modelling after the world-renowned French dish confit de canard (duck confit), i would crown this more wallet friendly alternative as 'luxury for the poor soul'. especially in hk where duck legs and duck fat are scarce (and pricey), this unconventional alternative from TruffleRose answers our cries to the ocassional dressed up dinner table at special occasions, which every can afford and is hard to fail.
as with confit de canard, it is a recipe of patience but real little effort. and the ingredients and equipments required are as few as you could imagine. however though, it is meant for those who possess an oven in the household. there are recipes that offer the stove-top method alternative, but that requires much better control and i would not dare to try out myself. it may seem a better idea to gather at a friend's place with an oven and cook in bulk, share together a few pieces and bring the rest home!
keep the chicken legs submerged in oil at the coldest part of your fridge, or drain and ziplock them in the freezer, and French indulgence will be just a minute away for months ahead.
confit de poulet (confit chicken)
this is a very rough guidance - the amount of chicken legs and oil (and garlic, if using) goes with what your heart desires. the most important to success is the salting process, which essentially alter the protein structure of the meat, and the principle of 'low and slow'. trust me, your patience will be rewarded for sure. the garlic not only will add flavours to the chicken but will turn meltingly sweet themselves, perfect for simply tossing with pasta, on toasted baguette, or as accompaniment to any hearty mains.
you will need:
chicken legs, trimmed off excess fat
salt
olive oil, enough to cover all chicken legs
- save on your extra virgin. the flavour is too strong to be used in this recipe.
garlic heads (optional)
2 days before you plan to start cooking, clean and pat dry the chicken legs and sprinkle each leg with approximately 1 tablespoon salt, rubbing them in all over the surface. place them in a glass container, cover tightly with plastic wrap and keep at the coldest part of the fridge for at least 48 hours.
when you are ready to embark on your long journey, preheat oven to the lowest temperature avaiable (mine is 100°C). remove chicken legs from the fridge. rinse gentle to remove excess salt crystal and pat dry thoroughly (the salt on mine has dissvoled completely so i skipped this step). if using the garlic, peel away outer skin keeping skin of cloves intact. cut off 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the top, exposing individual cloves.
place legs in a ovenproof glass tray or dutch oven together with the garlic head. it is ok for overlapping, as long as they all sit nicely inside the tray, ie. not coming up the sides of the tray.
gently pour over olive oil to cover the chicken legs and garlic. they should be submerged in oil completely. don't feel bad about 'wasting' such a huge amount of oil - they will become wonderfully aromatic after the long cooking and you can strain and keep them for roasting, sauteeing, etc.
carefully place the tray in the preheat oven, close the oven door and walk away and forget about it for 3 to 6 hours. take a nap, do your laundry, dive in to a movie... the chicken legs are done when the joint meat shrinks away from the bone, as in the picture below i borrowed from TruffleRose.
let the whole tray cool completely before taking the chicken legs and garlic heads out from the oil. carefully strain the oil from any sendiment, and from the layer of juice which will settle at the bottom. bottle and keep the oil for other cooking and the juice for a brilliant stock.
put aside the chicken legs you intend to serve, and keep the remaining well covered in oil in storage containers, at the coldest part of the fridge for up to 3 months. alternatively, place the drained legs in ziplock bags and freeze them for up to 6 months (or longer). keep the garlic separately likewise in oil in the fridge for up to 3 months - i would never imagine freezing them though!
to serve:
briefly pan fry the chicken legs on both sides until golden - do it gently as the skin is quite delicate after the long cooking. but sure you would like to keep it nice and crisp! you may also heat it in a 180°C until warmed. serve as it is, or on a mixed leave salad like i did. TruffleRose has tried shredding the meat and toss with veggies and pasta. it is just so versatile so unleash your creativity!
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