Classic Duck Confit

Before starting this Duck Confit recipe, make sure you have organised all the necessary ingredients.

Cut the raw duck, keep the legs...

... and trim the fat excess with a knife.

Rub the legs with coarse salt...

... on all sides.

Leave them to macerate in coarse salt for 24 hours in the fridge...

... in a dish covered with cling film.

In the meantime, finely mince the trimmed fat.

Place the minced fat in a saucepan...

... and melt over very low heat.

The fat should melt very slowly.

Sift the melted fat, using a chinois with metal mesh or a sieve. Press the solids with a ladle in order to extract a maximum of fat.

Set aside in the fridge until the following day. The sieved fat will be used to cook the duck legs.

The following day, melt the sieved fat on very low heat. Remove the salt from the duck legs and rinse them thoroughly. To ensure the duck legs are not over-salted, you can also soak them in water for 2 or 3 hours (the water needs to be changed every hour).

Then, absorb the water excess with paper towel.

Immerse the legs in the melted fat at a temperature of 70-80°C. Cook for 2 hours. Cooking must be slow and steady. The use of a digital thermometer is highly recommended to monitor the temperature.

Two hours later, check if the legs are cooked through by inserting a fork. If there is no resistance when you insert the fork, then the legs are cooked.

Transfer the legs to a flat bottom pastry bowl.

Sift the fat, using a chinois with metal mesh or a sieve, and pour over the confit legs. Leave the legs to cool in the fat.

Before serving: Place the legs in a non-stick frying pan, side with the skin facing down.

Cover with a lid and cook at medium heat. Halfway through, tilt the pan over a recipient while holding the legs with the lid in order to get rid of as much fat as possible.

Flip the legs.

When the confit is hot and brown, it is ready to serve.