Recipe for confit de canard sous vide
Confit de Canard (or confit duck legs) tastes absolutely fantastic. If you’ve ever tried making it yourself, you know that it requires a lot of duck fat/oil to make the dish – and that can get a bit expensive.
By using sous vide, you can utilize the duck legs’ own natural fat content to cook them, and I guarantee that the legs will be really juicy and delicious – every time.
Duck legs cooked sous vide won’t be a true confit, but it comes very close, and it’s a really good alternative to the traditional version.
Here, I will guide you through the entire process.
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What is Confit de Canard?
Confit is a French cooking method, often used for duck legs. In the old days, it was a method used for its preserving effect, but today it is used because the meat becomes fantastically delicious, buttery soft, and filled with flavor.
The duck legs are first rubbed with a spice blend, then left to “marinate,” typically overnight or for about a day. Afterward, the duck legs are set to simmer for a few hours, covered in duck fat.
They can then be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Before serving, you can throw them in the oven or on the pan, and you usually use some of the fat for frying.
There are recipes where the legs only marinate in the spices for a couple of hours, but it’s generally started the day before.
What to Serve with Confit de Carnard?
There’s no doubt there’s something special about putting a whole roasted duck on the table for St. Martin’s Day or Christmas Eve, but you can definitely serve duck legs sous vide. One thing is that it tastes absolutely fantastic, another thing is that it requires less work on the actual day.
Confit duck legs pair super well with the tart-sweet red cabbage and the other salty and rich elements that are usually on the table for both St. Martin’s Day and Christmas.
Otherwise, you can, for example, serve the duck legs with couscous salad (just see this serving), with cauliflower puree and salt-baked celery, with Jerusalem artichokes, or with risotto. You can also use the meat in a sandwich with, for instance, mustard and cheese, or make a Christmas burger with duck confit. Because the meat is so fantastically tender, it’s easy to shred and put it in a salad or on a piece of bread.
When frying the duck legs, you can also use some of the fat to fry the potatoes in. Potatoes prepared in this way are called Pommes de Terre Sarladaise.
You can also find inspiration for various duck servings here.
Confit de Canard in Sous Vide
Traditional confit de canard is a lengthy process, and it takes even longer in sous vide. However, the advantage of cooking the duck legs sous vide is that you don’t need nearly as much duck fat for the preparation. You can actually completely omit adding extra fat because the legs’ natural fat content is actually enough to create the “confit effect” – thanks to the vacuum sealing. And due to the low and very precise temperature, the meat becomes incredibly tender, juicy, and flavorful.
It might be that the result isn’t exactly like the genuine article, but it is absolutely exquisite!
Recipes with Duck Legs Sous Vide
This is not the first time we’ve worked with duck legs prepared sous vide – just take a look here.
Confit de canard sous vide
Equipment
- Sous Vide
Ingredients
- 4 pcs. Duck Leg
- 54 gram Duck Fat can be omitted
- 40 gram Coarse salt
- 2 cloves Garlic
- Herbs thyme, black pepper, and bay leaves
Instructions
- Rub the duck legs thoroughly with coarse salt
- Add thyme, garlic cloves (cut into thin slices), freshly ground black pepper, and bay leaves torn into smaller pieces. If you are using fresh thyme, make sure to either blanch it briefly or rinse/wash it thoroughly before use.
- Place everything in a container and refrigerate for 24 hours.
- Remove the container from the fridge after 24 hours and take out the duck legs.
- Rinse them in cold water and pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel.
- Vacuum seal the legs, adding 1 tablespoon of duck fat per leg (this is not really necessary, as there is enough fat in the legs for them to "fry" in). However, adding more duck fat does enhance the flavor!
- Fill your sous vide with warm water (this shortens the heating time) and set the machine to 75 degrees Celsius (167 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Place the duck legs in the water bath and let them cook for 12 hours.
- Remove the legs from the bag and dry them well with a clean kitchen towel - save the fat!
- Fry the legs in duck fat in a hot pan until they have a good crust and crispy skin.