Confit… Like a Chef

The very best cooks, home and restaurant alike, share a singular trait: curiosity. They try new things… not just new recipes from familiar cookbooks, publications or Pinterest, but entirely new processes—from baking bread from scratch to taking the plunge into deep-frying at home to searing off and then braising their first short rib.

What makes a great cook is not success rate, but a willingness to attempt, absorb, adjust and add to their repertoire.

So, whether you’re an ambitious cook looking for your next endeavor or an average cook looking for an easy win on unfamiliar culinary turf, I implore you to try one of my absolute favorite techniques: confit.

Like many favorite meats (think bacon, prosciutto, jerky), confit—which, besides the verb to describe the technique, is also a noun to describe the end product—was born years ago out of necessity to preserve food in the pre-refrigeration era. And, like those other popular preserved meats, we still make confit today—because it tastes great.

Traditional Duck Confit

Originally, confit was made on Gascon duck farms in autumn when fattened ducks were harvested for their livers to make foie gras. The process yielded a lot of meat as a byproduct that needed to be preserved and eaten throughout the winter.

The process is simple: Cure the duck legs in salt and spices; submerge them in duck fat; and cook them in a very low-temp oven until extremely tender. The legs are then stored in the duck fat, often in the same pot in which they were cooked.

The fat not only keeps the meat extremely juicy during the cooking process, but also keeps oxygen from coming in contact with the meat as it ages in storage, preserving it almost indefinitely. Most gourmets argue that the quality of the confit improves when it is allowed to age—or ripen—for a few weeks to a few months. However, if you’re like me, and you lack the patience and fridge/cellar space to store your confit for extended periods of time, confit is plenty delicious the day you make it.

What Else Can I Confit?

While duck is not as readily available here as it is in the south of France—and where on offer, it’s expensive—fortunately, we can apply the principles of duck confit to more accessible and affordable meats to yield some luxurious cuisine on a Lilliputian budget.

Chef’s Tip
At the Raleigh Wegmans, fresh duck legs sell for $11.49/lb., while confit duck legs go for $33.60/lb

If you’re familiar with this column, you might know a bit about collagen—the rigid muscle fiber developed in the hardest-working parts of animals (think legs, shoulders, wings, etc.). Since collagen makes these cuts of meat tougher than filet mignon or chicken breast, they’re often less expensive.
However, this tough tissue has a key benefit: It melts decadently and transforms into gelatin. You can see this alchemy in action at any barbecue joint, where tough cuts of meat are smoked slowly over smoldering hardwood until you can cut into them with a spoon.

Confit works similarly to barbecue in that the crux of its success relies on gently converting collagen into gelatin, but since confit utilizes fat as its cooking medium instead of air or smoke, it does a far superior job of trapping in moisture. By following the simple processes shared by all confit recipes, I have transformed tough—and cheap—cuts of beef, pork, lamb and chicken legs into culinary gold. It truly is so simple—and so incredibly good. I urge you to try my recipe below, and then branch out into the myriad of resources online and in cookbooks.

If you’re familiar with this column, you might know a bit about collagen—the rigid muscle fiber developed in the hardest-working parts of animals (think legs, shoulders, wings, etc.). Since collagen makes these cuts of meat tougher than filet mignon or chicken breast, they’re often less expensive.
However, this tough tissue has a key benefit: It melts decadently and transforms into gelatin. You can see this alchemy in action at any barbecue joint, where tough cuts of meat are smoked slowly over smoldering hardwood until you can cut into them with a spoon.

Confit works similarly to barbecue in that the crux of its success relies on gently converting collagen into gelatin, but since confit utilizes fat as its cooking medium instead of air or smoke, it does a far superior job of trapping in moisture. By following the simple processes shared by all confit recipes, I have transformed tough—and cheap—cuts of beef, pork, lamb and chicken legs into culinary gold. It truly is so simple—and so incredibly good. I urge you to try my recipe below, and then branch out into the myriad of resources online and in cookbooks.

Read This
Online: J. Kenji López Alt’s column, The Food Lab
Print: Charcuterie and Pâté, Confit, Rillette by Michael Ruhlman

RECIPE

Garlic-Rosemary Chicken Confit

Ingredients:

• 1 pack each bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drums (about 3-4 lbs. total)
• 2–3 Tbsp. kosher salt (Diamond Crystal preferred)
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 sprigs rosemary, chopped
• 1 lemon zest
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1–1 1/2 quarts lard, duck fat, extra-virgin olive oil or neutral oil (I almost always use lard because it is the closest and most affordable alternative to duck fat.)

Process:

• Using about 3/4 tsp of salt per thigh or drumstick, individually salt the chicken on all sides and place on a big platter or sheet tray.
• Grind pepper and sprinkle garlic, rosemary and lemon zest onto both sides of the chicken thighs and on all sides of the drums, pressing to adhere.
• Transfer into a large Ziploc bag and squeeze as much air out as possible. Allow to cure overnight, or up to 2 days. If you’re doing a longer cure, flip and massage the bag every 8–12 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 200°F and snugly lay the meat in an
• oven-safe pot in 1–2 layers. If using lard or duck fat, melt it in a separate pot on the stove. Pour enough fat or oil over the meat to cover.
• Cook uncovered for 4–6 hours or until very tender. The meat should cling slightly but flake easily from the bone.

Chef’s Tip
Don’t be alarmed by how much fat you’re dumping into the pot—it won’t be absorbed by the meat.