What is it about? What is it for? Years ago when I started going to nice
restaurants, the French ones mainly, they would often offer duck confit. I
would ask what it was, and they explained it was duck meat preserved in duck
fat. Well, Why?? I thought it might be because they had cooked duck meat they
had in the kitchen that was about to go spoiled, so they covered it in duck fat
and chilled it. Why didn't they just cook fresh duck? Why did they seem proud
to serve old duck in duck fat, or is that scraped away first? or not?
I'm sure there must be something to it that's good, but I can't think what.
How is it served, and how is it eaten? Lifted out of that heavy fat and eaten
like that, all greasy? Is it because it changes the flavor, and if so how?
Well you can see that my interest in very deep, I just don't get it, I never
did. I hope one of you brighter people will enlighten me.---Please.
Nancree

On 20 Jul 2004 09:39:30 GMT, onono (Nancree) wrote:

>What is it about? What is it for? Years ago when I started going to nice
>restaurants, the French ones mainly, they would often offer duck confit. I
>would ask what it was, and they explained it was duck meat preserved in duck
>fat. Well, Why?? I thought it might be because they had cooked duck meat they
>had in the kitchen that was about to go spoiled, so they covered it in duck fat
>and chilled it. Why didn't they just cook fresh duck? Why did they seem proud
>to serve old duck in duck fat, or is that scraped away first? or not?
> I'm sure there must be something to it that's good, but I can't think what.
>How is it served, and how is it eaten? Lifted out of that heavy fat and eaten
>like that, all greasy? Is it because it changes the flavor, and if so how?
> Well you can see that my interest in very deep, I just don't get it, I never
>did. I hope one of you brighter people will enlighten me.---Please.

Erm. Maybe I've never actually had duck confit... the "duck confit" I was
served was basically pieces of duck sorta deep fried in duck fat. The flesh
was tender and flavourful, the skin was crisp and the layer of fat
underneath was completely melted into the meat.

So what I had didn't resemble "preserved in duck fat" at all. It was hot,
crispy, definately greasy, and wonderful in small amounts. I wouldn't want
a whole plate of just that, but it was nicely accompanied and so the
greasiness was played down a little. It was a long time ago that I had it,
though. Maybe things change?

--
Siobhan Perricone
Humans wrote the bible,
God wrote the rocks
-- Word of God by Kathy Mar

Nancree a écrit :

> What is it about? What is it for? Years ago when I started going to nice
> restaurants, the French ones mainly, they would often offer duck confit. I
> would ask what it was, and they explained it was duck meat preserved in duck
> fat. Well, Why?? I thought it might be because they had cooked duck meat they
> had in the kitchen that was about to go spoiled, so they covered it in duck fat
> and chilled it. Why didn't they just cook fresh duck? Why did they seem proud
> to serve old duck in duck fat, or is that scraped away first? or not?
> I'm sure there must be something to it that's good, but I can't think what.
> How is it served, and how is it eaten? Lifted out of that heavy fat and eaten
> like that, all greasy? Is it because it changes the flavor, and if so how?
> Well you can see that my interest in very deep, I just don't get it, I never
> did. I hope one of you brighter people will enlighten me.---Please.
> Nancree

Originally, duck confit was a means of preserving duck meat. With modern methods of
conservation, it's no longer necessary for that purpose - but the meat treated that
way is so good (and special - it is as different from fresh duck as smoked salmon
is from fresh one) that it is still manufactured. The way to cook it is: Open the
can, get the top layer of fat out, get the duck pieces out, scrape them free from
the fat (NB: do NOT throw the fat out! You'll see why...). Place the duck pieces in
a shallow ovenproof dish, cook in hot oven for half an hour, turning once. The skin
becomes deliciously crisp. Meanwhile, saute cubed potatoes in some of the duck fat.
Serve the confit with the potatoes, with a generous sprinkling of chopped garlic
and chopped parsley on the latter. Delicious!
Keep the remaining duck fat in the fridge for more sauteed potatoes.

