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Meat that has been confited, no matter the cut, can be used in many ways. It’s delicious on its own, with some bread and mustard, as a kind of canapé. But it also makes a powerful main course. It goes beautifully with lean acidic components, which is why it’s so often paired with salads. It’s so tender that you can shred it and use it as a stuffing. And it makes a fantastic supporting player, to garnish a lean main course, for example. The Scallops with Lamb Sausage and Beans would also go well with most confits—lamb, duck, or pork.

At the restaurant we use duck fat and lard for confiting, but there’s no reason you can’t confit in olive oil (and you will have some really delicious olive oil for drizzling when you’re finished).

The first step is a one-day cure. I’m using duck here, but all meats go through pretty much the same steps. The only thing that differs is the cure recipe. For duck I use salt, sugar, cinnamon, coriander, paprika, bay leaves, garlic, and shallot; but you can tailor the seasoning to suit your taste. Add more sweet spices such as allspice and nutmeg, or make it spicy with dried chilies.

After the cure, the meat is rinsed and patted dry, submerged in the fat, and popped in a low oven, 200°F, for 8 to 10 hours. The meat is then removed from the oven, and when it’s cool enough, it’s refrigerated. And that’s it. The hardest part of the method is not eating this fantastic meat as soon as it’s out of the oven! But I think it really deserves to be left to “ripen,” as it’s often called, for at least five days. Or longer. If the meat is properly stored and completely submerged there’s no reason you can’t keep a confit refrigerated for several months.

DUCK CONFIT

Duck is readily available and rich tasting, so that’s my choice here. Duck fat is very flavorful so that’s the best fat to use, though you can use lard or even olive oil (but solid fat works as a more efficient preservative). Duck fat can be found in gourmet stores, online, and at Whole Foods.

Feature duck confit on the bone with crispy skin over a salad. Or you can cook it with beans (it’s a main ingredient in cassoulet, the French legume stew). Or pull it off the bone and use it as you wish, on spicy greens, or as a filling for ravioli, pierogies, or corn crêpes.

Serves 8

8 duck legs and thighs

3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted and crushed (see Symon Says)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 minced shallot

4 bay leaves, crumbled

1 quart (4 cups) duck fat, melted

Rinse the duck legs and thighs and pat dry. Transfer to a 2-gallon resealable plastic bag.

Mix together the salt, sugar, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, garlic, shallot, and bay leaves. Coat the legs and thighs all over with the mixture. Close the bag and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours, flipping it once a day.

Preheat the oven to 200°F.

Remove the legs and thighs from the bag, rinse thoroughly, and pat dry. Place in a 4-quart Dutch oven or other suitable pot and cover with the fat. Put the pot in the oven and cook for 8 to 10 hours. Remove from the oven and allow the duck to cool in the fat. Refrigerate in the fat until ready to use, at least 1 month.

Humility

Charcuterie is a craft that takes our most humble products and turns them into exquisite dishes. Clearly there is value in being humble—and lessons to be learned when you are not. When I was asked recently what the worst moment in my career has been, I didn’t have to think long. When the broiler blew up in my face. That was the low point.

I wasn’t even supposed to be cooking, just consulting. But when the restaurant’s two cooks pulled a knife on me, I had to fire them. You can’t really let that one slide. So, now, 1993, I was chef of this miserable little restaurant on Cleveland’s West Side—a debt-ridden sinking ship with an owner who didn’t know what she was doing, no cooks,