Duck Confit

Before "confit" became a trendy restaurant term for any kind of meat, fish, fruit or vegetable cooked in anything from olive oil to syrup, confit was actually a real form of preservation. Ducks or lumps of pork would be salted then slowly cooked and packed into jars and completely sealed in their own fat.

Ingredients per person:

1 duck leg - preferably large ones from "foie gras" ducks
1 tspn coarse sea salt
A few black peppercorns - cracked
1 star anise - smashed
a few thin slices of garlic
leaves from a sprig of thyme

To cook

Tinned goosefat - readily available from deli's.

Method:

1. Place the salt and spices into a pestle of food blender and give them a quick smash.

2. Rub this mixture all over the duck legs then place in a non metallic container, cling wrap and chill overnight.

3. Remove the legs and rinse under cold running water then pat dry.

4. Place the legs in a heavy saucepan and completely cover with duck or goosefat. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat as low as you possibly can and cook for 2-3 hours until the legs are tender. Cool in the fat.

Theoretically, these legs will be good for months but, as i don't want to be sued if you poison yourself, i recommend you stick to the 3-4 day safe zone, in the fridge. Anyway, chances are you will want to be eating them asap.

To serve:

Pre-heat your oven to 180°c. Remove the legs from the fat, scrape off any excess and place in a small oven tray. Re-heat for 12 minutes then brush with honey and grill until the skin is crisp.

Try serving with some new potatoes and orange butter, or a chorizo and pepper salad or with chips and aioli. You could also shred the leg meat and use it in spring rolls or simply as a sandwich filling with shredded scallions and hoi-sin.