Mary’s Farm Duck Leg Confit Recipe

1. Cure the duck legs

Pat duck legs dry. In a bowl, combine kosher salt, crushed peppercorns, smashed garlic cloves, torn bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Rub the salt mixture thoroughly over and under the skin of each duck leg. Place legs in a single layer in a non-reactive dish or tray, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 12–24 hours to cure.

2. Prepare for confit

After curing, remove duck legs from refrigerator and rinse under cold water to remove excess salt. Pat completely dry with paper towels. Preheat oven to 225°F (110°C).

3. Cook the confit

Place duck legs skin-side down in an ovenproof baking dish or heavy pot large enough to fit legs snugly. Add the garlic and thyme from the cure (reserve whole sprigs) and pour the duck fat over legs until they are just submerged (use up to 1.5 cups; add neutral fat if necessary). Cover tightly with foil or a lid and transfer to preheated oven. Cook gently for 2.5–3 hours, until meat is very tender and pulls from the bone easily.

4. Cool and store (or crisp to serve)

Carefully remove dish from oven. Let legs cool in the fat to room temperature (about 30–45 minutes). At this point you can refrigerate submerged in fat for up to 1 week. To serve immediately and get crisp skin, remove legs from fat, gently brush off excess fat, and proceed to pan-crisping step below.

5. Sauté the aromatics: In a medium saucepan heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onion, carrot and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 6–8 minutes. Add minced garlic and thyme leaves and cook 30 seconds until fragrant.

6. Cook the lentils: Add rinsed beluga lentils to the pan and stir to coat in the vegetables. Pour in the stock and add the bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover and cook 20–25 minutes until lentils are tender but hold shape. Check occasionally and add a splash of water if liquid reduces too quickly.

7. Finish and season: Remove from heat, discard bay leaf. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. If mixture is slightly loose, simmer uncovered 2–3 minutes to reduce. Keep warm until plating.

8. Make the glaze base: In a small saucepan combine passion fruit pulp, sugar and minced shallot. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let simmer 6–8 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly.

9. Finish the glaze: Stir in the white wine vinegar and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in cold butter a cube at a time to create a glossy, slightly thickened emulsion. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust sweetness or acidity as needed. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve if you prefer a seedless glaze.

10. Keep warm: Transfer glaze to a small bowl and keep warm until plating. If it thickens too much, warm gently and whisk in a teaspoon of water.

11. Crisp the duck skin: Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Place each confit duck leg skin-side down and crisp 4–6 minutes until skin is deep golden-brown and fat renders. Turn briefly to warm the underside 1 minute. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

12. Plate: Spoon a warm bed of beluga lentils in the center of each plate. Place a crisped duck leg atop the lentils. Spoon passion fruit glaze over the duck (about 1–2 tbsp per leg) and allow some to drip onto the lentils for balance.

13. Garnish and serve: Scatter chopped parsley and microgreens around the plate. Serve immediately while duck skin is crisp and lentils are warm.