Why Duck Confit is the Ultimate Culinary Delight

This classic French Duck Confit Recipe is slow-cooked in an herb and garlic-filled pot of duck fat for several hours until crispy on the outside and fork-tender on the inside. To this day, this is one of my all-time favorite things to eat.
Ingredients for this recipe:
• 4 skin on duck legs
• 48 fresh thyme sprigs
• 4 bay leaves
• 14 garlic cloves
• 4 cups duck fat
• coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 8 to 12 peppercorns
Serves 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 4 hours
Marinate Time: 12 hours
Procedures:
1. Add the duck legs to a 13x9 casserole dish and season both sides with coarse salt and cracked pepper.
2. Next, rub in 5 thyme sprigs, ½ crushed bay leaf, and 1 smashed garlic clove into the flesh side of each duck leg.
3. Flip the duck over and repeat the process completely to each duck leg.
4. Cover the pan in plastic and place it in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.
5. Remove the duck and rinse each leg under cold water to remove any leftover thyme leaves or bay leaves. It’s ok if some pepper is still on there.
6. Transfer the duck to a sheet tray or platter and blot them dry on both sides with paper towels.
7. Add the duck fat and any additional lards or oils to a medium-sized saucepot along with the shallot, garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, coarse salt, and peppercorns over low heat, just to a low simmer. This takes about 5-7 minutes.
8. Next, add the duck legs and ensure they are submerged.
9. Place a lid on the pan, place it in the bottom third of the oven, and cook at 250° for 2 ½ hours.
10. Remove the pan's lid and cook for an additional 90 minutes or until the duck is very tender and easily shreds. They will have an internal temperature of around 208° to 210°.
11. The duck can be served as is. However, to crisp up the skin, add ½ cup of the confit oil to a non-stick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat and carefully add the duck skin side down and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the skin becomes more browned.
12. Place the duck on a rack over a sheet tray and bake in the oven at 425° for 25 to 30 minutes.
13. Serve the duck confit on a bed of fresh thyme sprigs or your favorite side dish.
14. If you want to preserve the duck, cool it in the oil to room temperature and then place the duck legs into a container and strain the confit oil into the container, completely covering them.
15. Cool the container in the refrigerator to form a fat cap. This will last cover in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

[@jeffreycooley2032]

This man obviously loves classic French cuisine, and it shows. Thank you

[@RedondoBeach2]

The effort put into production, lighting, audio, narration, editing, and more, is outstanding. Professionally done. You're engaging, humble and encouraging. This makes you likable. You make every second, every word, count. Your videos are the benchmark for cooking videos.

[@ChefBillyParisi]

That’s very kind of you to say, thank you.

[@danielleshelbourne220]

I make a yummy duck confit salad - shredded duck confit, fingerling (kipfler) potatoes (par-boiled, sliced and then roasted in duck fat), cranberries, chives and pistachios with a honey mustard vinaigrette. When I serve it at dinner parties my guests always want the recipe. So quick and easy.

[@kristinbray6453]

Looks delicious!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes with us. Have a blessed and beautiful day.

[@Hdowlznwo28]

Chef, you’re an absolute wizard. So glad I found this channel years ago.

[@MindaRox]

Oh yeah, kick start my heart 🎶🎶🎶. Thank you so much for this, duck is a part of our Christmas celebration and I still learned a lot from this video

[@isabeltrepatorres2362]

Yummy!!! I do like the way you talk about your recipes. You are the MUST!!!!

[@eddiewilson8119]

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I'm adding this to my recipe book 📙 ❤🎉!

[@Athea34]

I am not serious cooking but it just I have a craving. 😂😂

[@cmarnold78]

Holy **** those potatoes!!!!!! How is that not its own video :)

[@AldoSchmedack]

Looks fantastic Billy!

[@NickiMoon]

Easy to follow thx much. Please do chicken confit next time. Cheers

[@MikeConnell-mf5hj]

Love your kitchen ❤

[@richardmullins1883]

Great for cassoulet!

[@truth-mojo]

Nice recipe. You can improve the presentation by taking out the thigh bone and bunching it up like a fist. If you confit it upright it will hold it's shape even while frying to crisp it up. It looks great on the plate.

[@tgc4204]

I live in Los Angeles and the whole duck legs are not easily available in the supermarket. The butcher wants $20/lb. I can find them frozen at Whole Foods and Bristol Farms but they are expensive as well. It never occurred to me to buy a whole duck which I can easily find in Chinese markets or Chinese butcher shops. I love Duck Confit. Thanks for the cutting technique.

