Confit de canard - days 1 and 2

Man have I been slacking... I sorta took the weekend off from the computer, but I am back with a big project. Well not big but a little involved, maybe big. You can judge for yourself after reading this post.

Over the weekend I finished reading Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman (hereafter referred to as MR, just because I am a relatively slow typist) and Brian Polcyn, and I am embarking on what is sure to be an adventure.

MR explains in the beginning of Charcuterie how a particular dish was his introduction to the world of charcuterie and the start of his decade long exploration of the Art.

My interest stemmed from a desire to recreate the smoked country sausage, bacon, and country ham that my Pappy made every fall when I was a kid. His recipes followed him to the grave in the mid 80's. As I started researching sausage and ham making, one book was referenced over and over, the aforementioned volume by Misters Ruhlman and Polcyn.

I ordered my copy on Amazon and had it in my grubby hands a mere four days after ordering... I sat down and started reading almost as soon as it was out of the packaging. After reading the foreword by T. Keller, I was smitten by the idea of duck confit, so eloquently described by MR on the first 2 pages.

I had heard about duck confit for years but never really knew what it was. Being from the land of southern fried chicken, duck was a bird rarely on my radar until recently. I saw an episode of Good Eats by my man AB titled "What's Up Duck". AB steams and then oven sears a duck in a cast iron skillet.

I wanted... But duck is not that easy to find in the Nashville area. A trip to the international market however reveled a ready supply of, what is probably Pekin ducks and no that is not misspelling of Peking. These birds come frozen rock solid with their little heads and feets intact. Not for the squeamish. Watching my mom freak a little when I pointed out the beak through the plastic was rife with sadistic giggles. (Don't be mad at or ashamed of me, I learned that kind of behavior from her, and if you ask her she will eventually admit it). Again I show my tenancy to digress, maybe even to regress...

I prepared the duck as prescribed in the Good Eats episode and while it was very tasty, it was rather chewy.

My second encounter with one of the cryo canards was during Spring Smoke 08', when I brined, then slow smoked an entire bird over hickory and mesquite chips. It was very very good. Smoked duck butt is just as tasty in inverse proportion to how nasty it sounds.

So while firmly in the throws duck ardor, I read the first few paragraphs of MR's book and knew right then and there that when I was finished reading Charcuterie, cover to cover, it would be duck confit I attempted first.

Herein lies my dilemma. I have no frame of reference for what it should taste like. But I am diving in anyway.

On Saturday I found a fresh 5 lbs duck at Whole Foods that looked decent, though a smidge dry on one of the wing tips. Securely wrapped in brown paper it came home with me and was placed in the fridge, on a half sheet pan, to catch any duck juice that leaked out of the paper.

On Sunday evening it began. First things first, duck confit is usually made with just the leg and thigh portions, per wikipedia but since I had a whole duck, and MR says in the book "You can confit the breast as well." I decided to confit the breast too. Breaking down a duck is a little work. A good sharp, heavy bladed knife helps the work go quicker. Intimate knowledge of duck butchery would have made it go even faster but one out of two isn't bad.

So how about some naked duck pictures.

The next picture is a little gruesome, as it is a fully, if inexpertly broken down, duck carcass.
The leg/thigh pieces in the bowl get seasoned with:
3 tbsp kosher salt
4 whole cloves roughly crushed
6 peppercorns also crushed
3 cloves garlic, sliced
3 bay leaves broken in half

I didn't have quite the 5 lbs of duck listed in the recipe but close to 4 lbs I think, (I can't tell for sure because my frackin scale bit the big one last week and I haven't decided on a replacement yet.) so I didn't reduce the spice quantities except for the bay leaf.

I sprinkled the salt and spices on the duck pieces as prescribed and after a picture put the lid on the bowl and retired the meat to the fridge.

So what do you do with all the left over duck detritus? Well I still needed 2 or so cups of duck fat to cook the confit.

Per Charcuterie page 260, paraphrased; combine 1 lbs of duck fat and a quarter cup water in a heavy saucepan and cook over very low heat for a few hours until the water evaporates. Do not over heat or it will be leave a harsh taste to the fat.
I didn't have a pound of fat but what I did have was prepared as described.

I strained the resulting liquid through 4 layers of cheese cloth

Rendering 1 and 1/2 cups of duck ambrosia.

Turns out when you let it cool overnight, covered with plastic wrap in the fridge it separates into roughly equal parts confit jelly and duck fat.

The rest of the carcass joined the other two, formerly feathered fowl ,carcasses already awaiting stock day in my freezer.

I am going to err on the side of caution and let my duck parts cure for a full 36 hours at least before cooking.

I am antsy though and impatience is one of my failings. Publishing this blog does inspire me to restrain my enthusiasm and slow a bit more patience.

Final thoughts... I am glad I am not squeamish.
Duck fat looks a lot like mayonnaise to a camera.
I have no idea what to do with the confit jelly that is left. Anyone have any advice on this one?

Cheers

Chris