Nathalie in Switzerland

"Nancree" > wrote in message
...
> What is it about? What is it for? Years ago when I started going to nice
> restaurants, the French ones mainly, they would often offer duck confit. I
> would ask what it was, and they explained it was duck meat preserved in
duck
> fat. Well, Why?? I thought it might be because they had cooked duck meat
they
> had in the kitchen that was about to go spoiled, so they covered it in
duck fat
> and chilled it. Why didn't they just cook fresh duck? Why did they seem
proud
> to serve old duck in duck fat, or is that scraped away first? or not?
> I'm sure there must be something to it that's good, but I can't think
what.
> How is it served, and how is it eaten? Lifted out of that heavy fat and
eaten
> like that, all greasy? Is it because it changes the flavor, and if so
how?
> Well you can see that my interest in very deep, I just don't get it, I
never
> did. I hope one of you brighter people will enlighten me.---Please.
> Nancree

Potting meat in fat was originally a way of preserving the meat. The duck is
cooked and then while stil hot the rendered fat is poured over it. Now it is
done because the meat turns out exceptionally juicy from all that fat, as
you might imagine. It is heated, so the fat melts and runs off. You are
served just the meat.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

nancree a écrit :

> Thanks for your reply, Natalie. I had always thought that the duck was
> placed in a container, the fat poured over it and then chilled. But
> are you saying it is browned first? And when you say {"open the
> can") etc. , I don't think canned duck confit is available here. It
> is often offered in French restaurants, and if it was browned first,
> and then chilled in the fat, then re-heated,it mignt be more
> appealing.--------------Nancree

No, the duck is not browned first, it's cooked for a long long time on a very low heat in the fat - in
French, "confire" means to cook that way.

Nathalie in Switzerland

nancree a écrit :

> My remaining question would be, "Is the duck confit
> crispy brown when served?"
> I think I'll try it the next time it's available.
> Nancree

Answer: Yes. The crisping is done in the oven, just before serving.

Nathalie in Switzerland

A shot rang out! And (Doug Freyburger) said:
> byakee wrote:
> >
> > I thought perhaps it was meat that was preserved with some alcohol.
> > In retrospect, I guess that sounds kind of goofy...
>
> I don't think it sounds goofy. Fruit preserved in brandy is
> good enough that it would definitely be worth trying to
> preserve meat in brandy.

No, no -- I meant that my assumption that "potted" meant "meat preserved
with alcohol" was goofy -- somewhat akin to one being stewed or toasted
I guess... ;-)


--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
(COLD to HOT for e-mail)
"Why do my knees feel like the wanna tear up?"
- Carl, ATHF

A shot rang out! And (Doug Freyburger) said:
> byakee wrote:
> >
> > I thought perhaps it was meat that was preserved with some alcohol.
> > In retrospect, I guess that sounds kind of goofy...
>
> I don't think it sounds goofy. Fruit preserved in brandy is
> good enough that it would definitely be worth trying to
> preserve meat in brandy.

No, no -- I meant that my assumption that "potted" meant "meat preserved
with alcohol" was goofy -- somewhat akin to one being stewed or toasted
I guess... ;-)


--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
(COLD to HOT for e-mail)
"Why do my knees feel like the wanna tear up?"
- Carl, ATHF

A shot rang out! And Reg > said:
> nancree wrote:
>
> > Thanks for your reply, Natalie. I had always thought that the duck was
> > placed in a container, the fat poured over it and then chilled. But
> > are you saying it is browned first? And when you say {"open the
> > can") etc. , I don't think canned duck confit is available here. It
> > is often offered in French restaurants, and if it was browned first,
> > and then chilled in the fat, then re-heated,it mignt be more
> > appealing.--------------Nancree
>
> Not quite. It goes something like this:
>
> The meat is initially cooked by simmering it in fat.
>
> The meat is stored by placing it in a container, covering completely
> with fat, and then refrigerating.
>
> The meat is served by removing it from the fat and then browning. The
> remaining meat is then covered in fat again for storage.

That's gotta be some tender duck! It's been years since I had
duck (father used to hunt them) and I always found it tough...


--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
(COLD to HOT for e-mail)
"Why do my knees feel like the wanna tear up?"
- Carl, ATHF

A shot rang out! And Reg > said:
> nancree wrote:
>
> > Thanks for your reply, Natalie. I had always thought that the duck was
> > placed in a container, the fat poured over it and then chilled. But
> > are you saying it is browned first? And when you say {"open the
> > can") etc. , I don't think canned duck confit is available here. It
> > is often offered in French restaurants, and if it was browned first,
> > and then chilled in the fat, then re-heated,it mignt be more
> > appealing.--------------Nancree
>
> Not quite. It goes something like this:
>
> The meat is initially cooked by simmering it in fat.
>
> The meat is stored by placing it in a container, covering completely
> with fat, and then refrigerating.
>
> The meat is served by removing it from the fat and then browning. The
> remaining meat is then covered in fat again for storage.

That's gotta be some tender duck! It's been years since I had
duck (father used to hunt them) and I always found it tough...


--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
(COLD to HOT for e-mail)
"Why do my knees feel like the wanna tear up?"
- Carl, ATHF

>>>I thought perhaps it was meat that was preserved with some alcohol.
>>>In retrospect, I guess that sounds kind of goofy...

