Sous Vide Duck Confit

[pbear]

Gotcha. Good luck.

[mmille24]

Hi pbear. No, I didn't include any curing salt. I did previously cook duck legs at 82 C for 8 hours, but this time wanted to experiment with another temperature and follow this advice. For now the legs are in the freezer. Maybe browining on the outside and warming in the oven a little longer is going to be enough if the legs already cooked 10 hours at 75 C.

Thanks

What did you like better? 82C at 8 or 75C at 10? I've tried 75C before, I remember the meat was a bit drier than I would have liked.

[Franci]

Hi mmille24! I liked better the 82C at 8, but I didn't cure the legs long enough, so it was more braised than confit but definitely more tender.

[rotuts]

Its still not clear to me the difference between 'confit' ie cured vs braised.

and Im thinking braised in a SV bag where the flavor stays in the bag, even if there is some 'jus' vs braised in the

conventional sense in a Pot where that 'jus' becomes your Sauce ..

I have had confit in the past but so long ago I can't remember the details re taste.

is 'Confit' , at least the curing part, similar to 'corning' ie corned beef of various cuts, but

of fowl? so if you took a duck bit and cured it and the SV'd it at the proper temp and then did the same

with a similar duck bit but not cured, but SV'd

what would be the taste difference between them ?

( seasonal ) cheers your way !

Edited December 23, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Anna N]

I think the major difference between braised duck and duck confit is that braising involves cooking in liquid while confit is cooked in fat. And cured duck is liked cured pork (bacon) in a way. The curing firms up the flesh as well as flavouring it. Taste and texture-wise I find them to be quite different. I don,t know if that helps at all..

[rotuts]

thanks that helps a lot.

but .... do you think the cured duck is "" corned "" ?

as in corned beef?

split ing a few hair, in a way ...

duck for me it a difficult item to fined.

I have in the past many times done Duck in Two Ways based on

http://www.amazon.com/New-Making-Cook-Techniques-Science/dp/0688152546/ref=sr_1_sc_1/191-0327839-9701328?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387832827&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=madalene+kamman

but she did a PBS show where you did the breast ( w fat !!) first

and the second course were the legs roasted to chris-py in the oven

beyond delicous.

Edited December 23, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Shalmanese]

Mhyrvold has demonstrated that steamed and brushed with duck fat confit was indistinguishable from traditionally cooked, unaged confit. I would imagine a braised confit would be slight less flavorful since some of the flavor would be absorbed into the braising liquid but apart from that, I can't imagine many huge differences.

The traditional cooking method is chosen NOT for it's cooking ability but for it's keeping ability. Confit was traditionally used to preserve meat over long winters at room temperature. Despite this now no longer being a major requirement for confit, the traditional techniques haven't received much re-examination.

[glennbech]

I have made sous vide duck confit many times. I salt and herb overnight, rinse off in the morning, seal each leg individually with a tablespoon of frozen duck fat, and cook 8-10 hours at 82C, chill in an ice bath, and in to the back of the refrigerator until I need it. Works like a charm.

+ 1 from me on this one. If you render fat from the duck carcas yourself, there should be enough for one or two pouches. When I have made duck confit the traditional way, I have always have to purchase extra fat.

[Franci]

Its still not clear to me the difference between 'confit' ie cured vs braised.

and Im thinking braised in a SV bag where the flavor stays in the bag, even if there is some 'jus' vs braised in the

conventional sense in a Pot where that 'jus' becomes your Sauce ..

I have had confit in the past but so long ago I can't remember the details re taste.

is 'Confit' , at least the curing part, similar to 'corning' ie corned beef of various cuts, but

of fowl? so if you took a duck bit and cured it and the SV'd it at the proper temp and then did the same

with a similar duck bit but not cured, but SV'd

what would be the taste difference between them ?

( seasonal ) cheers your way !

In my mind confit duck must have that cured feel, salty, shreddable meat like the confit you buy in France sous vide (or in cans). Some are better than others for sure but stil all of them have these commonalities. Here in the States, I haven't bought yet already prepared duck confit legs, I need to get from my farmer's market or Dartagnan, just to compare. My memory is still very fresh.

I'll do again the 82C 12 hours but with longer curing and compare.

[SnewtonBR]

On December 25, 2013 at 10:54 AM, glennbech said:

+ 1 from me on this one. If you render fat from the duck carcas yourself, there should be enough for one or two pouches. When I have made duck confit the traditional way, I have always have to purchase extra fat.

Hello, Glenn

 

I intend to make duck confit on the 27th, but preparing the sous-vide a couple of days earlier, keeping it in the fridge as you do.  I know this is an old discussion, but I'm hoping you are still around to help me out - I see many different ideas to re-heat the duck, most of them sear the skin on a hot skillet, but I am wondering if you could place it in a 350F oven to warm it up and then run the duck skin side up under the broiler?  I hate to have to fry stuff when guests are around... and if there was a more "user friendly" method, I'd love to hear about it... 

