French · Dinner

Duck confit

Name: Duck confit
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 3 h 30 min
Total time: 15 h 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 bone-in skin-on duck legs, about 10 ounces each; 4 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, lightly crushed; 6 thyme sprigs; 2 rosemary sprigs; 2 bay leaves, crumbled; 6 garlic cloves, smashed; 6 cups rendered duck fat, or enough to cover; 1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes, halved; 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley; 1 teaspoon flaky salt, for potatoes

Duck legs salt-cured with garlic and herbs, cooked slowly beneath duck fat until meltingly tender, then crisped until the skin shatters.

About 15 hr 50 minTotal

About 3 hr 50 minActive

$$$Cost

AdvancedDifficulty

Makes 4 servings

Equipment

Use a hot sheet pan under an inverted oven-safe metal bowl for the covered phase.
Best value covered pot
Lodge Essential Enamel 6-Quart Dutch Oven · EC6D43
View at Amazon
Another workable path: Use a hot sheet pan under an inverted oven-safe metal bowl for the covered phase.
Paid links. As an Amazon Associate, Kwilt earns from qualifying purchases.
How we chose
Research-backed · reviewed Aug 2026
We matched capacity, lid fit, oven rating, heat retention, maneuverability, care, stable model identity, and usefulness outside bread baking. Kwilt has not baked with this pot.
Lodge Essential Enamel 6-Quart Dutch Oven · EC6D43: The six-quart capacity, heavy cast-iron body, and fitted lid create the enclosed high-heat environment used by these bread methods while remaining useful beyond baking. Trade-off: At more than thirteen pounds it is demanding to move when hot, and the enamel needs gentler utensils and hand washing.
Another workable path: Bake on a preheated heavy sheet pan under an inverted oven-safe metal bowl, keeping face and hands clear when removing the hot cover.
Sources
Lodge six-quart Essential Enamel specifications
Amazon exact product listing

Ingredients

1× recipe · Makes 4 servings

4 bone-in skin-on duck legs, about 10 ounces each
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns, lightly crushed
6 thyme sprigs
2 rosemary sprigs
2 bay leaves, crumbled
6 garlic cloves, smashed
6 cups rendered duck fat, or enough to cover
1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes, halved
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon flaky salt, for potatoes

Instructions

Rub duck legs evenly with kosher salt and peppercorns and pack with thyme, rosemary, bay, and garlic in a covered nonreactive dish. Refrigerate 12 hours—long enough to season, but not so long that the meat becomes ham-like.
Brush off herbs and wipe legs very dry; do not rinse water into the fat. Nestle skin-side up in a , add strained duck fat to cover, and heat until only an occasional small bubble appears.
Cook uncovered at 225°F until the meat is silky, pulls from the ankle, and reaches about 190°F, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Cool legs in fat 30 minutes, then lift out carefully and strain the reusable fat.
Raise oven to 450°F. Toss potatoes with 1/3 cup strained duck fat and flaky salt; roast cut-side down 25 to 30 minutes. Add legs skin-side up for the final 12 to 15 minutes until reheated to 165°F and deeply crisp.
Rest duck 5 minutes, scatter parsley over potatoes, and serve without a heavy sauce. Refrigerate strained fat promptly; this recipe makes no room-temperature preservation claim.

Southwestern FranceSouthwestern French slow cooking

From the table

About this recipe

Duck confit is a southwestern French preservation-derived technique in which cured legs cook slowly beneath duck fat until collagen-soft, then crisp for service.

Confit de canard was historically preservation by salt and submersion in fat. Here it is a refrigerated cooking method, not shelf-stable canning. The cure, low fat cook, and separate high-heat crisp are all defining; ordinary roasted duck legs should not be mislabeled confit. This Kwilt version follows the reviewed household adaptation: Preserve the two strongest-rated traditional controls while explicitly limiting preservation claims, providing exact cure time, and using the recovered fat in a complete occasion meal.

Sources

Dinner does not stop at the recipe