Hey, it worked for Admiral Nelson, didn't it?
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tap1.htm

--
..-. .-. .---. .---. .-..-.|Experts in Linux/Unix: www.WildOpenSource.com
| |__ / | \| |-< | |-< > / |"Making the bazaar more commonplace"
`----'`-^-'`-'`-'`-'`-' `-' |Check out my new novel: "Cloud Realm" at:
home:www.smith-house.org:8000|http://www.smith-house.org:8000/books/list.html

>>>I thought perhaps it was meat that was preserved with some alcohol.
>>>In retrospect, I guess that sounds kind of goofy...

Hey, it worked for Admiral Nelson, didn't it?
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tap1.htm

--
..-. .-. .---. .---. .-..-.|Experts in Linux/Unix: www.WildOpenSource.com
| |__ / | \| |-< | |-< > / |"Making the bazaar more commonplace"
`----'`-^-'`-'`-'`-'`-' `-' |Check out my new novel: "Cloud Realm" at:
home:www.smith-house.org:8000|http://www.smith-house.org:8000/books/list.html

Restored post:

A shot rang out! And Larry Smith > said:
> byakee wrote:
>> A shot rang out! And (Doug Freyburger) said:
>>> byakee wrote:

>>>> I thought perhaps it was meat that was preserved with some alcohol.
>>>> In retrospect, I guess that sounds kind of goofy...

>>> I don't think it sounds goofy. Fruit preserved in brandy is
>>> good enough that it would definitely be worth trying to
>>> preserve meat in brandy.

>> No, no -- I meant that my assumption that "potted" meant "meat
>> preserved with alcohol" was goofy -- somewhat akin to one being
>> stewed or toasted I guess... ;-)

> Hey, it worked for Admiral Nelson, didn't it?
> http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tap1.htm

Didn't you even read the post you're quoting or were you in too big
of a hurry to correct me? I said, and I quote:

"I meant that my assumption that 'potted' meant 'meat preserved with
alcohol' was goofy"

Sheesh...


--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
(COLD to HOT for e-mail)
"Why do my knees feel like the wanna tear up?"
- Carl, ATHF

byakee wrote:
> Restored post:
>
> A shot rang out! And Larry Smith > said:
>
>>byakee wrote:
>>
>>>A shot rang out! And (Doug Freyburger) said:
>>>
>>>>byakee wrote:
>
>
>>>>>I thought perhaps it was meat that was preserved with some alcohol.
>>>>>In retrospect, I guess that sounds kind of goofy...
>
>
>
>>>>I don't think it sounds goofy. Fruit preserved in brandy is
>>>>good enough that it would definitely be worth trying to
>>>>preserve meat in brandy.
>
>
>>>No, no -- I meant that my assumption that "potted" meant "meat
>>>preserved with alcohol" was goofy -- somewhat akin to one being
>>>stewed or toasted I guess... ;-)
>
>
>>Hey, it worked for Admiral Nelson, didn't it?
>>http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tap1.htm
>
> Didn't you even read the post you're quoting or were you in too big
> of a hurry to correct me? I said, and I quote:
>
> "I meant that my assumption that 'potted' meant 'meat preserved with
> alcohol' was goofy"
>
> Sheesh...

Actually, I guess I was in too big a hurry to add a touch
of humor. I forgot for a moment the necessary grim seriousness
with which one should post to rec.food.cooking. I'm very sorry.
Won't happen again.

--
..-. .-. .---. .---. .-..-.|Experts in Linux/Unix: www.WildOpenSource.com
| |__ / | \| |-< | |-< > / |"Making the bazaar more commonplace"
`----'`-^-'`-'`-'`-'`-' `-' |Check out my new novel: "Cloud Realm" at:
home:www.smith-house.org:8000|http://www.smith-house.org:8000/books/list.html

byakee wrote:
> Restored post:
>
> A shot rang out! And Larry Smith > said:
>
>>byakee wrote:
>>
>>>A shot rang out! And (Doug Freyburger) said:
>>>
>>>>byakee wrote:
>
>
>>>>>I thought perhaps it was meat that was preserved with some alcohol.
>>>>>In retrospect, I guess that sounds kind of goofy...
>
>
>
>>>>I don't think it sounds goofy. Fruit preserved in brandy is
>>>>good enough that it would definitely be worth trying to
>>>>preserve meat in brandy.
>
>
>>>No, no -- I meant that my assumption that "potted" meant "meat
>>>preserved with alcohol" was goofy -- somewhat akin to one being
>>>stewed or toasted I guess... ;-)
>
>
>>Hey, it worked for Admiral Nelson, didn't it?
>>http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tap1.htm
>
> Didn't you even read the post you're quoting or were you in too big
> of a hurry to correct me? I said, and I quote:
>
> "I meant that my assumption that 'potted' meant 'meat preserved with
> alcohol' was goofy"
>
> Sheesh...

