Duck Confit for the Dinner Party Win
Fuss-free fancy.
by Erin Henderson
Let’s discuss dinner party stress-management.
More specifically, let’s talk about how make-ahead meals are the saving grace to any host with aspirations to be the most. And to that point, let's consider make-ahead meals that are dead easy, but look really fancy.
Duck confit is one of those meals. {Gasps from the audience.}
I know! I was as shocked as you when I learned that dinner party trick.
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I got this recipe years ago from my friend and colleague Sara d’Amato.
Sara’s a whip-smart wine writer, educator, and judge here in Toronto. The former sommelier of the Four Seasons, she has one of the best palates I know, appreciating and understanding great food and wine.
She is also a wildly busy mum of three boys and is something of a magician with time management. So, when she gave me this stupid-simple recipe for duck confit made in a slow cooker I was delighted. And slightly scandalized. A slow cooker? Bit prosaic, don’t you think?
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I remember working in restaurants when the chefs would proudly announce they were starting duck confit for the weekend feature. We would all murmur in delight. It was a culinary wonder, a kitchen mystery… duck confit.
Back then, I would never have allowed myself to dream of tackling such a comestible challenge. The classic French bistro dish seemed so elegantly exotic, so intricate, so elaborate, it was best to leave the preparation to the professionals in white hats, and not dare think about it again.
Well, I was stupid.
Duck confit is merely duck (legs, usually) cooked in its own fat.
I think the complicated notion believed by many naive cooks is due to the time it takes to prepare – a good 24 hours, sometimes even as long as 72, but nearly all of that is hands off. Truly. Active time is maybe 15 minutes, 20 tops. And after the initial investment of the duck fat, which is considerably pricier than the very affordable legs, it’s also a cheap meal to serve.
These days duck confit is in high rotation in my kitchen. The poster dinner for “set it and forget it” is laughably easy, but everyone thinks it’s super fancy. I let them think that. You should, too.
Slow Cooker Duck Confit
For your next holiday dinner, consider duck confit: cheap, simple and stress free, but also elegantly delicious. I can’t think of another dish that ticks all the culinary boxes as this.
Servings: 6 servings
Chef level: Easy
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 8 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves stripped
- 3 bay leaves, lightly crushed
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns, lightly crushed
- 2 teaspoons juniper berries, lightly crushed
- 6 whole duck legs (about 3 pounds)
- 5 1/2 cups duck fat (about 2 1/2 pounds)
Directions:
- Combine the salt, thyme leaves, bay leaves, peppercorns, and juniper berries in a small bowl and stir to mix thoroughly.
- Rinse the duck legs and pat dry with paper towels. Place in a large baking dish and spread the salt rub on all sides, distributing the entire rub evenly over the legs. Cover and place in the refrigerator to cure overnight, at least 12 hours.
- When ready to cook the legs, place the duck fat in a slow cooker and melt on high.
- Rinse the legs under cold water and pat dry. Once the fat has melted, lower the heat, and carefully add the legs and cook at a simmer. (Monitor the heat and lower it if the fat is creating more than one or two bubbles every minute.)
- Cook until the meat is very tender and pulls away to expose the bones, about 4 hours. Remove the legs from the fat and serve immediately or place on a wire rack to cool.
- Once the legs and fat have cooled, the legs can be returned to the fat and stored in the refrigerator for several weeks.
- To use the confit, remove it from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature until the fat has become liquid, about 1 hour.
Wine Pairing:
Having been cooked slowly in fat for hours, duck confit is, not surprisingly, a very rich dish that could use a bit of acidic brightness to lighten it up a tad.
Pinot Noir is the classic go-to pairing for duck confit, but if you feel like taking a walk on the wild side, travel elsewhere in France. Cahors, in the southwest, grows Malbec – rustic and more earthy in style than the velvety counterparts of Argentina. That earthy note is a beautiful match with duck confit.
