Duck Confit

How to make it

1. Lightly crush the unpeeled garlic cloves with the flat of a knife and strip the leaves from four of the thyme sprigs. Mix the garlic and thyme leaves in a bowl with the coarse sea salt, the crushed peppercorns, and the crumbled bay leaves, so the salt is evenly infused with the seasonings.
2. Rub the salt mixture thoroughly into the duck legs on both sides, so the entire skin is covered by a thin layer. Arrange the legs snugly in a dish, skin side up, and scatter the last two thyme sprigs over the top. Cover the dish and refrigerate (see advance prep). The salt needs to draw liquid out of the meat, not just season it, so time matters more than quantity.
   Chef's tip The salt pulls water out and seasons deep into the muscle. After 12 hours the legs feel noticeably firmer and liquid has pooled in the dish; much past 24 hours and the meat turns properly salty.
3. Brush all the salt, thyme, bay, and garlic off the salted legs by hand, and pat them thoroughly dry with paper towels. Do not rinse them in water — the skin should feel dry and firm, because wet skin spatters in the hot fat and will never crisp up. ⏱ 10 min
4. Melt the duck fat in a heavy-bottomed, ovenproof pot over low heat, until it is completely clear and liquid with no white lumps. ⏱ 10 min · passive
5. Preheat the oven to 100°C.
6. Lower the patted-dry legs into the melted fat, skin side down, so they are fully submerged, and place the pot in the oven without a lid. Confit them for 2½-3 hours, until the meat yields to a fork and pulls back from the bone. The fat should only shiver with the occasional lazy bubble — if it boils, the meat will turn stringy instead of meltingly tender. ⏱ 2 h 30 min–3 h · passive
   Chef's tip Choose the smallest pot that holds the legs snugly — a wide one needs far more fat to cover them, and any meat left above the surface dries out and darkens instead of confiting.
7. Carefully lift the confited legs out of the fat with a slotted spoon and let them drip dry on a rack. Get a good grip around the bone, as the meat is hot and fragile and comes away easily. Strain off 4 tbsp of the warm duck fat for the potatoes. Let the rest of the fat cool, strain it through a fine sieve, and store it in the fridge — it can be used for confiting again.
8. Peel the potatoes and slice them about ½ cm thick. Pat the slices completely dry in a clean kitchen towel, so they brown in the fat instead of steaming. ⏱ 10 min
9. Heat the strained duck fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the potato slices in an even layer. Fry them for 20-24 minutes, turning regularly, until golden brown and crisp at the edges and tender all the way through. Season with salt as you go and add freshly ground pepper. ⏱ 20 min–25 min
   Chef's tip Leave the slices undisturbed for the first 4-5 minutes and don't crowd the skillet — turn them too early and you tear the crust apart, and too many slices at once will steam rather than brown. They release on their own when they're ready.
10. Toss the finely chopped garlic and finely chopped parsley into the hot potatoes and let it cook along for 2 minutes, until the garlic smells distinctly fragrant without taking on color. The garlic goes in only at the end, because it turns bitter over the long frying time.
11. Place the drained legs skin side down in a dry, hot skillet and let the skin crisp for 6-8 minutes, until it is deep golden brown and crackling under the spoon. Add no fat — the legs carry plenty with them from the pot.
    Chef's tip The legs are already cooked, so only the skin side needs the pan; turning them over just dries the meat. Press gently with a spatula for even contact — the skin curls and browns in patches otherwise.
12. Plate one duck leg skin side up on each warm, flat plate and arrange the crispy potatoes alongside.