Easy Duck Confit

I don't remember the first time I had duck confit, but I do remember thinking 'Oooooh, fancy!'

After reading through a few recipes, I decided that it had to be done another day. I love slow roasted meat as much, or probably more, definitely more than the next girl, but who has time to take two days to make something and 5.33721873 seconds to eat?

When I found this recipe, I was very, very, very excited...when Buzza tasted it, he almost proposed. No, seriously. What that thing wouldn't do for some crispy duck fat.

I like to serve it with pasta, as called in for the recipe, but lately, Buzza has preferred to eat it cro magnon style...straight from dish into his mouth. Don't worry, I always try to include some greens in there, just to keep it healthy. =P

This is an easy and cheap recipe ($5.99 for two legs) to make. You set it up and let it go for a few hours. Just make sure to put time into the prep. It can really make a difference in how crispy the skin gets.

Ingredients

Duck legs

Salt

Pepper

Optional: rosemary, garlic (I like it to flavor the left over fat)

1. Pat the duck dry with paper towels.
2. Use kitchen scissors (easiest), needle or very pointy knife to prict the skin of the duck all over. If using scissors, make little incisions everywhere. Be careful to penetrate the fat, but not the meat. This allows the fat to render and the skin to get crispy.
3. Rub in a liberal amount of salt and pepper on your duck.
4. Let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes to an hour. Hank Shaw says 'Don't worry. They'll be fine.'
5. Put the duck in a dutch oven or casserole dish and cover the bottom with a good layer of olive oil. At this point, if you have any duck fat in the fridge, it's a good idea to put it in this dish as well.
6. If using garlic and rosemary, add them in.
7. Place in the oven and heat to 285F. You don't need to preheat, as you want the duck to cook gently.
8. After 90 minutes to 2 hours, your legs should be covered in fat.
9. Turn up the overn to 375F for 15 minutes to get it even crispier.
10. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
11. Strain the fat and store in a clean container.