Duck Confit

Brought to you by:

Gressingham

4 serving

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 3 hrs 30 mins

Serves: 4

A classic French duck dish. Delicious any time of the year. Serve with mash and red wine sauce or shred over a salad.

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients

2 large Gressingham Duck Legs
1 kg duck fat
6 tbsp coarse salt
1 sprig rosemary
1 garlic bulb , cloves separated, skins on and flattered with knife
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 orange , the zest of
2 bay leaves

Recipe tips / Prepare ahead

You will need to start the confit process at least a day before.

Method

Step 1

Scatter one fifth of the salt, herbs and garlic in the base of a deep tray or dish big enough to hold the duck legs. Place the legs skin side down into the dish and sprinkle the rest of the salt, herbs and garlic over the legs and add the peppercorns, bay leaf and orange zest.

Step 2

Cover and place in the fridge for at least 12 hours.

Step 3

When you are ready to cook, remove the duck legs from the fridge, scrape off the herbs and salt, rinse under cold water and pat dry.

Step 4

Pre heat the oven to 125oC, 105oC Fan, Gas Mark ½

Step 5

Place a large saucepan or casserole dish onto a low heat on the hob and melt the duck fat. Place the duck legs in and bring to a gentle simmer. The fat should cover the duck legs, if not add more.

Step 6

Cover with a lid or foil and place into the oven. Cook for 2½ to 3 hours until tender. Test if the meat is ready by piercing with a skewer, it should go through the meat easily - if not return to the oven for another 15 mins and try again.

Step 7

When they are ready, take out of the oven and allow to cool, take the legs out of the fat while still a little warm.

Step 8

At this stage you can put the legs into a container, pour over some of the duck fat, cover and store in the fridge for up to a month.

Step 9

When you are ready to cook the duck legs, remove from the container, scrape off any excess fat and place into a roasting tray skin side up.

Step 10

Pre heat you oven to 200oC, 180oC Fan, Gas Mark 6. Roast for approx 30 minutes until the duck is warm through and the skin is crispy. To help speed this process you can place under a grill for the last couple of minutes.

Step 11

There are several options to serve. A traditional take would be with a rich red wine sauce, mash and braised red cabbage or puy lentils but you could quite easily shred and serve as part of a salad.