Confit

Confit(/kɒnfi/,French pronunciation:[kɔ̃fi]) (from theFrenchwordconfire, literally "to preserve")is any type of food that is cooked slowlyover a long period as a method ofpreservation.
Confit, as a cooking term, describes the process of cooking food in fat, whether it be grease or oil, at a lower temperature compared to deep frying. While deep frying typically takes place at temperatures of 160–230 °C (325–450 °F), confit preparations are done at a much lower temperature, such as an oil temperature of around 90 °C (200 °F), or sometimes even cooler. The term is usually used in modern cuisine to mean long, slow cooking in fat at low temperatures, many having no element of preservation, such as in dishes like confit potatoes.
For meat, this method requires the meat to be salted as part of the preservation process. After salting and cooking in fat, confit can last for several months or years when sealed and stored in a cool, dark place. Confit is a specialty of southwesternFrance.
The word comes from the French verbconfire(to preserve), which in turn comes from theLatinword (conficere), meaning "to do, to produce, to make, to prepare."The French verb was first applied in medieval times to fruits cooked and preserved in sugar.
Fruit confit iscandied fruit(whole fruit, or pieces thereof) preserved insugar. The fruit must be fully infusedwith sugar to its core; larger fruit takes considerably longer than smaller ones to candy. Thus, while small fruit such ascherriesareconfitswhole, it is quite rare to see whole large fruit, such asmelonconfitssince the time and energy involved in producing largefruit confitsmakes them quite expensive.
Confit ofgoose(confit d'oie) orduck(confit de canard) is usually prepared from the legs of the bird. The meat is salted and seasoned with herbs and slowly cooked submerged in its own rendered fat (never to exceed 85 °C [185 °F]), in which it is then preserved by allowing it to cool and storing it in the fat. Turkey and porkmay be treated in the same manner. Meat confit is a specialty of the southwest of France (Toulouse,Dordogne, etc.) and is used in dishes such ascassoulet. Confit preparations originated as a means of preserving meat without refrigeration.
In a restaurant context, confit is usually served after further preparation.Whole confit leg is baked to crisp the skin or added to a casserole-type dish. Confit duck leg is used to makerillettes.
The traditional meat for confit includes waterfowl such as goose and duck, and pork. Duckgizzardsare also commonly cooked in the confit method. Varying forms of this delicacy thrive throughout southern France.
"Confit country" is the area ofOccitanFrance, where goose fat is used for cooking, as opposed to olive oil, which is used inProvence, where olives were plentiful and thus cheap.
Confit country is divided roughly into regions where one type of meat predominates the confit preparations. Goose confit is associated with theBéarnandBasqueregions with their classic specialties ofcassouletandgarbure, hearty and earthy dishes of confit and beans.SaintongeandBrantômefeature duck confit, often with potatoes andtruffles.
Non-waterfowl meats are frequently treated to the confit process but are not classically considered true confits. The French refer only to duck and goose confits as true confits; other meats poached in duck or goose fat are considereden confit("in confit"). For example, chicken cooked in goose fat is calledpoulet en confit.Pork is often confit and shredded to createrillettes.
Italian cooking uses several "condiment confits," such as onion confit, chili confit, and garlic confit.