A Wonderful French Recipe for the Winter: Duck Confit

Long before the days of refrigeration, cooks had a different way of preserving their foods, particularly meats, to last them all Winter long. While it’s no longer necessary to preserve meats through smoking and curing, these methods lend themselves to particularly delicious dishes. Browse all our cooking vacations in France. The same can be said for confit. In the past, confit meant placing duck legs into jars of duck fat to store the meat for long periods of time. Today, meat can also be confited by cooking it in its own fat, which makes the meat succulent and tender. While duck confit isn’t a dish that should necessarily be made every weekend, it is one that’s particularly suited to the cold weather. It’s hearty, filling, and, simply put, intoxicating. It’s a splurge — and it’s one French recipe we highly recommend. Duck confit is particularly well known in Gascony and southwest France, but it’s popular throughout France as well. You can also make the dish your own by playing with the different spices and herbs in your salt mix, or by serving the duck confit over risotto or goose-fat roasted potatoes.