 

thank you, or anyone else that might be able to help  me

[Chris Hennes]

Yes, you can rewarm it in the oven just as you describe. I used a torch to sear mine off, but I suspect a broiler would do the trick as well.

[SnewtonBR]

I've got a torch!  That could add a lot of drama to my dinner party.... yeah!

 

 

[SnewtonBR]

Hello there, everybody

 

just wanted to say thank you for the advice and help - I made the duck confit and it turned out absolutely spectacular, one of the best dishes I cooked in a long,  long time!
 

I hope it's ok to share my post about it, I gave credit to this forum as the advice to cook 10 hours at 82 C was spot on!

 

for those interested, here is the link

 

http://bewitchingkitchen.com/2016/01/13/duck-confit-sous-vide-style/

[slschnur]

Not at all sure this is the appropriate place, but I have a quick question about SV duck confit.  In clearing out my freezer, I found three SV duck legs from 2013.  They were sealed in a chamber vacuum sealer & have remained frozen since then.  
Will they still be fit to eat after 3 years or should I just bin them?  I haven't been able to find an unambiguous answer on Google, so hope to find one here.  Many thanks.

[Shalmanese]

Yes, they're fine.

[gfweb]

They will surely be safe and probably will taste good. Flavor might be off, but I doubt it.

[slschnur]

Many thanks!  I really didn't want to throw them out & thought they were probably okay, but wasn't sure.  I have now started an inventory system for my freezers!

[Groentehart]

Hi all,

 

hope people are still following this topic. I'm trying to make duck confit for the first time and it seems i terribly failed. I went to my go to specialised poultry store and got some legs from wild and tame ducks to try confit them, i am making small samples to try for Christmas menu so i can see the difference in taste and texture.

 

I thougt the best way to confit would be to use the oven (normal electric) due to more stable temperature. I have rubbed my duck-leggs with salt, laurel, thyme, a tiny-bit of orangepeal and juniper rubbed them in and put them in the fridge overnight.

 

Next day i wiped them off with kitchen paper submerged them in gently melted duck fat and put them in a preheated oven from about 85 C the fat never got real hot before putting it in the oven.

 

The recipe said i should put the oven on 170C for 2 hours but reading this forum it convinced me to start trying lower temperature. It are really tiny legs so i thought after 3-4 hours they should have soften a little????

 

It seemed almost notting had happend except probably the meat is cooked. I noticed the meat of the wild duck was more stringy and dark red and firmer than the tame one which got much paler. What am I doing wrong?

 

Kind regards, Debbie   

 

[kayb]

I'm far from an expert in making duck confit, but I would be surprised if you could confit wild and tame duck together, at least during the initial cook. By its nature, wild duck is going to be a firmer meat; it'll take longer to come to the melting tenderness you want. Go that long with tame duck, and it would dissolve.

 

I'd pull my tame duck when I thought it was ready, and leave the wild for a few more hours.

 

 

[weinoo]

It also sounds like maybe the oil never got hot enough?

[Groentehart]

Hi @kayb and @weinoo, 

 

I'm sorry i wasn't clear they're not in the same bowl in the oven or even on the same board when rubbed and refrigerated. Yes that is why im so confused i thought the tame duck would become a little bit tender and would break down and lose from the bone after 4 hours but are the long cooking times at 85-90C from 7 hrs mentioned in this topic for tame duck or wild ones?

 

I'm gonna try a new sample later this week but i would like some advice to what might have caused this issue.

 

@weinoo Do i first have to heat it to boil? Or bake the legs shortly before submerging them into the fat?

 

Thank you so much for your responses and feedback!

 

 

[weinoo]

No, I've never baked the legs before confiting them.  And I've only done confit on the stovetop (not willing to maybe make a huge mess inside my oven), with what you call tame ducks.

 

Here's a topic which might help...https://forums.egullet.org/topic/138785-duck-confit-cooking-time-variations/?tab=comments#comment-1814905

 

 

Edited December 4, 2017 by weinoo (log)

[weinoo]

Also, I think I'd forget the wild ducks.  They just don't have the same fat content and texture to make a good confit, in my opinion.  Not that they aren't delicious when prepared properly in other manners.

[Groentehart]

Thank you for all the suggestions, i'm gonna try only the tame duck and heat up the fat more untill it simmers and than leave it at 85C for about 6 hrs. I'll get back to this topic in a few days.

 

Ps. I saw a comment somewhere about rinsing after the dry rub, is that so none of the salt can get in the fat and dry the duck instead of moisturising it? Or will wiping off be enough?

[weinoo]

I've rinsed.