from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Duck’s Leg Confit
Poultry and meat confits.
Vegetable
and fruit confits along with confitures
(jams/jellies) and fruits confit (crystallized fruits) are a separate post.
The original
poultry, pork, lamb, and beef confits are dishes that would never have been
created today; today, everyone has a refrigerator with a freezer. These first
confits were made to store cooked meats for the winter months. The cooked meat
was stored under a thick layer of natural fat in an airtight container in a
cool place until need. That cooking technique, coupled with the aging produced
such wonderful flavors that confits remain very popular, though the cooking
methods have changed. You don’t have to be a cook to know that a stew or soup
tastes better on the second or third day.
Duck confit with roasted peaches & cherries
Many of today’s
poultry and meat confits are made by very slowly braising or roasting duck, goose,
pork, lamb, or mutton on a very low heat
in its own fat and juices. That slow cooking with low heat breaks down the
muscle and other tissues. Then with a well-prepared confit, the meat will,
practically, melt in your mouth.
Pork Confit.
www.flickr.com/photos/39718079@N00/4164220352/
Modern confits
are not served with the fat in which they were cooked, and so a duck, goose,
lamb, veal or pork confit is no fatter than the same dish prepared in any other
manner.
The exact method of cooking
There remains
quite a bit of confusion on how you can tell which method of cooking was used
for your confit and since that confusion has reached the kitchen and menu
listings check with the server. French
servers are knowledgeable professionals and hopefully there will not be a
serious language barriers. ( Confit de Canard (duck confit) and Canard Confit
used to indicate separate cooking methods but that is no longer the case).
Poultry and meat confits on French Menus:
Confit
de Canard sur Compoté d'Échalotes au Vin Doux - Duck slowly and carefully braised or roasted for
several hours until the meat will be fork-tender and then served with a shallot compote
prepared in a sweet wine.
In the
UK and North America, a compot will indicate stewed fruits served as a dessert.
In France, a compote may also be a stewed fruit dessert, but, just as often, as
in the menu listing noted above, it is a dish of stewed vegetables.
Épaule
d’Agneau Confite, Pommes Purée – A lamb’s shoulder cooked at low temperature for several
hours while being basted until it is ready to fall off the bone”.
Le
Jambonneau de Porc Confit, Laqué Jus au Thym Frais – A
pork knuckle very slowly cooked and served coated with honey or another
sweet covering and flavored with the juices from fresh thyme.
When,
as in this menu listing, the confit is the central part of a dish, it will be
served hot and crispy on the outside. Confits are often glazed, with a honey or
fruit glaze, to create an attractive and flavorsome outside. The meat
inside will be so tasty that nothing else is needed.
Poached pork fillet with confit
pork belly,
boudin noir, confit of
brussels sprouts and raisin jus.
www.flickr.com/photos/haynes/2994527026/
Jarret
de Porc Confit en Tartiflette Savoyard – The
jarret is a cut from the shin or shank, across the leg bone below the knee; the
meat on the shank surrounds the bone. This menu listing is a take on the
traditional Tartiflette Savoyarde recipe, from the region of Savoy, France.
There the traditional tartiflette (also called a Reblochonade), is a
whole Reblochon cheese, baked,
and then usually served over added crème or crème fraiche, over
boiled potatoes, bacon bits, and onions. The dish is often accompanied by ham
and other cold meats. In this menu listing, the Reblochon is served over the
Jarret de Porc Confit, the pork shin confit. N.B. Jarret de Veau is a
similar veal cut and the French name for the Italian dish of Osso Buco.
Tartiflette and cold meats.
www.flickr.com/photos/heatheronhertravels/9701210246/
Souris
d'Agneau Confite dans Son Jus au Romarin et sa Purée Maison - Foreshank (or a hind shank) of lamb very
very slowly braised in its own juices flavored
with rosemary, until the
meat is very tender, with an intense flavor and practically falling off the
bone. The dish is accompanied by the restaurant’s own special potato
puree.
N.B.
If you look up this menu listing using a French-English dictionary, you may see
that a souris may mean a mouse or a rat. Worry not; this is a cut of lamb, and no mice
or rats are included.
Cassoulet Maison au Confit de Canard – The
term cassoulet, covers many
slow-cooked meat, duck, goose or pork, and bean stews with many traditional
recipes, most of which originated in the old province of Languedoc. By using
the words Cassoulet Maison, the menu indicates the cassoulet is made with the
restaurant’s own recipe. N.B. The old province of Languedoc is now part of the
new administrative region of Occitanie in central southern France. Occitanie
shares France’s Mediterranean coastline with Provence.
Braised white beans, duck leg
confit, garlic sausage, pork belly.
www.flickr.com/photos/loustejskal/16063904913/
Confit
de Canard et Chèvre Chaud, Salade Verte - A green salad served
with cold sliced duck confit and warm goat’s cheese.
When a
confit is served as an entrée, the French appetizer, as in the dish above, then
the confit may be served cold or warm. When served with a salad, the confit
itself will have been cut or shredded.
Salad with duck confit, blue
cheese, and sliced almonds.
www.flickr.com/photos/slowlysheturned/2220781652/
Salade
de Gésiers d'Oie Confits - A salad served with goose gizzard confit.
And so what does confit really mean?
Luckily, I have
a knowledgeable French correspondent who explained the origin and meaning. The word confit has latin roots which means
to cook very well, cure or preserves. Following on confit also links to the
word confiture (jams or jellies) which are part of the post on vegetable and
fruit confits.
Connected Posts:
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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
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