The success of a confit duck leg depends on slavishly following the recipe; after all, it has been tried and tested for 400 years! By curing them in salt, you completely change the texture and flavour of the duck. The duck legs are then cooked for a long time at a low temperature in duck fat but beware - if the fat boils during the cooking process then the wonderful texture will be spoilt. You can further improve flavour and texture by leaving the duck legs in their cooking fat (refrigerated) from 2 – 3 days.
In summer you can get fresh beans, the best are coco beans; obviously they do not require soaking and the cooking time will be about half an hour.
Recipe © Raymond Blanc 2018
Food photography by David Griffen