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Confit de canard, pommes sarladaises
Confit de canard with pommes sarladaises: salt-cured duck legs slow-cooked in their fat, with garlic-parsley potatoes
Every farmhouse in the Périgord and Gascony once lined its larder with stoneware jars of confit, duck legs salted, cooked slowly in their own fat and sealed under it to last the winter. Today it is the order of the day at Sarlat's Saturday market restaurants, served with pommes sarladaises: potato slices fried in that same duck fat until golden, then tossed with garlic and parsley. The skin should crackle and the meat should fall from the bone in soft, savoury shreds. The legs are cured for 12–24 hours in the fridge before cooking, so start the day before; a sharp green salad with walnut oil is all it needs alongside. Chef's tip: add the garlic and parsley to the potatoes only in the last two minutes, so the garlic stays sweet instead of turning bitter.
- Total time
- 240 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the confit
For the pommes sarladaises
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Rub the 4 duck legs all over with 1 ⅜ oz coarse sea salt, 4 thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves, 3 garlic cloves and 1 tsp black peppercorns. Lay them skin-side down in a dish, cover and leave in the fridge for 12–24 hours. Don't go much longer: over-cured legs come out too salty to enjoy.
5 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 250°F (fan 200°F). Rinse the cure off the legs under cold water and pat them very dry.
Step 3: Melt 2 lb duck fat in a snug casserole over a low heat. Add the legs, making sure they are completely covered by fat, and bring it to the barest shiver of bubbles.
Step 4: Cover and transfer to the oven for 2½–3 hours, until a skewer slides into the thickest part with no resistance and the meat is pulling away from the end of the bone.
170 minStep 5: Let the legs cool in the fat. You can cook them now, or keep them in the fridge, fully covered by the fat, for up to a week.
Step 6: To serve, heat the oven to 425°F (fan 400°F). Lift the legs from the fat, wipe off the excess and roast them skin-side up on a rack for 20–25 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and crackling and the meat is piping hot.
25 minStep 7: Meanwhile, rinse 2 ¼ lb firm waxy potatoes in cold water and dry them well in a clean cloth. Heat the rest of 3 ½ oz duck fat (about 4 tablespoons) in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat.
Step 8: Add the potatoes and 1 tsp fine salt and fry for 20–25 minutes, turning them every few minutes, until golden and crisp at the edges and tender in the middle. Cover the pan for the first 10 minutes if they are slow to soften.
25 minStep 9: Add 3 garlic cloves and 4 tbsp flat-leaf parsley and toss for 1–2 minutes, until fragrant. Serve at once with the crisp duck legs.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 820 kcal
- Protein
- 44 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 52 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does confit de canard, pommes sarladaises take?
- About 240 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 210 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of bay leaves?
- Leave it out, or a pinch of dried thyme (it's a background flavour).
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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