0 Confit Style Roast Duck Legs

yes...i'm still riding the DUCK TRAIN...

and still lovin' every bite of it. if you're game (pardon the pun...so so sorry..they just slip out and i can't help it) please do try some duck cookin'. i think you might find it interesting and a bit more flavorful than the ever popular ever so over used chicken. i am continuously looking for things that have just that little extra something. duck has that rich flavor that chicken sometimes lacks. i recently cooked some duck breasts (expensive, by the way) and i thought it tasted like a cross between a good filet mignon and a perfectly cooked chicken. sounds odd, but it was like a flying cow. the texture was meaty and the flavor was poultry. the leg and thigh are a rich dark meat that are equally as tasty, but not so expensive...2 leg/thighs run about $5.00 as opposed to 2 breasts costing around $18.00 smackers.

if you haven't tried duck, i suggest you do. i found a recipe that is fairly easy and the end result is a roasted confit-style duck, but with a fabulous crispy skin. the truth is...i've never had REAL duck confit, so i have nothing to compare it to. i must say that now after all the duck i have been making i DO have enough rendered duck fat to make a good confit. i've read that it takes a few days to do a proper job of it. one of these days i'll get to the real deal, but for now this Easy Duck Confit recipe will do just fine.
this great recipe was found at Simple Recipes posted by Hank Shaw. many many thanks to Hank and his pals at Simple Recipes for introducing a quick Confit by making it sound so easy and SIMPLE.

i've copied the whole thing for your convenience and added a few notes of my own, but check out the original recipe HERE @ Simplerecipes.com......

EASY DUCK CONFIT
Ingredients
Duck legs-thigh attached (at least one per person)
Salt...i also added fresh thyme to the salt rub and fresh tarragon, unpeeled garlic cloves and about 1/4 cup extra duck fat to the roasting dish as you can see in the photo above. i added the extra duck fat because my legs weren't snug in the dish and i though it would help in the confit-style cooking...not necessary if your legs are fatty (please don't take this out of context)...just use a dish that will fit the legs snug.

Method
1. Pat the duck legs dry with paper towels. Find a needle or a very pointy knife and prick the skin of the duck all over. Focus on the skin that covers fat. Do your best to avoid piercing the meat itself by pricking the skin at an angle over the drumstick and the center of the thigh. You are doing this to give the fat that lies under the skin a place to seep out – if you don’t do this, it will be far more difficult to get crispy skin.

note....i didn't use the needle method. as you can see in the photo i just slashed the skin a few times and it worked just fine

2. Salt your duck legs well, more than you think you ought to, actually. Let them rest at room temperature for at least 20 minutes and up to an hour. Don’t worry, they’ll be fine.

3. Put the duck legs in a small casserole, skin side up. How small? You want it just big enough to hold the legs. Put a thin sheen of oil or melted duck fat on the bottom of the casserole, then place the duck legs in close together but not overlapping.

note...if you want some really good confit garlic cloves add them in under and around the legs. enjoy them with your legs or peel them and save them in a jar with some of the duck fat for a rainy day and a crispy baguette.

4. Put the casserole in the oven and turn it to 300 degrees; if you have a digital oven, you could even go down to 285 degrees. Do not preheat the oven. You want to cook the duck as gently as possible.

Walk away and watch football, go shopping, read a book or something. How long? Every duck has a different level of fat, so I can’t tell you exactly. But it will be at least 90 minutes, and two hours is better. After 90 minutes, check the duck: It should be partly submerged in melted fat and the skin should be getting crispy.

5. When the skin is starting to look crispy, turn up the heat to 375 degrees. Check after 15 minutes. You’re looking for a light golden brown. If you missed some spots with the needle and there are places where the skin won’t crisp that’s OK – better that than burnt skin elsewhere.

6. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before eating. Save the accumulated fat for cooking vegetables, other meats or for keeping your skin shiny. I strain the fat through cheesecloth, but you really only need to do this if you are saving the fat for several weeks or months; strained, it will keep for 6 months tightly covered in the fridge. Well wrapped, the duck meat itself will last up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

note...by adding the tarragon and garlic i ended up with some delicious duck fat that was slightly infused with these flavors...i call it DUCK BUTTER