“Confit” is a traditional way of preserving food, especially fat meat. This process was used before the invention of the fridge, and allowed people to keep meat for up to three months.

The recipe combines two means of preservation: salt (the meat should be salted and set aside for 12 hours); and “confit” cooking, that is low temperature cooking in fat. The same fat used to cook the meat will be used to “seal” it against air to allow for its preservation. You can use duck, goose, or other fat cuts.

Day 1:

1. Scrub duck legs / breast (with skin) with sea salt; add garlic, thyme, juniper and/or laurel to taste; cover and set 12 hours (or up to 2 days) in the refrigerator.
2. Melt the duck fat (previously cut in small pieces), filter it to remove all impurities.

Day 2:

1. Brush the meat to remove the salt; in a deep pan, melt slowly the duck fat and submerge the meat (meat must be completely covered in fat; should you need it, add some more duck or pork fat); cover and let it simmer at 100° for about two hours. You can also cook it in the oven at 110° for three hours.
2. Put the meat in a very clean jar; cover with the melted fat. Make sure the fat is at least 2 cm over the meat. Close with lid, store in a cool and dark place for up to three months

Before serving: open the jar and scrape the first centimetres of fat off (this may have been exposed to air).

Take the meat out of the fat and heat it in a pan, until skin is crisp.

 You can use the fat to cook potatoes or other winter vegetables