Actually, I guess I was in too big a hurry to add a touch
of humor. I forgot for a moment the necessary grim seriousness
with which one should post to rec.food.cooking. I'm very sorry.
Won't happen again.

--
..-. .-. .---. .---. .-..-.|Experts in Linux/Unix: www.WildOpenSource.com
| |__ / | \| |-< | |-< > / |"Making the bazaar more commonplace"
`----'`-^-'`-'`-'`-'`-' `-' |Check out my new novel: "Cloud Realm" at:
home:www.smith-house.org:8000|http://www.smith-house.org:8000/books/list.html

A shot rang out! And Larry Smith > said:
> byakee wrote:
> > Restored post:
> > A shot rang out! And Larry Smith > said:
> >>byakee wrote:
> >>>A shot rang out! And (Doug Freyburger) said:
> >>>>byakee wrote:

> >>>>>I thought perhaps it was meat that was preserved with some alcohol.
> >>>>>In retrospect, I guess that sounds kind of goofy...

> >>>>I don't think it sounds goofy. Fruit preserved in brandy is
> >>>>good enough that it would definitely be worth trying to
> >>>>preserve meat in brandy.

> >>>No, no -- I meant that my assumption that "potted" meant "meat
> >>>preserved with alcohol" was goofy -- somewhat akin to one being
> >>>stewed or toasted I guess... ;-)

> >>Hey, it worked for Admiral Nelson, didn't it?
> >>http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tap1.htm
> >
> > Didn't you even read the post you're quoting or were you in too big
> > of a hurry to correct me? I said, and I quote:
> >
> > "I meant that my assumption that 'potted' meant 'meat preserved with
> > alcohol' was goofy"
> >
> > Sheesh...
>
> Actually, I guess I was in too big a hurry to add a touch
> of humor. I forgot for a moment the necessary grim seriousness
> with which one should post to rec.food.cooking. I'm very sorry.
> Won't happen again.

I'm not suggesting there's anything wrong with humor; after all, my
whole "potted -alcohol" thing was a joke. But by cutting out most of
the post, you made it look like you either didn't read it or didn't
care. I'm all for snipping extraneous material, but there's a limit.
If all you were trying to do was make a joke, consider me amused...


--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
(COLD to HOT for e-mail)
"Why do my knees feel like the wanna tear up?"
- Carl, ATHF

A shot rang out! And Larry Smith > said:
> byakee wrote:
> > Restored post:
> > A shot rang out! And Larry Smith > said:
> >>byakee wrote:
> >>>A shot rang out! And (Doug Freyburger) said:
> >>>>byakee wrote:

> >>>>>I thought perhaps it was meat that was preserved with some alcohol.
> >>>>>In retrospect, I guess that sounds kind of goofy...

> >>>>I don't think it sounds goofy. Fruit preserved in brandy is
> >>>>good enough that it would definitely be worth trying to
> >>>>preserve meat in brandy.

> >>>No, no -- I meant that my assumption that "potted" meant "meat
> >>>preserved with alcohol" was goofy -- somewhat akin to one being
> >>>stewed or toasted I guess... ;-)

> >>Hey, it worked for Admiral Nelson, didn't it?
> >>http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tap1.htm
> >
> > Didn't you even read the post you're quoting or were you in too big
> > of a hurry to correct me? I said, and I quote:
> >
> > "I meant that my assumption that 'potted' meant 'meat preserved with
> > alcohol' was goofy"
> >
> > Sheesh...
>
> Actually, I guess I was in too big a hurry to add a touch
> of humor. I forgot for a moment the necessary grim seriousness
> with which one should post to rec.food.cooking. I'm very sorry.
> Won't happen again.

I'm not suggesting there's anything wrong with humor; after all, my
whole "potted -alcohol" thing was a joke. But by cutting out most of
the post, you made it look like you either didn't read it or didn't
care. I'm all for snipping extraneous material, but there's a limit.
If all you were trying to do was make a joke, consider me amused...


