Confit de Canard

RECIPE WAYNE GOOD | IMAGES ASHLEE DECAIRES

I have just returned from a very overdue visit to Europe, taking in France of course, as well as Spain and Portugal.

One of my all-time favourite things to eat in France, other than foie gras, is confit de canard, or twice cooked duck. Available here in cans from Vetro Hamilton, and very good too, it is actually very easy to prepare your own. It does, however, require a process of three days from beginning to consuming.

Confit is made using the leg/thigh and wings; however, I use the leg/thigh, also known as the Maryland. This is also available from Vetro or La Cave.

Confit de canard is an extremely old way of preparing and preserving duck for the winter in France. The duck was prepared as I am going to explain, then it was placed into large pottery jars, sealed with duck fat and placed into the cellar for the winter months.

Confit De Canard

6 duck legs (available from Vetro)

1 tbsp salt

2 tsp herbes de Provence (available from Vetro) freshly ground pepper

Day 1: Mix together the salt, herbes de Provence and a good grinding of pepper, then sprinkle all over the duck legs. Place the duck legs into a ceramic dish, cover and place into the fridge for 24 hours.

Day 2: Preheat the oven to 150°C fan bake.

Remove the duck from the fridge and place it into a cast iron Dutch oven or a good heavy covered oven dish. Cook for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the duck is very tender. Once tender, allow to cool at room temperature, then place into the fridge overnight.