Confit Duck Leg

Ingredients

• 4 duck leg quarters (leg and thigh), about 3 pounds total
• Kosher salt, 2 percent of the weight of the duck (about 1 1/2 tablespoons Diamond Crystal for 3 pounds)
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 bay leaves, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon juniper berries, crushed (optional)
• 4 to 6 cups rendered duck fat

Method

1. Weigh the duck legs on a scale and calculate 2 percent of that weight in salt. For 3 pounds (about 1,360 grams), that's roughly 27 grams. Confit is a cure — measure it, don't eyeball it.
2. Rub the salt evenly over every surface of the legs, then add the pepper, garlic, thyme, bay, and juniper. Pack them into a nonreactive dish, cover, and refrigerate 24 hours. Twelve hours is the floor, 48 is the ceiling.
3. Rinse the cure off the legs under cold water and pat them bone-dry with paper towels. Skip the rinse and the finished duck will be too salty to serve.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°F (95°C).
5. Melt the duck fat gently in a saucepan until it's fully liquid and just warm — not hot.
6. Arrange the legs snugly in a single layer, skin-side up, in a Dutch oven or deep baking dish. Pour the warm fat over until the legs are completely submerged. Anything sticking out will dry and toughen.
7. Cook uncovered for 3 to 4 hours. The fat should sit at a bare shimmer with a bubble or two rising per second — never an actual simmer. If it's bubbling steadily, your oven runs hot; drop it 25 degrees.
8. It's done when a paring knife meets no resistance and the meat pulls back from the drumstick bone. Push past that and the legs fall apart when you go to crisp them.
9. Let the legs cool in the fat until warm. Transfer them to a clean container, strain the fat over them until fully submerged, and refrigerate at least overnight.
10. Wait if you can. Confit is genuinely better at three days than at one, and it holds in the fat for a month. That's the reward for planning ahead instead of eating now.
11. To serve, warm the container just enough to lift a leg out, then scrape off the excess fat. Let the legs sit at room temperature 30 minutes.
12. Set them skin-side down in a dry ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Cook 8 to 10 minutes without moving them, until the skin is deep brown and audibly crisp. Alternatively, roast skin-side up at 425°F (220°C) for 15 to 20 minutes.
13. Flip and heat the meat side through, 1 to 2 minutes. Rest 5 minutes and serve — the interior should be hot and the skin should crack under a fork.