Saturday, June 4, 2011

Duck Confit & Carrots

New dish for me; yet very, very yummy! Confit is one of those French specialty meals that is amazing! (the duck can be substituted for goose & pork) I vaguely remember my grandmother making something like this when I was a child. However, I think she made it with rabbit, or possum, coon or other wild game. Anywhoes, I also understand that the late Ron Bradshaw made a mean Duck Confit! Love it, love it, love it...just try it! For greenry you can serve this dish with spinach or leeks!

Ingredients:
*Duck Legs or Duck Wings;
*4 cups of Duck Fat; (can be purchased at Williams-Sonoma)
*3 tbs salt;
*4 garlic cloves, very finely minced;
*1 onion, sliced;
*6 springs thyme;
*3 springs rosemary;
*Pepper to taste;

What to do next:

1. Mix the salt, garlic, onion, thyme, rosemary and pepper.
2. Using a dish large enough to hold all the duck pieces in a single layer sprinkle 1/3 of the salt mixture on the bottom.
3. Put the duck pieces in the dish, skin side up on the salt mixture bed.
4. Add the remaining 2/3 of the salt mixture evenly on the duck.
5. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 weeks.
6. When ready, preheat your oven to 225 F
7. REMOVE THE SALT!!! from the duck & arrange the duck in a baking dish in a tight single layer.
8. Melt the duck fat and pour on the duck. Make sure it covers the meat entirely.
9. Put in the oven for 4 to 5 hours until the meat can easily be pulled from the bone. It can also go for longer if you want.
10. In a skillet, pour a little of fat into the skillet and brown the duck on both sides for 3 minutes.
11. The duck confit is now ready, (Can be stored in the fat where it will stay good for weeks.)


Carrot Confit

Ingredients

*2 pounds of carrots
*zest if lemon
*juice of 2 lemons
*4 cloves of garlic, minced
* 3 sprigs thyme
* 1 cup of coconut oil

What to do next:
1. Preheat your oven to 275 F.
2. Prepare your carrots. You can cut them in 1 inch pieces or leave them whole if they will fit all flat in your baking dish.
3. Mix the zest, lemon juice, garlic, thyme and fat.
4. Pour the fat mixture on the carrots. It should ideally cover the carrots completely. Add fat if necessary.
5. Put in the oven for about 2 hours.
6. Remove from oven. At this point, the carrots will be soft and delicious.
7. As an optional step before serving, brown the carrots in a large skillet with the fat mixture that was used to cook them. This will create a crispy exterior and a tender interior.

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