Confit Duck Leg Recipe

Cure the duck legs

Pat duck legs dry with paper towels. Rub each leg thoroughly with coarse sea salt. Place legs in a single layer in a shallow dish or tray, sprinkle crushed garlic, cracked peppercorns, thyme sprigs and bay leaves over and under the legs so aromatics contact the meat. Cover and refrigerate for 8–12 hours (overnight) to cure.

Rinse and dry

After curing, remove duck legs from dish and gently rinse off the salt and aromatics under cold running water. Pat completely dry with paper towels. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes while you preheat oven and prepare fat.

Cook confit

Preheat oven to 120°C (250°F). Place duck legs in a single layer in an ovenproof pot or deep baking dish just large enough to hold them snugly. Warm the duck fat in a small saucepan until liquid but not smoking, then pour the warm fat over the legs until they are submerged. Add a few extra thyme sprigs and a bay leaf to the fat. Cover the dish tightly with a lid or foil and transfer to the oven. Cook gently for 2½–3 hours, until the meat is very tender and pulls away from the bone easily.

Cool and store (or crisp before serving)

Remove from oven and let cool in the fat to room temperature (this step can be used to store duck legs refrigerated, submerged in fat, for up to 1 week). If serving immediately, preheat broiler or a heavy skillet. Lift legs from fat, reserve fat for another use, and place skin-side down in a cold skillet over medium heat or on a rimmed sheet pan under a hot broiler. Cook 5–8 minutes until skin is golden and crisp. Turn once if pan-searing to crisp both sides slightly. Transfer to a warm plate and rest 2 minutes. Season lightly with flaky salt and pepper.

Prepare produce

Warm the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced beetroots and a pinch of salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes to start softening and to pick up some color.

Add apple and spices

Add the diced apple to the pan and continue to cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the ground ginger, cinnamon and allspice so the fruit is evenly coated and fragrant.

Simmer to jam consistency

Add the sugar, apple cider vinegar, water and lemon juice. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 25–35 minutes until beets are very tender and mixture has thickened to a jam-like consistency. If the mixture looks too dry and begins to stick, add up to 30 ml water in small increments. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and an extra teaspoon sugar or splash of vinegar if needed.

Finish and cool

Once thick and glossy, remove from heat. For a smoother jam, pulse a few times with an immersion blender or transfer half to a blender and pulse briefly—leave some texture. Let the jam cool to room temperature; it will thicken further as it cools.

Prepare endive

Trim the stem ends of the endive heads and separate leaves gently, keeping them whole and clean. Pat dry.

Assemble plate

Place one confit duck leg on each plate. Spoon 1–2 generous tablespoons of the spiced beetroot & apple jam alongside or slightly underneath the duck so some jam contacts the meat. Arrange 3–4 endive leaves per plate next to the duck and jam for crunch; use leaves to scoop jam and shredded duck if desired. Scatter microgreens over the jam and duck, and finish with a light sprinkle of flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Serve

Serve immediately while duck skin is crisp and jam is at room temperature. Leftover jam may be refrigerated up to 1 week; duck confit can be stored submerged in fat in the fridge for up to 1 week or refrigerated (without fat) for 3 days and reheated to crisp the skin before serving.