[@jeffreycooley2032]

That was awesome!

[@2Wheels_NYC]

Beautiful job, Chef! Duck fat is truly a beautiful vessel to conduct heat... And has definitely produced some of the best fried potatoes I've ever had. I love confit, and keep the breasts for a medium doneness sear as well. I've also started using wagyu tallow at home. An excellent option that is becoming readily available. Let's cook!

[@taylorlibby7642]

Wagyu tallow? Huh. Sounds interesting. What are you using that for?

[@2Wheels_NYC]

@@taylorlibby7642 Anywhere you would use any fat. Makes for a damn good potato!

[@taylorlibby7642]

Don't know if you've already done it, but maybe do a cassoulet recipe soon? Perfect companion to confit imo and I'd be really interested in seeing your take on it.

[@ChefBillyParisi]

If you watched the whole vid I mention that’s coming in the next video :-)

[@taylorlibby7642]

@@ChefBillyParisi nice.

[@recordman555]

Perfection!

[@Kumurajiva]

I am waiting for the cassoulet !

[@simond.9457]

Impressive!

[@adamyoung480]

Aloha. Do you ever incorporate lemon zest with your initial dry rub?

[@quantx6572]

This looks decadent and delicious. I have never eaten duck before. Once in a while I hear others describe it as gamy. I'm not a fan of gamy meats. Does this dish have a gamy flavor? Does the duck fat its cooked in, and the duck fat leftover for other uses, have a gamy flavor? By the way, I hope you know you make excellent cooking videos.

[@elizamccroskey1708]

The duck sold in America is usually quite mild. I know most Costco stores have a good frozen brand. If you prefer white meat from chicken then maybe duck isn’t for you.

[@quantx6572]

@@elizamccroskey1708 I don’t mind dark meat chicken, so maybe I’ll give duck a try. Gonna have a look at Costco next time I’m there. Thanks for the comment and advice.

[@raycab1]

I just had duck confit at a restaurant and it was prolly the best dish I have ever eaten in my life. The skin was super crisp. I've looked at a couple recipes on you tube and they look great but none of them seem to get that skin crisp like at the restuarant I went to. Any suggestions?

[@ChefBillyParisi]

They probably dunk it in a fryer at the end, I recommend in my video searing at the end to get that crisp skin.

[@raycab1]

@@ChefBillyParisi I saw that. I'm pretty sure the restaurant did it very similarly to the way you recommended in the video. In your video the skin didnt look super crisp however it could have been. Either way great video and I am goign to try it using most of your techniques and ideas.

[@cindyslevin3075]

I fry my confit duck legs on medium high skin side down for 1-2 minutes. That gets the skin ultra crispy and yummy

[@EterniR]

So if you store it - whats the best way to *reheat* it?

[@danielleshelbourne220]

Didn’t the french keep duck confit for a year or more - before refrigeration?

[@jennifertucker5907]

Can this be done with a chicken instead of duck and the use of duck fat?

[@elizamccroskey1708]

Absolutely. Chicken thighs are very good this way, but duck is better!

[@DianeHardin-ri4qt]

How do I get one of those Mercer cut scales?

[@larspedersen935]

Please show temps in celsius too, great service to Europeans...

[@RodReklai]

Boning knife is very important when you breaking down any protein

[@elyrvillanueva4588]

can i partner the duck with some gravy or sauce ?

[@ChefBillyParisi]

You could, but it’s really not needed.

[@end0828]

👌🏼👌🏼

[@ElLeNoir..ELconomics]

Love duck breast 🦆 with orange sauce

[@adammoore7447]

I learned this French classic in culinary school and agree that it's delicious. However, for the amount of time and gas(energy) it takes, I'm not sure it's worth it. I tried this as a slow-cooked braise(1.5 hrs) and seared it afterward, and couldn't tell much difference. Just saying...

[@barbarayhivjaneahl3198]

It also work as a storage method. You can hold duck for several weeks, which is its main draw. But, unless you are working in a restaurant or don’t have a refrigerator, this isn’t really a useful to your average cook. That said, it’s really cool and worth knowing if you’re a student of the culinary arts.

