Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coarse kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons white peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 12 whole duck legs (leg and thigh)
- 15 garlic cloves, peeled
- 6 7-ounce containers rendered duck fat
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Preparation
Step 1
Finely grind first 4 ingredients in spice mill. Trim excess fat from duck legs; place trimmings in bowl, cover, and chill. Rub salt mixture all over duck legs. Layer legs and garlic cloves in large resealable plastic bag. Seal; chill 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Simmer duck fat, duck trimmings, and 1 cup water in large saucepan over medium-low heat until water evaporates and simmering slows, about 30 minutes. Thoroughly rinse salt mixture from duck and discard garlic; pat dry. Place duck in large deep roasting pan. Pour hot fat over. Cover with foil; place in oven. Cook until meat is tender and falling off bone, about 3 1/2 hours. Uncover; cool slightly. Transfer to refrigerator. Chill until cold. Cover; chill at least 4 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 month ahead. Keep chilled and completely covered in duck fat. Always use clean tongs to remove duck from fat in pan.
Before using duck confit in a recipe, preheat oven to 400°F. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Remove duck from fat; scrape fat back into pan. Working in batches, cook duck, skin side down, in skillet 1 minute. Transfer, skin side down, to rimmed baking sheet. Roast until skin is crisp and duck is heated, about 15 minutes. Remove from sheet, keeping skin intact.