• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

6. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature in the pot, then refrigerate; be sure the duck is completely submerged in the fat. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to a month.

7. To serve the confit, remove it from the fridge several hours ahead to allow the fat to soften. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F./220 degrees C.

8. Remove the legs from the fat. Place them in a baking pan or on a baking sheet, and roast until the meat is warmed through and the skin is crispy, 15 to 20 minutes. Or gently sauté them to crisp the skin, then finish in the oven.

Yield: 6 servings

TO RENDER FAT

1 pound duck or goose skin and fat, scraps of pork fat, or suet

1. Combine the fat and 1⁄4 cup/60 milliliters water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and set it over very low heat, uncovered, for several hours to render. The fat will liquefy and the water will evaporate, leaving pure fat. Don’t let the fat come to a boil or turn brown, or it will taste harsh.

2. Strain the fat through a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Let cool, then store covered in the refrigerator. The golden brown skin—cracklings—remaining in the cheesecloth can be saved to use as a flavoring for braised cabbage or sautéed potatoes.

Yield: 1 cup/250 milliliters

DUCK CONFIT WITH STAR ANISE AND GINGER

This cure will give the duck a distinctive seasoning and demonstrate the range of flavors that can be brought to a piece of duck. However, the seasoning of orange, anise, ginger, and scallions is subtle; confit should not bring potpourri to mind when you eat it.

6 Pekin (Long Island) duck legs, about 5 pounds/2.25 kilograms

11⁄2 ounces/40 grams kosher salt (3 tablespoons)

2 large star anise, ground to a powder in a spice grinder

1⁄4 teaspoon/1 gram ground cinnamon

3 scallions, white and pale green parts only, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon/10 grams minced fresh ginger

Grated zest of 1 orange

4 black peppercorns, cracked beneath a small heavy pan or side of a knife

2 to 4 cups/500 to 1000 milliliters rendered duck fat or lard (see page 260) or a combination

1. Sprinkle the duck all over with the salt. Distribute the remaining ingredients evenly on the duck, cover, refrigerate overnight; or for up to 48 hours.

2. Rinse the duck well, wiping off all the seasonings, and proceed as directed in the recipe for Duck Confit with Clove (page 259), starting with step 4.

Yield: 6 servings

GOOSE CONFIT

This is a peppery-savory cure that goes especially well with goose, though you could certainly use it for duck too. There’s quite a bit more meat than on a duck, which is why goose is commonly prepared as confit. The abundant meat also makes goose a good choice for rillettes (to transform a confit into rillettes, see page 266.) The fat, which will take on the seasonings of the goose, can be reused several more times, or until it becomes too salty; it can be frozen for up to 4 months, it is also fantastic for frying potatoes.

Don’t hesitate to ask the butcher to prepare the goose for you. Order a fresh goose and ask that it be cut into four (bone-in) pieces: two leg-thighs, two breasts.

1 goose, about 12 pounds/5.5 kilograms

31⁄2 ounces/90 grams kosher salt (7 tablespoons)

4 bay leaves

8 garlic cloves, crushed

1 bunch fresh thyme

6 allspice berries

3 tablespoons/30 grams black peppercorns

4 whole cloves

3 quarts/3 liters rendered goose fat or lard or a combination (see page 260)

1. Cut the goose into 4 pieces, 2 breast halves and 2 leg-thighs, trim the loose fat and reserve all the fat.

2. Combine all the remaining ingredients except the goose fat or lard in a spice mill and pulverize. Rub the mixture over the goose pieces, place them in a nonreactive pan, and refrigerate, covered, for 2 days.

3. Preheat the oven to 180 to 200 degrees F./82 to 93 degrees C.

4. Rinse the goose pieces under cold water, wiping off the seasonings, and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Submerge the