Best Confit Duck Legs Recipe
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Fatty, tender and deliciously moreish confit duck legs are a French cuisine classic. We show you how to prepare them with an earthy beetroot purée and rainbow carrots for a perfectly seasonal meal.
It's All About the Duck
At 25 grams of fat per 100 grams, duck is one of the fattiest game birds in North America. It’s known for its high linoleic acid content, a fatty acid typically only present in plant oils. Scientists have long since disputed how healthy the concentration of linoleic acid in duck fat really is; however, it is widely considered to be good for the heart in moderation.
What’s more, duck is high in calories, a good source of vitamin B, and filled with minerals such as selenium, phosphorus, and iron. Due to its myoglobin content and categorization as poultry, duck has come to be classified as white meat.
What Are Confit Duck Legs?
Confit is a French method of food preservation that involves slowly cooking food in a liquid that inhibits bacterial growth. Fruits can also be “confited” in concentrated sugar syrup.
You only need two ingredients for this recipe: duck legs and salt. Typically when you confit duck, you use pre-rendered duck fat that you can buy at the store. However, this recipe doesn’t require any extra ingredients. Adding spices such as garlic, pepper, lemons, and dried chilies is also a fantastic extra touch.
Start by poking holes in the skin of the duck. The layer of fat that we want to render is just underneath the skin. Make sure not to poke deep holes into the actual meat. Season the legs generously with salt and pepper (and any extra spices), transfer them to a resealable bag, and cure in the fridge overnight.
Preheat your oven to 250ºF. Lay your duck legs skin-side down in a Dutch oven—if you don’t have one, you can also cover a skillet with aluminium foil. Add a couple of tablespoons of water, a quartered lemon, half a bulb of garlic, and some thyme sprigs. Close the lid and place it in the oven for two hours.
Once two hours have passed, take the confit out of the oven and turn over the duck legs. Place the lid back on the baking dish and return it to the oven for another two hours.
Remove the legs from the oven and turn the temperature up to 450ºF. Transfer the duck legs from the Dutch oven onto a baking tray and bake the confit for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
I highly recommend purchasing salt, pepper, dutch oven, skillet, and baking dish online for a convenient shopping experience!
Silky, Earthy Beetroot Puree
The key to a good vegetable puree is its consistency. Root vegetables make the best puree; they’re hearty, starchy, and don’t have any seeds. Any kind of root vegetable will work with this recipe.
First of all, you need to cook your beets. You have three options here: you can roast them, boil them, or steam them. Roasting will dehydrate them, making them fibrous, and boiling them will extract any color, nutrition, and flavor. Steaming, however, steaming works perfectly.
Steaming is easy. All you need to do is clean the beets thoroughly under cold water, place them in a steamer basket, and steam them for around 40 minutes or until fork-tender. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, you can peel them easily with your fingers.
Place the beets into a high-powered blender, add some olive oil, stock, and balsamic vinegar (how long does balsamic vinegar last?), then season with salt and pepper. Pulse on high for about a minute or until completely smooth.
Confit Duck Legs
Ingredients
- 2-4 Duck legs
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- 1 Garlic Bulb
- Fresh Thyme
- 1 Lemon, Quartered
- 3-4 tbsp Water
- 4 Medium Beets, steamed till fork tender
- 2-3 tbsp Olive Oil
- ½ cup Vegetable Stock
- Salt & Pepper, to Taste
- 2-3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- Mini Rainbow Carrots
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme, Leaves Removed
- 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Instructions
- Grab a sharp pairing knife or metal skewer and poke holes in the skin so the fat can render. Season them with salt and pepper, the cure in the fridge for 8 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 250ºF, lay the legs out into a dutch oven skin down, add the garlic, thyme, lemon, and water, close the lid, then place into the oven.
- After two hours, remove the duck legs from the oven, turn them over, then return them to the oven again.
- After another two hours have passed, remove the legs from the oven and crank the heat up to 425ºF.
- Lay the duck legs onto a baking sheet, and place in the oven until the skin has darkened and crisped up.
- Place the softened beets into a high-powered blender with vegetable stock, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.
- Blitz the puree for at least 30 seconds to a minute until it’s smooth and uniform.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, and adjust the puree as necessary.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the honey, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar.
- Add the whole or halved carrots, season with salt and fresh thyme leaves, then toss to combine.
- Transfer the carrots to a baking try or oven-proof skillet, and bake for 15 minutes tossing occasionally.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
515.32Fat
30.78Sat. Fat
6.05Carbs
23.13Fiber
3.66Net carbs
19.49Sugar
17.39Protein
36.55Sodium
436.51Cholesterol
147.49
