Hi Nils,

On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:55:07 GMT, "Nils Gustaf Lindgren"
> wrote:

>Please tell me, what wine WOULD you choose with cuisse de canard confit?

First of all, my apologies for the delay. We're just back from a trip
to Brest, and have only just logged on again.

Well, I've said this before and Mike T has disagreed with me
vigorously - he's of course entitled to be as wrong as me! But I find
that a lot depends upon how you prepare your confit. If you do what
you should, and warm the tin/packet (I buy mine NOT canned but vav
packed) till the fat is very runny, and then drain it well, you've
started well.

The next stage in ending up with something edible is a tip I learned
from the great prophet of SW french cooking (turned PITA) André
Daguin, who points out that the twin problems of the meat of a confit
when made properly, is impregnated fat and impregnated salt. Although
there's a dreadful vogue of doing n'importe quoi and calling it confit
(thanks emeril) it's worth remembering that a confit is designed to
cosnerve duck without refrigeration - hence the high salt levels that
SHOULD be used.

Anyway, to deal with both salt and fat, he recommends putting the legs
on a grid and steaming it for 15 minutes. The steam disoolved both fat
AND excess salt, and you end up with meat that is digestible and not
too salty. Now all you have to do is to drisp up the skin, so 15 mins
or so, skins side up in a multifunction oven, alternating grill and
fan will ed up with the perfect confit ready to eat.

So IF that's the way you prepare your confit, then it will go
perfectly with a Bordeaux style wine. In fact I often use Bergerac, as
that's what I've got a good choice of.

If on the other hand you either don't defat properly or overgrill it
you get a load of (help me Mark... is it picrolines?)- bitter by
products and you need to make a much greater effort to get a match. A
young cahors will be fine, as Mike, teasingly, said as will a Madiran,
in my view. You NEED to tannins to rasp through the fat and salt.

As for getting away at Easter, unfortunately we can't as we have
guests all round that period. However, if you wanted to pass by here
on your way south and see what I mean about defatting confit, you
would be most welcome. We've still got some rooms free. I'd also be
more than happy to make an appointment for you to see Jacques and
Annie Fontaine's duck farm and see for yourselves whether it's
necessary to ill treat ducks to get foie gras.

I completely share the unease people have about cruel treatment of
animals. As long as it extends in equal measure to chickens, to pigs
and to cattle. I am sorry but I think it's the height of hypocrisy to
single out foie gras, which gives a product which is truly excellent,
while turning a blind eye to battery pork production (such as takes
place in Western France - Brittany and Normandy) and industrial
chicken farms (almost everywhere in the world) which produce
mediocrity if not worse.

I'm sure you're not in that position Nils, but many, many people in
the UK for example, think nothing of snapping up Tesco's two chickens
for a fiver offer, while pointing the finger at foie gras.

--
All the best
Fatty from Forges