Confit duck leg can sound daunting at first, but with a little time it’s surprisingly straightforward to make at home. These duck legs are cured with thyme, coriander and fenugreek, slowly cooked in duck fat until meltingly tender, then crisped until golden and served with an orange and star anise sauce.
This is the confit duck leg recipe I used for a dish at my pop-up restaurant, Dinner Party Club, last year. I love serving confit duck for dinner parties because most of the work is done ahead of time, and all that’s left before serving is crisping the duck and warming the sauce. The warming spices and orange sauce make it especially good for winter dinner parties, while still feeling balanced rather than too heavy. I’ve served it here with slow roasted celeriac, but it would also work well with my rosemary mashed potatoes recipe.
In this Post
- Ingredients
- Instructions
- Variations & Substitutes
- Storing & Reheating Leftovers
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The Recipe
Ingredients
Duck legs: This recipe is written for approximately 1 kilogram of duck legs. If your duck legs weigh more or less than this, adjust the salt accordingly so it equals 1% of the total duck weight. Try to use duck legs that are a similar size so they cook evenly.
Duck fat: You only need enough duck fat to mostly submerge the duck legs, so don’t use the entire amount if your baking dish is smaller. Once strained, the duck fat can be refrigerated and reused for roast potatoes, vegetables or another batch of confit.
White wine: Use a dry white wine for the sauce, ideally something you’d also enjoy drinking. A richer style of Chardonnay would be my pick here, but any dry white wine you like will work well.
Spices: The combination of thyme, fenugreek and coriander gives the duck a subtle warmth without overpowering it. Fenugreek in particular adds a savoury, slightly aromatic depth that works beautifully with duck.
Orange: Both the juice and peel are used in this recipe. The peel slowly infuses the duck while cooking, while the juice brightens the sauce and balances the richness of the confit.
How to make confit duck leg
ONE: Mix the salt, thyme, ground fenugreek, ground coriander and black pepper then coat the duck legs in them. Cover or transfer to a ziplock bag and refrigerate overnight.
TWO: Place the salted duck legs, the bay leaves, orange peel and garlic cloves in a baking dish, so that the duck legs are tightly packed. Submerge the duck legs with the duck fat.
THREE: Cover the baking dish with tin foil and bake in the oven at 160ºC (140ºC fan) for around 4 hours, until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.
FOUR: Remove the duck legs from the fat and let the fat cool. Once it has solidified, scoop it off and set aside. You are going to use the liquid underneath to make the sauce.
FIVE: To make the sauce, reduce the white wine and white wine vinegar, then add the cooking liquid from the duck, the star anise and the orange juice and reduce until lightly thickened and glossy.
SIX: Heat the oven to 220ºC (200ºC fan). Pat the duck legs dry, then place in the oven for about 15 minutes, until warmed through and the skin is crispy.
Variations & Substitutions
Try different spices. The thyme, fenugreek and coriander give the duck a warm, aromatic flavour, but you can easily adjust the spice profile. A little ground cumin, fennel seed or Chinese five spice would also work well with duck.
Use chicken legs instead. This method also works well with chicken legs. The cooking time may be slightly shorter depending on their size, and the final result will be lighter and less rich than duck confit.
Storing & Reheating Leftovers
Storing confit duck
Store the duck legs submerged in their fat in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheating confit duck
If you’re making the duck ahead of time, store the legs in their fat without crisping them first. When ready to serve, remove the duck legs from the fridge and allow them to sit at room temperature for 20–30 minutes if possible. Pat dry, then roast at 220°C (200ºC fan) for 10–15 minutes until heated through and crisp.
Reusing duck fat
Strain the duck fat after cooking and refrigerate it for future use. It’s excellent for roast potatoes, vegetables or more confit duck!
Frequently Asked Questions
Confit is a traditional French cooking technique where meat is slowly cooked in fat at a low temperature until tender. Originally, this was used as a method of preserving meat before refrigeration.
Not completely, but they should be mostly submerged while cooking. The duck will also release some fat as it cooks.
Yes. In fact, confit duck is ideal for dinner parties because most of the work can be done ahead of time. Simply crisp the duck legs before serving.
Confit duck pairs well with mashed potatoes, roasted celeriac, lentils or a simple green salad to balance the richness.
The Recipe
I’d love to hear how you get on with making this recipe if you try it and how much you enjoyed eating it! Leave a review below for me to read, or tag me on Instagram if you share a photo.
Print
Confit Duck Leg
Confit duck leg cured with warming spices, slowly cooked in duck fat until meltingly tender, then crisped until golden just before serving.
- Total Time: 5 hours plus overnight curing
- Yield: 4 serves 1x
Ingredients
- 4 duck legs (approximately 1 kilogram total weight)
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 10 grams kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Juice and peel of 1 medium orange
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 300 grams duck fat
- 120 millilitres dry white wine
- 1–2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 whole star anise
- 1 tablespoon duck fat
Instructions
Cure the duck legs
- Pat the duck legs dry with paper towels.
- In a large bowl, combine the dried thyme, ground fenugreek, ground coriander, kosher salt and black pepper.
- Add the duck legs and rub the cure mixture all over them.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for up to 24 hours.
Cook the duck legs
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (140ºC fan).
- Arrange the duck legs snugly in a small baking dish or ovenproof pan.
- Add the orange peel, bay leaves and crushed garlic around the duck legs.
- Melt the duck fat and pour over enough fat to mostly submerge the duck legs. You may not need to use all of the duck fat.
- Cover tightly with foil and cook for 4 hours, or until the duck is very tender and the meat easily pulls away from the bone.
- Carefully remove the duck legs from the fat and set aside.
- Allow the cooking fat to cool slightly, then skim off the duck fat and reserve it. Set aside 120 millilitres of the cooking liquid underneath for the sauce.
Make the sauce
- Combine the white wine and white wine vinegar in a small saucepan.
- Bring to a simmer and reduce by about half.
- Add the orange juice, reserved duck cooking liquid and star anise, then continue simmering until slightly reduced and glossy.
- Whisk in 1 tablespoon of reserved duck fat just before serving.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Crisp the duck legs
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (200ºC fan).
- Pat the duck legs dry with paper towels, then place them skin-side up on a wire rack set over a tray.
- Roast for 10–15 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and deeply golden.
- Serve with the orange and star anise sauce spooned over or alongside.
Notes
- Duck fat. Be careful not to overfill the baking dish with duck fat. The fat expands as it heats and can easily overflow in the oven (speaking from personal experience here).
- Orange juice. Depending on the sweetness and size of your orange, you may not need to use all of the juice in the sauce. Add a little at a time and taste as you go, as too much orange juice can throw off the balance of the sauce and make it too sweet.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Curing time: overnight
- Cook Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Leave a Reply