Confit takes its name from the French word for preserving. Today it is known less as a preservation method than as a cooking technique.
How does confit get defined?
The meat cooks fully submerged in fat.
The temperature stays low: eighty to ninety degrees.
The time runs long: two to four hours.
After cooking the meat waits inside the fat.
The fat preserves by cutting off contact with air.
| Method | Medium | Temperature | Time | Resulting texture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confit | Fat | 80-90 °C | 2-4 hours | Pulls into strands |
| Boiling | Water | 100 °C | 40-60 min | Dry, fibrous |
| Roasting | Air | 180 °C | 45-60 min | Crusted outside |
| Sous-vide | Vacuum bag | 65 °C | 2-3 hours | Soft, juicy |
| Frying | Fat | 175 °C | 8-12 min | Crisp crust |
What does the fat do during cooking?
It distributes heat evenly.
It transfers heat efficiently without passing the boiling point of water.
It stops the water in the meat evaporating.
It dissolves aromas and returns them to the meat.
Those four effects produce the characteristic texture of confit.
Does the meat absorb the fat?
Contrary to belief, very little.
The cells of the meat are full of water and fat cannot enter.
A thin layer of fat remains on the surface.
Measurements show confit meat carrying less fat than fried meat.
The fat is a cooking medium rather than an ingredient.
What happens to the collagen?
Chicken leg is dense in collagen.
Above sixty degrees collagen contracts and pushes water out.
Above seventy degrees, given time, it converts to gelatine.
Gelatine gives the meat a soft, moist texture.
That conversion needs both temperature and time; high heat for a short spell does not produce it.
Why does the leg get used?
Leg meat is rich in collagen.
Its fat also runs higher than breast.
It stands up to long cooking.
Breast confits dry; it holds little collagen and its fibres are short.
Wings get used too, though the meat yield is low.
Why does salting come first?
The meat gets rubbed with dry salt before cooking.
It rests six to twelve hours in a fridge.
The salt draws water from the surface and works into the meat.
That both seasons and lowers the water activity.
Afterwards the meat gets rinsed and dried; salt left behind makes the product salty.
Which spices go in?
Bay leaf, thyme and garlic are the classic three.
Black peppercorns go in whole.
Orange peel appears in some recipes.
The spices get used both at the salting stage and inside the fat.
Long cooking carries their aroma into the fat and from there into the meat.
How does chicken confit come in a tin?
The cooked leg goes into a jar or tin along with its fat.
The fat covers the meat completely.
Sterilisation follows.
Shelf life reaches two years with no cold chain required.
Home-made confit keeps a month in a fridge under its fat.
What happens before confit service?
The jar comes to room temperature and the fat softens.
The leg comes out and the excess fat drains away.
It goes into a pan or oven skin side up.
Ten minutes at two hundred degrees crisps the skin.
That last step completes the characteristic presentation of confit.
Why does a final searing happen?
Confit cooking leaves the skin soft.
Soft skin is an unwanted texture.
Short, high heat dries and crisps it.
The interior is already cooked; that step treats only the surface.
The result is crisp outside and pulling into strands within.
What is the nutritional value of chicken confit?
A hundred grams carries 230 to 280 kilocalories.
Protein runs 22 to 26 grams.
Fat sits at 15 to 20 grams.
Carbohydrate is close to zero.
Sodium reaches 600 to 800 milligrams, from the salting.
How does chicken confit get used?
As a main course, with potatoes or vegetables alongside.
Shredded into salads.
In sandwiches and toasties.
In pasta sauces.
It also becomes a rillette-style spread, with the shredded meat mixed back into its own fat.
What happens to the fat left from confit?
It gets strained and kept.
It goes into frying potatoes, where it adds aroma.
It gets used for sautéing vegetables.
It can serve a second batch of confit.
After three uses it goes; water passing from the meat each time speeds up its degradation.
How does chicken confit get stored?
Tinned product keeps two years somewhere cool and dry.
Five days in a fridge once opened.
Home-made product keeps a month in a fridge under its fat.
The layer of fat must not get broken; once it does, air reaches the meat and the time drops to a few days.
It can be frozen; frozen together with its fat the texture survives three months, and thawing happens in a fridge.
How does chicken confit differ from duck?
Duck confit is the classic and original form.
Duck is fattier and can cook in its own fat.
Chicken runs low in fat, so fat gets added from outside.
The aroma of duck is denser and carries a gamey character.
Chicken confit reads more neutral and reaches a wider audience, and its cost runs clearly lower.
In which containers does chicken confit sell?
Glass jars, where the contents show and the shelf appearance is good.
Tins, which block light and give a long shelf life.
Vacuum pouches, for fresh product, which need a cold chain.
Bulk packs of five kilograms, for catering.
The container decides both the shelf life and the unit cost, and the tin works out cheapest.
