Recipes Duck Confit Le Cellier – World Showcase – Epcot

Ingredients:

12 duck legs
1/2 pound parsley
1/2 pound rosemary
1/2 pound thyme
4 ounces peppercorn
1 ounce star anise
5 bay leaves
6 ounces coarse or Kosher salt
3 pounds duck fat (cost as 1/3)

Method of Preparation:

On a drying rack lined with cheesecloth large enough to hold the duck legs in a single layer, sprinkle all herbs, peppercorns, and spices, saving some of the salt for the next step. Salt and pepper the duck legs completely on all sides. Arrange the duck, skin-side up, over the herb/salt mixture.

Place another piece of cheesecloth on top of the product. Cover and weight the duck for 72 hours. Rinse the duck of all salt and pepper and dry thoroughly. Preheat the oven to 225°F. Melt the duck fat in a saucepan. Arrange the duck legs in a single snug layer in a high-sided baking dish or ovenproof saucepan. Cover with fat. Pour the melted fat over the duck (the duck pieces should be covered by fat) and place the confit in the oven. Cook the confit slowly at a very slow simmer — just an occasional bubble — until the duck is tender and can be easily pulled from the bone – 2 – 3 hours. Remove the confit from the oven. Cool and store the duck in the fat. (The confit will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.)

To serve confit:

Lift the duck legs out of the fat and wipe off most but not quite all of it with kitchen paper. Put them skin-side up onto a rack resting over a roasting tin and roast for 15-20 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden and the meat has heated through. Alternatively, sauté the legs in a frying pan over a medium heat until crisp, golden and heated through.
Or place Duck Legs in an oven dish skin side down under a hot grill for about 5 minutes, turn over and allow to thoroughly heat through and the skin to crisp and brown.

It is served whole and warm on a bed of mixed greens. The crispy prosciutto and pomegranate molasses are sprinkled over the top of the duck.

Prep. Note: Other standard recipes say you can use a container large enough to hold the duck legs in a single layer. They also say to sprinkle only half the herbs and salt on the bottom and the rest on top of the duck. The other recipes cover and refrigerate the meat for 1-2 days. Epicurious uses about 5 TBSP. salt for that amount of duck because too much salt makes the duck too tough and salty to use in anything but
stews.

Strain and reserve the duck fat for later use. Keep it cool. In Jan. ‘08 this was served with crispy prosciutto ham and pomegranate molasses as an appetizer. Pomegranate molasses is used primarily in Mediterranean cooking. It is also called pomegranate syrup, because of its consistency.