Sous Vide Duck Confit

[Chris Hennes]

51 minutes ago, Groentehart said:

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?

I also rinse, pretty thoroughly. My understanding is that once the curing stage is done you've hit the amount of salt you want, so you want to remove the extra so it doesn't become too salty.

[Groentehart]

Thank you @weinoo and @Chris Hennes I'll give it another go and will report in a few days.

[Groentehart]

Thank you all for the commentaar and guidance. This batch worked out fine. I rinser and dried the legs an put them in the oven (overnight 8hrs 85 degrees Celsius). Do you drain and strain the fat before staving it in a container in the fridge? Or just pop it in?

 

Kind regards, Debbie 

[weinoo]

Hudson Valley Duck at Union Square today. While they're not 2 for $5 any more, they're available, and we needed confit in the freezer, as well as to eat soon, I believe.

 

 

Six big-ass legs curing...they're a pound each, before trimming.  Salt, pepper, shallots, garlic, thyme.

Also have 2 cups of beautifully rendered fat, from the trimming of the legs. Legs will be individually vacuum packed, and cooked sous vide...till done; though a pair will likely be cooked together to have a nice dinner this weekend.

[TdeV]

@weinoo, do you use any of the fat when you make the confit? How long and what temp, please?

 

 

Edited to add that I just discovered this thread and haven't yet read it.

Edited February 3, 2022 by TdeV (log)

[weinoo]

27 minutes ago, TdeV said:

@weinoo, do you use any of the fat when you make the confit? How long and what temp, please?

 

Edited to add that I just discovered this thread and haven't yet read it.

 

At most, a tablespoon in each bag, but these legs are quite fatty, so I don't think that'll be necessary.

 

I'll probably go 82C for 7 or 8 hours. The long method, as advocated by Serious Eats, is 68C for something like 36 hours, allegedly for the best texture.

[weinoo]

Here's the Doug Baldwin info, which I tend to follow:

 

Turkey, Duck or Goose Leg Confit

• Duck, Goose or Turkey Legs
• Rendered Duck or Goose Fat (or Lard)
• Salt and Pepper

Place legs in a 5–10% brine (50–100 grams salt per 1 liter) for three to six hours. The brine may be flavored with sprigs of thyme, bay leaves, garlic, and orange/ lemon slices.

After brining, rinse legs and pat dry with paper towels. Season with Kosher/sea salt and coarse ground pepper. Individually vacuum seal the legs with 2–4 tablespoons of rendered fat.

Place the vacuum sealed legs in a 176°F (80°C) water bath for 8 to 12 hours. Since some of the liquid in the bag will change phase (to gas), the bag will puff and may float to the surface. To prevent uneven cooking, the bags should be held under water using a wire rack or some other restraint. [After cooking, the legs may be rapidly cooled in ice water (see Table 1.1) and frozen or refrigerated at below 39°F (4°C) indefinitely.]

To serve, (reheat and) sear until skin is crispy. May also be served without skin and torn into pieces.

[Duvel]

I used 68 oC for 24h with great effect, but for the ease of timing I use 70 oC for 18h now … 

 

 

[paulraphael]

One of the tricks to getting traditional confit flavor is to do cook / chill, and open the bags before chilling (you can reseal them). Apparently that signature confit flavor comes from the fats oxidizing a bit, which you won't get much of in a sealed bag.