knowledge and recipes. You are a very generous person Celia and we, you’re readers, are all richer for it:)
Sorry hon, it really WAS a meat-filled post this time! And you are very kind, thank you! :)
Everything looks and sounds so good and I love that there is a use for everything! In Spain we confit a lot in pork lard, and little slices of pork loin treated in this way are served as tapas with some olives and a glass of dry sherry. In winter thicker slices of pork loin are served up in a Plato de Los Montes (A Mountain Dish) with chips, fried eggs, chorizo and maybe some black pudding to keep out the winter chills! Fresh (sfot) cheese is preserved in olive oil in earthenware containers and keeps for many months – it’s not heated though.
Tanya, the pork lard we used gave the meat a lovely flavour, and this lovely pot of confit fat in my fridge just keeps growing and becoming more complex. Plato de Los Montes sounds very filling and warming! :)
Thanks for the confit lesson, and I love that you never waste anything in your kitchen :)
Thanks Danielle! I’m always so pleased when I get to use every last bit of an ingredient! :)
I love all these amazing tips Celia!!! They are fantastic and allow us to eat amazingly tasty food that is not expensive when one cook makes several dishes!!! Thanks for Sharing! Liz x
Thanks Liz! It’s not expensive at all if you can gradually build up a supply of lard or duck fat – only if you have to buy it! :) The duck portions worked out at about $5 each, but they go SO far – we get an entire pasta/risotto dinner for four for under $10!
That’s fantastic… If only more people knew :-)
Such deliciousness indeed Celia! I adore how you save the extra fat and stock as well as to not waste anything. I do confit salmon in olive oil, and garlic too. Have you tried doing confit in a slow cooker? It’s a great alternative to leaving the oven free xox
Becca, I no longer own a slow cooker – I gave it to my mother! Might need to ask for it back.. :)
Oh my goodness, these look so delicious! I recently bought some, but I really should start doing it myself! Great recipe:-)
It’s very easy to do! The Maggie Beer recipe is a very nice place to start! :)
Nowhere but a post by Fig Jam and Lime Cordial could make me as delighted to see the title “A weekend of Confit” :). I first heard of confit when watching John Burton Race traipse around the french countryside recreating whatever took his fancy. As something slow cooked, confit is an amazing way to braise (?) something to tender deliciousness without having to resort to high heats that destroy nutrients. Once again I am delighted by your frugality coupled with your gourmet spirit Celia. It is possible to confit in olive oil and that’s how we vegans do it, especially with bulbs of garlic. I dare say fennel would make a really delicious confit as well (whole bulbs).
Fran, you are so sweet, thank you! I have fennel bulbs in the garden, might have to give your suggestion a go! :)
If you use good quality olive oil it would be really delicious. I wonder what confit chillies would be like? The fat would have a wonderful heat, if you added garlic to it as well it would be amazing stuff!
I confit garlic in a light olive oil, which I then use to make my mayonnaise. I use both the garlic and the oil, and my free range eggs from my girls. I could never go back to bought mayo after making my own. I use light olive oil because I found the extra virgin was too strong in taste for the mayo.
You do make it sound so easy Celia & now I know what to do with all that excess fat. I have no idea why it never dawned on me to freeze it – instead I’ve got my ‘fat can’ (no jokes there please :)) under the sink where it sits until it goes out to the dump. I tell you, that crisped up chicken surely looks wonderful.
I looked into confit duck last year and then life with the olds got busy and complicated and I never followed through. I really want to do this – it looks Soooo good.
[…] in French Farmhouse Cookbook and from Celia’s detailed instructions in her earlier post, A Weekend of Confit. It’s a brilliant post that demystifies the seemingly complex art of making […]