Quacks Like a Duck

From our house to your house, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Lots of activity in the Shwe house this morning. Birthday boy Alex jumping around like a new nine year old. Turkeys pulled from their brine. Bread about to go in the oven. Smoker is, well, smoking.

These are some funny looking turkeys though. Poor things don't have any legs. There are many roads to the dream turkey, and I've just taken one that I had not yet traveled: turkey legs confit. Purely speaking, to confit means to cook meat in its own fat. I've slow cooked the four legs from the two turkeys in duck fat. Ohhhhh, these are to die for.

 

Turkey legs, ready for their 10 hour bath in duck fat

No matter how moist and flavorful the white meat, the drumsticks from the turkeys of years past have been dry and tough. Might as well compost them.  No more of that. I followed the Bouchon recipe (what else?) for duck legs confit, and these are falling off the bone, most, dense, and salty--just like the dream. More on the duck leg confit process later.

All I need to do at serving time is warm them in and rescue them from the duck fat bath that they are now resting in, and toss them under the broiler to crisp up the skin.

Falling off the bone tender, after 10 hours in 190 degree duck fat

We hope your turkey and your time with family and friends is a memorable one.