La mejor manera de obtener un confit de pato suave y tierno

Duck confit is one of the most sophisticated dishes you can prepare at home, and it requires less work than other French classics. There are no complicated sauces, no tedious chopping or julienne cutting, and no long list of ingredients. Its main challenge is the prolonged cooking time, because you have to maintain the correct temperature constantly for hours, with the duck completely submerged in its own fat.

Sous vide cooking eliminates these concerns. Since duck is a fatty bird, no additional fat is needed when prepared using a sous vide machine: the duck releases its own fat and cooks in it, provided the bag is airtight. Furthermore, the temperature remains consistent throughout the process, so the exterior doesn't overcook while the interior finishes cooking.

After numerous tests, Daniel Gritzer, senior culinary director of Serious Eats, discovered that cooking for 36 hours at 68 degrees Celsius (155 degrees Fahrenheit) produces the softest, most tender, and juiciest duck confit possible.

Many recipes call for curing the duck in salt for at least eight hours, or overnight. This dates back to the time when confit, which means "to preserve" in French, was a method of preventing meat from spoiling before refrigeration. Thanks to salt curing and a fat bath, confit could be safely stored for up to four months in a cool (13°C), dark, and dry place. Gritzer found that cured duck had a slightly muskier, almost imperceptible flavor; if curing isn't used as a preservation technique, the curing time is optional.

Once removed from the sous vide bath, the duck can be eaten directly off the bone or used in other dishes. To eat it on its own, the skin should be golden brown and crispy: it is baked at 232 degrees Celsius for about seven minutes or grilled for a slightly shorter time.

As an ingredient, duck confit has several uses. The Destination Kohler restaurant in Wisconsin serves a duck confit and pumpkin risotto: the succulent duck, the creamy risotto thanks to the mascarpone and Parmesan cheese, and the sweet pumpkin make for a memorable dish. With large quantities of duck, you can make a shepherd's pie with confit. And with a small amount, a French-style sandwich, like the one from Ma Poule's stall at Copenhagen's Torvehallerne food market: tender confit on a fresh baguette, with mild mustard (Dijon is recommended) and fresh watercress.