Duck Confit: What is It? How Do You Make It?

We know one thing about duck confit:

It's delicious.

But we need to plead a bit of ignorance every time we order it at a restaurant:

We know it will taste good. But we don't exactly know just what duck confit actually is.

For those also wondering whether this is the name of a dish or a technique, we’ve searched the Internet for a few answers.

Most simply put, duck confit is a yummy method of preparing meat; it originated in pre-fridge France as a way to preserve duck in its own fat.

Because dangerous bacteria cannot thrive in dense fat, confit didn't have to be chilled back in the day. Hence, the advantage.

(Please do refrigerate your duck confit these days, however, because we are not now living in medieval France.)

Most duck confit recipes use the legs and the thighs of the birds due to these being the fattest portions.

Many chefs would recommend you let the legs sit at least 12 hours in fresh herbs in order to bring as much flavor as possible into the meat and the fat.

Once the confit is finished, you can store it in the fridge for up to six months.

Another major plus? The leftover duck fat can be re-used for frying potatoes, eggs or plantains.

Okay.

So now that you have a better idea of what duck confit is... how can you go about making it at home?

Gourmet Magazine is here with the answer!