Confit oil...

[Gul_Dekar]

I managed to save enough duck fat from two ducks to make my first duck confits a few weeks ago. After finishing up the duck legs, i was wondering if it's still okay to reuse the fat after I strained out all unwanted bits for next time? Are there microbial concerns or would the fat break down and taste a bit off? Just curious...

[Abra]

There's a lot of salt in the fat from confit, so for that reason alone I toss it. The jello-like substance that forms at the bottom of the confit container, now that's another story. It makes a delicious sauce when tossed in judicious amounts in sauteed vegetables. Just be careful with it as it's very concentrated in flavor.

[reuvens]

There's a lot of salt in the fat from confit

???

When I make Duck Confit Legs i salt the legs with Sea salt and let them cure for a good 12 hours. Then rinse/wash! the salt off and confit the legs. The confit fat shoudln´t be salty at all and for reusing it you just have to clarify the fat.......

and it is ready to go for a second, third, fourth...............

[Silly Disciple]

I thought salt doesn't dissolve in fat, thus by straining it you shouldn't have any salt in it, right?

SD

[jackal10]

Fat is not entirely dry, so you will get some salt in it.

However if you are re-using it for confit it shouldn't matter.

Eventually it will oxidise and develop off tastes, but if it tastes OK, then go for it.

I like it spread on toast and sprinkled with coarse salt, but alas toast and dripping are now non-PC according to the food police. Great for frying or roasting potatoes as well.

Edited July 18, 2005 by jackal10 (log)

[Mallet]

Leftover fat from confit is most definitely reusable (and so good ). Use it in pretty much anything where fat is desirable (e.g: to roast potatoes, to make purée from various root vegetables, more confit etc..). The possibilties are endless.

[Brett Emerson]

Leftover fat from confit is most definitely reusable (and so good ). Use it in pretty much anything where fat is desirable (e.g: to roast potatoes, to make purée from various root vegetables, more confit etc..). The possibilties are endless.

←

I'd have to agree with Mallet on this one. At restaurants in San Francisco and Berkeley where I've worked, we tend to reuse the fat once for another batch of confit. And the duck fat is definitely good for cooking potatoes and root vegetables. In the autumn, I particularly love it with for slowly cooking small parsnips (4 inches) over low heat on the stove top in a cast iron pan. They get all caramelized on the outside and tender in the inside. Yum!

[Abra]

I'll disagree with myself here - actually, to use it again for confit seems smart to me. But I do find the fat too salty to use, plus the herb flavors it picks up from the confit, for times when when I just want the pure duck fat flavor in some other food. For that I prefer to use just rendered fat.

[Shalmanese]

Huh? I thought the entire point of confit was to get that lovely infused duck fat. Who cares how salty it is? Just use less salt in the final dish. Unless your using gallons of duck fat in a single dish or using other salty items, it shouldn't be a problem.

[JayBassin]

Confit fat (duck & goose) can be kept almost indefinitely in the fridge if it's strained AND if all the moisture (jus and water) is cooked out of it. If it's pure fat. I use leftover confit fat to make more confit, so the volume increases over time. I keep only a few quarts on hand. It's fantastic as a fat for saute---especially potatoes!

Edited July 18, 2005 by JayBassin (log)