Duck, Duck, Goose

Here's something new - a guest blog entry! Before Christmas, my sister Lori made duck confit for a dinner party and then she wrote about it. When it comes to duck confit, I've never made it from scratch, but I have opened my cans of the stuff while living in France. I brought two larges cans home in 1998 and we just enjoyed them a couple years ago. They were still very good but Alan was, you might say, put off by the whole idea of them. Where is his sense of adventure??


Duck, Duck, Goose
By Lori Elstone

It all started when I saw a jar of red currant jelly. The good stuff - made with the fruit's natural pectin. "Isn't that the traditional glaze for duck confit?" I wondered to myself. I imagined plump, rich duck legs smeared with jelly. Delicious.

I was immediately on a mission and purchased 6 duck legs from a local supplier. As luck would have it, I had a stash of duck fat in the freezer in case of an emergency. (Okay, potatoes fried in duck fat don't ever constitute an emergency, but that's beside the point.) Fat is the key component in making confit - a centuries-old process perfected in France. It consists of salt-curing a piece of meat and then poaching in it's own fat. In the days before refrigeration, this was an essential technique for preserving duck, goose, and pork.

When I got home, I was surprised to see the skin of the duck still had a few feathers sticking out. It gave new meaning to the term 'goose-bumps'. I plucked out the remaining quills, doing my best to keep the skin from tearing. Next I rubbed the salt, sugar and herbs onto the duck legs, packed them tightly into a glass dish and began planning the rest of the dinner.

The next evening, while the duck was poaching in the oven, I prepared the traditional, comforting side dishes of braised red cabbage and celery root mashed potatoes. They became the perfect compliments to the salty richness of the duck. It was a wonderful meal. The red currant jelly? It later made it's way into a batch of walnut rugelach. But I'll save that story for another time.

Duck Confit
6 duck legs
1 1/2 c. coarse sea salt
1/4 c. granulated sugar
6-8 fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves, broken into pieces
1 t. coarsely cracked black pepper
1 t. crushed juniper berries (optional)
1 litre duck fat

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a stainless steel bowl, pulling the thyme leaves off the stalks. Dredge the duck legs in the salt mixture until well coated and transfer to a 9x13 pan. Discard remaining salt mixture. Refrigerate for 24 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Melt the duck fat in a saucepan. Rinse the duck legs gently under cold running water and pat dry with paper towel. Place the duck in an oven-proof dish so that it is packed snugly. Pour the fat over the duck. If it does not completely submerge the duck, the addition of vegetable oil is acceptable. Cover the container with a lid or tin foil and cook for at least 3 hours, checking periodically. The duck will be done when it effortlessly comes away from the bone.

3. Duck confit will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge, 6-8 weeks in the freezer, and 3 months or longer when submerged in the cooking fat and refrigerated.