Okay, well the wait is over, part two. After 4-5 days remove the duck from the herb and shallot mix, rub off all the excess and sear over low heat, fatty side down very slowly to render as much fat as possible. Dump that fat into the pan that you will be braising in. Take your time here it will be worth it. Melt your additional fat in a sauce pan and have ready. Turn the legs over and sear slowly on the skinside, same as the fatty side. Once all the legs are seared off and in your braising pan, cover with the additional melted duck fat, seal tightly with foil and place in a 250 degree oven. Now here is a little pet peeve of mine when I go to restaurants, if you are going to braise a piece of meat to make it tender, go all the way with it, don't cut short the time, it is noticeable!! I let this cook until the leg joint disengages from the thigh joint with no effort and the meat falls of the bone when you try to pick it up out of the fat, usually this is about 6 hours but could be longer. The fat that is in the pan can be re-used multiple times, just make sure you strain out all the solids before cooling it. At this point you have several directions you can go with your legs, keep them whole to use as a center piece of some dish, or pick all the meat off the bones, obviously saving the bones for a quick stock. So there it is, duck confit made easy! Enjoy and let me know how it turns out!
This week as been pretty hectic, on top of the confit process, I have made Brioche(twice), Chocolate Bouchons(twice), Pork Rilletes, Apple Chutney, Cherry Glaze, Creme Fraiche, Garlic Foam, Olive tapenade, Sundried Tomato Pesto, French Baguettes, Potato chips, crostini and smoked my bacon that had been curing. Now its time to relax with a little Terminal Gravity IPA!!
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