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Le Chaudron recipe
Cuisses de canard confites au four
Oven-baked duck leg confit
⏱ 120 minServes 4Medium520 kcal
A recipe from Le Chaudron — the cooking of France’s regions.
01 — Ingredients4 servings
4free-range duck legs
500 g (18 oz)duck fat
4 clovesgarlic
4 sprigsfresh thyme
2 leavesbay leaf
2 tbspcoarse salt
1 tspcracked pepper
1 tspjuniper berries
- 4 free-range duck legs
- 500 g (18 oz) duck fat
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 leaves bay leaf
- 2 tbsp coarse salt
- 1 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 tsp juniper berries
Quantities scaled for — some (egg, lemon, garlic…) are rounded to what’s practical.
Serves 4. In the app, quantities adjust to the number of guests on their own — and the ingredients go straight to your shopping list.
03 — Method
- The day before, rub the 4 duck legs generously with the coarse salt, cracked pepper and crushed juniper berries. Lay them in a large deep dish, cover and refrigerate 12 hours to cure.
- The next day, take the legs out of the salt and rinse quickly under cold water. Pat completely dry with paper towels.
- Preheat the oven to 130°C (265°F), conventional, for low and slow cooking. Gently melt the duck fat in a saucepan until liquid and just warm, about 40°C (105°F).
- Lay the duck legs skin side up in the cast-iron dish. Tuck the whole garlic cloves (germ removed), fresh thyme sprigs and bay leaves between them.
- Pour the warm melted duck fat over the legs until completely covered. Full immersion is the essence of confit, a technique from southwest France.
- Cover and bake 3 hours at 130°C (265°F) without lifting the lid. The meat should be meltingly tender and pull easily off the bone.
- Let the legs cool in the fat for 1 hour. At this point, they'll keep for several weeks in the fridge, covered in their fat.
- To serve, lift the legs out of the fat and crisp them skin side down in a very hot skillet for 5 minutes until golden. Serve with Sarlat-style potatoes fried in duck fat.
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