4Garçons Duck Confit with Lentil Salad and Aged Balsamic
Duck Confit (Confit de Canard) originated in Gascony region, in Southwest France near the border of Spain. The area is rich with duck and goose farms, and confit de canard is one of the most famous dishes in the region. The weather in Gascony is often hot and dry. The dish was created when people wanted to keep meat for long periods without refrigeration. The whole duck’s preserved and different parts go to different dishes. Neck usually go to soup pot while legs end up as main dish or ingredient of famous French dish, cassoulet, a hearty casserole with white beans and sausage. Duck confit was later made across France. In the North, it is prepared and kept in a cold basement so the family have enough meat through out the months of a cold winter. The confit is prepared in a centuries-old process of preservation that consists of salt curing a piece of meat and then cooking slowly it in its own fat.
Duck confit today is considered one of the finest French dishes.