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Cooking in fat · advanced

Confit

Cooking food slowly while fully submerged in fat at a low temperature.

1 recipes use it

What it is

Confit (French, 'preserved') traditionally means salting duck or goose legs, cooking them gently in their own fat until very tender, then storing them under the fat. The term now covers garlic, tomatoes, fish and other foods cooked slowly in oil.

Why cooks use it: Low, even heat breaks down connective tissue without drying the meat, and the fat gives a rich, silky texture. Fish cooked this way stays very moist.

The science

Fat transfers heat more gently than water at the same temperature and does not boil, so food cooks evenly well below frying temperatures. Collagen in tough cuts slowly converts to gelatin over hours. The pre-salting seasons the meat deeply and firms it.

How heat moves into foodHow proteins set when cookedFats and oilsSalt and osmosisFood-safety temperatures

Step by step

  1. For meat, rub with salt (and aromatics) and refrigerate 12–24 hours; rinse and pat dry.

  2. Place in a snug pan and cover completely with melted fat or oil.

  3. Cook in a low oven or on the lowest burner without letting the fat bubble vigorously.

  4. Cook until meat is very tender (a skewer slides in easily) or garlic is soft and golden.

  5. To store meat, cool it under the fat in the fridge.

  6. Crisp duck legs skin-side down in a hot pan or oven before serving.

Heat and timing

  • Confit 80–120 °C · Duck confit commonly about 90–110 °C oven or fat temperature; fish confit about 50–60 °C in the oil.

Time: 2.5–4 hours for duck legs; 30–45 minutes for garlic; 10–20 minutes for fish.

How you know it’s right

  • Only occasional small bubbles
  • Meat pulls away from the bone
  • Garlic cloves soft enough to spread

Common mistakes

  • Fat too hot, so the meat fries and toughens
  • Not covering the food fully
  • Storing garlic confit at room temperature

Troubleshooting

Meat dry and stringy
Lower the temperature; confit should barely bubble.
Too salty
Shorten the cure or rinse more thoroughly before cooking.

Restaurant DNA

How professionals do it

Restaurants confit duck legs in large batches and store them in their fat, then crisp portions to order; garlic and shallot confit are prepared daily and kept chilled.

At home

A Dutch oven in a 100 °C oven works well; olive oil can stand in for duck fat, and the fat can be strained and reused for roasting potatoes.

General professional practice — not any particular restaurant’s recipe.

Food safety

  • Garlic or herbs in oil can support Clostridium botulinum; keep garlic confit refrigerated and use within about 4 days, or freeze it.
  • Low-temperature fish confit leaves fish only gently cooked; use very fresh fish.

Practise it