[@MakeFoodForYou]

Confit method for duck “confit” is unnecessary and indistinguishable from using other slow cooking methods. Fat doesn’t penetrate the surface of the meat. You could just slow bake it covered and it would turn out the same without wasting all that fat. The duck fat ain’t going to contribute any flavor that can’t be added at later stages of cooking. Things like herbs can be added when browning the skin and citrus zest can be added fresh directly to the duck after cooking. The idea of storing the duck in fat is pointless to the modern kitchen.

[@cindyslevin3075]

So agree, I started making duck confit in the slow cooker. Just put 1/4 cup of olive oil in the slow cooker. Add the duck legs skin side down with thyme, garlic, black peppercorns, and a few juniper berries. Set it on high for 4 hours and Wala, duck confit. I then fry for 1-2 minutes per side on medium high heat in my carbon steel pan. Yummy..

[@Schrodingers_Kat]

@@cindyslevin3075Voilà

[@pygmyzombie]

I always confit the wings too, but cook the breasts separately. I have tried doing the breasts confit, but that is definitely not their best use

[@marefisher6462]

I like the skin much crispier

[@elizamccroskey1708]

You can roast the confit for a bit and get the skin crispy. Also he seared it in a pan which makes for crispy all around.

[@lilithsmith1290]

My dear chef, every tow weeks I cook duck. Not French , not Chinese, simply German or Czech. We use whole duck , washed dried it salted and use Caraway seed all over duck . In the oven covered for 2/5 hours ,rotating tow times on 385* than uncover for 45 minutes temperatures 400. And poked duck with the fork few ti ms to render the fat. Save the oil .Duck fat is very expensive .American they think duck is fatty. ,they missing the best food and healthy fat.

[@adamyoung480]

Aloha. My family wasn’t originally from America, so when we celebrated thanksgiving, it was always duck or goose. So much better than turkey.

[@MrsPamB]

Lol, not all Americans think duck is fatty! Some of us think it’s decadent, luxurious, and delicious 😋

[@sfajack262]

Where does one get the duck fat to begin with?

[@ChefBillyParisi]

Amazon, Whole Foods, butcher shop, render it yourself.

[@truth-mojo]

To begin with, probably a duck

[@nathanbenton2051]

duck faaaat

[@nathanbenton2051]

sometimes i get rendered fois gras fat from local french restraunts and use that. it's literally a drug. get that infused with rosemary and then confit with it. i'm drooling.

[@williamfotiou7577]

The French learned that from the Greeks.

[@williamfotiou7577]

@ciaociao8337 not sure about that, but I'll accept it.

[@williamfotiou7577]

@ciaociao8337 yeah!? Your point is?

[@N0Charlie]

To preserve the fat, DO NOT add salt directly. Duck fat can be quite expensive so keep the fat in a freezer & each time you confit you build up your reserves as the duck renders & increase flavour. Salt is added at the dry brining stage as shown but beware, duck skin absorbs salt very quickly which is why flavouring salt is a good idea ie; 2 sprigs thyme, orange zest finely grated, 2 bay leaves crumpled, 10 black peppercorns, 5 juniper berries, half cup of salt in mortar & pestle until fluffy. Trim excess fat of duck marylands & reserve, then rub into flesh side & in the fridge for NO more than 3 hours. Wash salt off, pat dry & French trim legs. Now you're ready!

[@adeaston6553]

It always amazes me that all of the rest of the World use the Metric measurements system But America is still using Quarts, Cups, pounds and ounces, Catch up guys! The culinary world has left you behind. What the hell is a quart?? LOL "Oh and by the way we all use Celsius not Fahrenheit. Your all out of touch. God help America!

[@timeaaraouzou710]

😂

[@alanhindle3149]

Personally I wouldn’t make it “salty as the sea”. That’s… a lot of salt. You won’t be wanting to eat anything cooked in that.

[@ChefBillyParisi]

You may not, but this is the proper way to season way before blanching.

[@alanhindle3149]

@@ChefBillyParisi I guess. But 35 grams of salt per litre is just too salty for me.

[@frederickmooney2581]

Pointlessly long process, skip rinsing off the dry brine and just cover them with the fat.

[@jackfahey4610]

Fantastic recipe, but your transcription is terrible pommes aligot is something like pols alo. Anyone looking for the recipe with no prior knowledge would be lost

[@todayisanewday7]

If you ever worked at a waste water treatment plant you would never eat duck again. Ducks literally swimming around in the waste water pools . It’s not a good site.

[@chrisdennis2571]

Please stop leaning on your cutting board. Yuk!