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1
Season the duck legs generously with salt.
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2
Coat a roasting pan lightly with olive oil and lay the duck legs skin side down in a single layer.
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3
Put the pan on the stove and bring to medium heat.
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4
Cook the legs until the fat slowly begins to melt.
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5
This will take 20 to 30 minutes and you dont want to rush itthis part of the process is worth the effort!
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6
When a decent amount of fat has been rendered, about 1/2 inch, raise the heat and brown the legs on both sides.
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7
Once browned, remove them from the pan and reserve.
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8
Yum!
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9
Doesnt this smell good?
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10
Preheat the oven to 400F.
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11
Add the onions to the fat in the pan, season generously with salt, and stir to coat; cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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12
Taste to make sure theyre well seasoned and add salt if needed.
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13
Return the duck legs to the pan and snuggle them in with all the onions.
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14
Add the wine, thyme bundle, and bay leaves and cover the pan with foil.
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15
Put the pan in the oven and cook for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so to be sure the onions arent burning.
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16
When the duck is done it should be incredibly flavorful, tender, and almost falling off the bone.
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17
In a large bowl, combine the greens with some red wine vinegar, a bit of salt, a nice drizzle of the warm duck fat from the pan, and some of the caramelized onions.
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18
To serve, place a large mound of the dressed dandelion greens on a plate, lay a duck leg on the greens, and top with a few more onions.
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19
Confit is a classic way of preserving food, most commonly used with duck.
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20
Its when you cook something in its own fat and then store it in the fat.
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21
Confit is SOOOOO good!
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22
Its luscious and rustic; think of it as fancy comfort food.
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23
To make traditional confit you cure the meat overnight with salt and shallots, cook it to render the fat, and then store it in its own fat.
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24
To make my cheaters confit, you render the duck fat low and slowdont rush it!
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25
You want to melt as much fat off of the duck legs as possible.
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26
Then you caramelize lots of onions in the duck fat, toss in a bunch of white wine, thyme, and bay leaves, and braise the duck with the onions and the fat.
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27
Its hugely flavorful and a lot faster than classic confit.
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28
If you have any lovely duck fat left over, youil want to use it to make my killer crispy crunchy duck fat potatoes (page 219).
