I LOVE duck confit. I think I start a lot of my posts with those first two words. But it's true, I love a lot of food. One of these is duck confit. If I see it on a menu, it's very hard for me to choose something else. I mean, it's just so delicious. I know some of you are probably reading this thinking "I could never eat duck, I just think of the cute ducks at the local pond". Well, I am here to tell you that you're missing out. Duck is amazing.
I know it's not just me who does that with menus. I have a friend who will bypass everything else on the menu if she sees moules. Not my preferred choice but she absolutely loves them. The Mr, his choice is the humble chicken burger. I know, I don't really get it either... Again, each to their own.
I've always been afraid of cooking duck. I mean, if you overcook duck breast it is really tough and can taste unpleasantly gamey. However, done just right it's soft and succulent. A good confit leg meat will melt in your mouth. You'll have a knife and fork but it's the weirdest sensation of never having to pull or cut. It's almost like you only have to touch the meat on the plate and it falls apart. Have I caught your attention yet?
You can make duck confit at home. Of course you can. Don't shake your head at me! If I can do it, everyone can do it. A recipe would definitely help.
Duck Confit
6 duck legs
7 cloves
3 star anise
7 cloves of garlic, pierced
350ml sunflower oil
Salt
Preheat an oven to 100 degrees C. Put all the duck legs in an oven dish. Sprinkle salt over the top of them. Scatter the spices and garlic around the dish and add the oil. Cover the dish with foil and place in the oven for 3 hours.
When you're ready to serve, take the duck legs out of the oven and heat a frying pan on the hob. Colour and crispen the duck by frying it for a couple of minutes on each side. Sprinkle each side with salt before you fry it. That, genuinely, is it. Serve it with roast potatoes and veg with a nice, rich jus or I had rice and green veg fried lightly with some lemon juice. Beautiful. Leftovers? Duck pancakes.