Easy Duck Confit Recipe (2024)

Or, you can throw the duck legs and salt/spices in a crockpot for 6-8 hours. Take out the duck and strain the fat. When you want to eat the duck, brown it in a saute pan to desired doneness. You will have perfect confit, and lot's of duck fat to fry potatoes. Have you ever fried eggs in duck fat? Too delicious for words.

With these temperatures, you are for sure going to completely dry out any duck. Confit is a method called poeler, which happens at very low temperatures. There's no way this recipe will ever meet the standards of any french home cook...

This is one of my favorite recipes...with minor changes. I roast the duck for less time, probably 1 1/2 hours with the cover and a half hour without. I also add a tiny bit of honey to each duck leg 10 minutes before the total cooking is done. This was how I had it in Paris therefore, voila, how I wanted it at home.

It's easy, but it ain't confit.

This is a fabulous recipe which I have been tweeking for a couple of yearsHere’s what I’ve learned:Render the fat on low heat to prevent over browning. As I make this several times during cold months, I add a bit of duck fat I’ve saved in the refrigerator. It’s not necessary, but helpful.I reduce the cooking time to one hour covered and 30minutes uncovered. I found that following the time in the recipe resulted in a somewhat dried out duck, I use a meat thermometer to make sure it is safe.

I discovered that using olive oil in which garlic and sweet peppers were sautéed makes an excellent substitute for duck fat if you don't happen to have any handy. I had tried to accumulate enough duck fat by making roast duck, but I never got enough to try a classic confit. I have been using the olive oil for several years now, to confit both duck legs and gésiers, and the results are delicious.

This recipe really works--I followed the instructions precisely. Another recipe suggested that after it was cooked, I cover it with plastic wrap tightly, secure with rubber bands, and then cover tightly with aluminum foil. Refrigerated 3 days and then reheated and served--no crisping needed, it was beautifully crisp. Very low effort and wonderful taste. Everything about this recipe is amazing. Served with glazed turnips, a very good pairing, on New Year's Eve.

Have you tried making it? I have found that just about any Melissa Clark recipe is just right on when I follow it precisely. They are just magically wonderful. Will be giving this a try and let you know (as a French home cook!).

I have made traditional confit many times, and will never do so again. This is a fabulous idea. I've experimented with this recipe twice now, and I agree with the comment below that the temperature given is too high. And certainly at that temperature the bake time is too long. I compromised with a bake time of 2-1/2 hours at 275 degrees, and finished the duck in a sauté pan on stove top. Served it with polenta and sauteed kale. My guests were mighty pleased!

This was delicious!! After reading other comments, I seasoned the duck and left it in the fridge for a couple days. I also cooked it for the full 3 hours but at 275 instead of 325. Then I let the duck rest while I roasted potatoes in some of the duck fat. Right before serving, I put the duck legs under the broiler (30 seconds to a minute should do it). The result was extremely tender, flavorful duck with very crispy skin! I loved how simple it was to make, and what a big payoff!

I tried it with muscovy legs, which may have been smaller and had less fat, but the meat did come out crisper than I was aiming for. I may try again, either with lower temperatures for longer or augmenting the rendered fat with olive oil to submerge the meat a little more.

D'Artagnan method, which works very well, is melting a quart of duck fat and holding temp at 190. Blanche duck pieces for about 90 minutes. By the time duck is cooked, it has lost most of the fat (adding to duck fat) and pieces shrink 50%. Duck is placed under a broiler until the skin is crispy. Duck confit.

Re-read the recipe - the fat renders from the legs - you don't need any additional fat

While I acknowledge this isn’t the traditional method, it produces a very good outcome without the complexity. I’ve made this a couple of times over the past few months to rave reviews. And I followed Christine L’s timing recommendations below of 1 hour covered and 30 minutes uncovered...exceptional results.Some sautéed cabbage, potato gratin and lightly seasoned roasted beets to accompany. Yum

I should have followed people's comments. This was way too long cooking time and the legs were completely dried out. I followed the recipe exactly, using a cast iron skillet.

Can you do this with chicken legs and some added duck fat?

Use 275 for 1.5 hours covered then 40-45 minutes uncovered. Add a touch of honey to each and spread out in last 10 minutes. Add a pinch of allspice to the salt mix. Really good.

This is no less effort than the traditional method. Just make them properly.

12/25/2023 Followed recipe as written. However in this case Melissa Clark’s instructions did not prove as reliable as usual. I think that many of the commenters are corrrect in that the temperature (medium-high on the stovetop, then 325 in the oven) is too high and the cooking duration too long. The result was too dry and too crispy … too overcooked. Will try again but adjust accordingly. This does yield an impressive quantity of rendered fat, which I will use for roasted potatoes.

Just served this amazing adaptation of duck confit for Sunday supper. Browned seasoned legs in a cast iron skillet over medium, not high heat for 20 minutes. Decreased oven temp to 300 & cook time to 1 hr before uncovering & cooked another 30 minutes. Removed legs from the skillet & covered with foil while making sides then reheated on the aluminum foil under broiler for about 5 minutes, bit of hot honey on top of skin. Served on pumpkin cheddar polenta with a drizzle of maple syrup. Fantastic!

This is similar to a recipe by Amanda Hesser for braised duck, which is somewhat misleading, since no liquid is added and the duck cooks, long and slow, in its own rendered fat, on the stove top, until it is very tender, and then quickly browned in another pan before serving.

curious: most confit recipes call for rinsing the cure off before putting in the oven. I know this isn’t really “confit,” but it does call for curing. Have others found it to be considerably salty? Should I stick to what I know and rinse off the cure?

Like others have said, I always use some allspice. If you are starting from whole ducks, confit the wings as well.

This is very similar to a recipe published in the Post. That one doesn’t render fat on the stove top first. Instead put skin side down in a covered Dutch oven for 2 hours at 250. Then flip the legs cover with foil and cook for another 1 1/2 hours at 250. Then turn up oven to 450, put duck legs you want to serve right away on a baking sheet and return to oven for 20 minutes. I usually broil them for the last 5-10 minutes to crisp the skin. I’ve made these several times and they come out perfect.

I'll choose not to weigh in on whether or not this is "duck confit", but it is certainly "easy" and super satisfying... with a few tweaks. Like many of the commenters, I also thought the recipe as written resulted in meat that was too dry for my tastes. I reduced the cooking temp to 300, and the cooking time to 1-1/2 hours covered and 30-45 minutes uncovered (depending on the size of the legs). A quick blast under the broiler just before serving crisped the skin to perfection.

I think the cooking time will depend on the size of the fat layer and size of the leg pieces. I used fairly large legs - three filled a 10 inch pan - all with a good thick fat layer, and the recipe times were perfect. I suggest check them after an hour and see where you are. For this to work It is really important that they fill the skillet.

This technique is a revelation. I like to do the dry rub with a 50/50 mix of salt and five spice powder which I find enhances the “ duckiness” without adding a recognizable spice flavor. Served with polenta, oven roasted cherry tomatoes and broccolini.

I followed the recipe exactly and it was too crispy and dry-- tasty but not enough succulent dark meat. I will try the suggestions for lower heat and shorter cooking times. Or the crockpot sounds amazing.

I cooked two duck legs with this recipe. Unfortunately they were completely dried out even with eliminating the 1 hour roast without foil. Next time I plan to gently cook the legs to render fat in the smallest pan I have, then roast them at 400 with foil for one hour and finish under the broiler to crisp the skin. It’s a waste of duck legs to cook them with this recipe unless they’re very large.

325 is too high for confit