--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
(COLD to HOT for e-mail)
"Why do my knees feel like the wanna tear up?"
- Carl, ATHF

Nancree wrote:
> What is it about? What is it for? Years ago when I started going to nice
> restaurants, the French ones mainly, they would often offer duck confit. I
> would ask what it was, and they explained it was duck meat preserved in duck
> fat. Well, Why?? I thought it might be because they had cooked duck meat they
> had in the kitchen that was about to go spoiled, so they covered it in duck fat
> and chilled it. Why didn't they just cook fresh duck? Why did they seem proud
> to serve old duck in duck fat, or is that scraped away first? or not?
> I'm sure there must be something to it that's good, but I can't think what.
> How is it served, and how is it eaten? Lifted out of that heavy fat and eaten
> like that, all greasy? Is it because it changes the flavor, and if so how?
> Well you can see that my interest in very deep, I just don't get it, I never
> did. I hope one of you brighter people will enlighten me.---Please.
> Nancree

Whew! one of my favourite subjects. I've been confiting duck for years
as it happens to be one of my favourite finished products. Confit is
amazing in that if done correctly, the product actually requires no
refrigeration.Duck and pork confit were two of the main staples of James
Cook and his crew on the way to Australia!

Essentially there are two main ways to confit. In both instances the
meat is very heavily salted for up to 24 hours prior. Once that stage is
finished, the salt is brushed off (never rinsed) and layed into either a
thick bottom pot or a deep casserole. your aromatics are then scattered
over the meat (herbs, peppercorns, mandarin peels, whatever). then the
duck is totally immersed in its own fat.

in a quick confit, the duck is cooked at a relatively high temperature
for a short period of time. (350 degrees F for 60 - 90 minutes). this
gives you a crisp skin and a firmer joint.

in a long confit, you cook the duck at approximately 200 degrees F for
four to five hours.

in both instances, when the duck is cool enought to handle, it is r
transfered to another container, and the fat is strained overtop.

Chemically, flavours are more soluble in fats than non fats (more
soluble in non polar liquids for you scientists). the duck fat retains
the flavour and as the duck cools within, it is sealed in the aromatics
you have chosen.

Not only can you leave the duck in the fat, in your fridge for up to a
year, but when the duck is gone, you can reheat the fat, strain any duck
morsels from it, and use it again for the next batch! That fat only gets
tastier!

you can eat the joints of meat whole, or pick them off for salads, or
pastas etc. I make an excellent tortellini filling from mandarin confit
legs and serve it with cranberry walnut butter!

good luck, hope that helps!

Hamez

Nancree wrote:
> What is it about? What is it for? Years ago when I started going to nice
> restaurants, the French ones mainly, they would often offer duck confit. I
> would ask what it was, and they explained it was duck meat preserved in duck
> fat. Well, Why?? I thought it might be because they had cooked duck meat they
> had in the kitchen that was about to go spoiled, so they covered it in duck fat
> and chilled it. Why didn't they just cook fresh duck? Why did they seem proud
> to serve old duck in duck fat, or is that scraped away first? or not?
> I'm sure there must be something to it that's good, but I can't think what.
> How is it served, and how is it eaten? Lifted out of that heavy fat and eaten
> like that, all greasy? Is it because it changes the flavor, and if so how?
> Well you can see that my interest in very deep, I just don't get it, I never
> did. I hope one of you brighter people will enlighten me.---Please.
> Nancree

Whew! one of my favourite subjects. I've been confiting duck for years
as it happens to be one of my favourite finished products. Confit is
amazing in that if done correctly, the product actually requires no
refrigeration.Duck and pork confit were two of the main staples of James
Cook and his crew on the way to Australia!

Essentially there are two main ways to confit. In both instances the
meat is very heavily salted for up to 24 hours prior. Once that stage is
finished, the salt is brushed off (never rinsed) and layed into either a
thick bottom pot or a deep casserole. your aromatics are then scattered
over the meat (herbs, peppercorns, mandarin peels, whatever). then the
duck is totally immersed in its own fat.

in a quick confit, the duck is cooked at a relatively high temperature
for a short period of time. (350 degrees F for 60 - 90 minutes). this
gives you a crisp skin and a firmer joint.

in a long confit, you cook the duck at approximately 200 degrees F for
four to five hours.

in both instances, when the duck is cool enought to handle, it is r
transfered to another container, and the fat is strained overtop.

Chemically, flavours are more soluble in fats than non fats (more
soluble in non polar liquids for you scientists). the duck fat retains
the flavour and as the duck cools within, it is sealed in the aromatics
you have chosen.

Not only can you leave the duck in the fat, in your fridge for up to a
year, but when the duck is gone, you can reheat the fat, strain any duck
morsels from it, and use it again for the next batch! That fat only gets
tastier!

you can eat the joints of meat whole, or pick them off for salads, or
pastas etc. I make an excellent tortellini filling from mandarin confit
legs and serve it with cranberry walnut butter!

good luck, hope that helps!

Hamez