What is duck confit?
To confit something just means to salt and slow cook in fat and was originally a means of preserving food. Duck confit, which you can buy already done for you is simply duck legs seasoned and slow cooked in duck fat. It’s rich and earthy and well, tastes like duck. But it’s exactly that rich, meaty flavor and tender meat from the fat that it’s cooked in that makes it so mouth wateringly delicious. Don’t take my word for it. You must try it to become a believer.
And the best part is, it’s pretty simple to do at home. You just need duck legs, duck fat (or olive oil or both), salt and pepper and a couple of hours in the oven and it’s done. There’s barely any work involved.
What sets this dish apart?
Tamarind Paste
Aside from the tender, shredded duck the secret sauce to this dish is literally the sauce. Have you ever cooked with Tamarind? It comes as a paste in a jar and has a very tart, citrusy note to it. It’s thick like molasses with a sour citrus note. The flavor profile is described as pineapple with lime, but I just get a lovely tart flavor that is complex. Tamarind pairs very well with the duck confit because it offsets the fatty, richness of the dish. I used it here to create kind of tamarind barbecue sauce. The sauce itself comes together in just a few minutes and you can make it ahead. The key though is to not use too much of the sauce, or it will take over the flavor of the duck. Balance.
Balsamic Caramelized Onions
The other bit of delicousness going on that ties this duck confit flatbread appetizer together is the caramelized onions with a touch of balsamic vinegar. There is no shortcut to proper caramelization of onions but, again, you can make them ahead of time and just add all the components when you are ready to make this dish. You’ll have the duck confit done, the tamarind sauce, and the caramelized onions! All there is for you to do is roll out the dough, grate the cheese, bake and garnish! Which makes this the perfect appetizer for a dinner party.
Cheesy Toppings
While developing this recipe I tried it at first with a goat cheese and I just didn’t love it. It needed more of a melty, mild cheese. I decided to use Fontina cheese which melts beautifully. You can use mozzarella as well. For the photo op I only put a little bit on our duck confit flatbread, but you may want to add a bit more. A cup or a little more should do ya.
Flatbread versus pizza dough
It’s really a preference. It’s so much faster to use a good quality store-bought dough and roll it out very thin. The idea for this appetizer ‘flatbread’ is that it’s more about the toppings (duck confit and onions) and not as filling as a pizza. I did make my own flatbread dough for this recipe and it’s easy to do but you just need to plan ahead because the dough needs time to rise a bit. I like the Piadina Dough recipe by Michael Chiarello in his cookbook below that you can find online or probably Barnes and Noble. It’s a staple book for my kitchen. Anyway, his recipe does use some yeast but it’s fast and light and airy. Great for sandwiches as well.
Duck Confit Flatbread Ingredients:
Duck Confit
- 1 pkg duck legs (with thigh meat)
- 1 cup melted duck fat or olive oil or a mixture of both
- Kosher salt
- Ground pepper
Tamarind Glaze
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1 ½ Tbsp tamarind paste
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 Tbsp honey
Balsamic Onions
- 1 medium Vidalia (sweet) onion, sliced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp sugar
- salt
Flatbread Pizza
- 1/2 flatbread recipe or pizza dough
- Flour for dusting
- Drizzle of olive oil for sheet pan
- 1 cup or more, grated fontina cheese
- Watercress or arugula (garnish)
- Chili Oil drizzle (garnish, optional)
Serves: 4-6 as an appetizer
Duck Confit Flatbread Method:
Make Duck Confit
- Confit the duck and do this ahead of time as it takes several hours. Pat the duck legs dry. Use a sharp knife to score or cut through just the top layer of the fat covering the meat. This will help the fat melt into the meat and give you a crispy skin if you want to use some of that duck skin for snacking or topping the flatbread.
- Salt and pepper very generously and then coat the legs in the fat (duck fat or olive oil). Place the legs in a small baking dish, skin side up, so that they are snug. No need to preheat the oven. Just bake on 300 for 2 1/2hours. Remove and cool then shred duck meat from the bone and discard the bone.
*Tip if you want a crispier skin you can crank the oven up at the end to about 375.
Make Tamarind Glaze
- Make the Tamarind sauce by add the ingredients to a small saucepan and heating over medium low heat and stirring until well combined. Toss the duck in some of the sauce but keep the remaining sauce for the pizza assembly. Refrigerate until ready to use. Can be made a day or two ahead as well.
Caramelize Onions
- In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat and then add in the sliced onions in a single layer. Turn the heat to medium low and get them going for a few minutes. Then add in the balsamic vinegar, sugar and salt. Cook for 18-25 minutes or until very golden brown. You’ll need to stir them around in the pan a bit but keep them in a single layer and the heat on low, so they caramelize and not burn. Cool and set aside. Can be made a day or two ahead of time.
Assemble Pizza
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. I like to precook my pizza or flatbread dough first and then put the toppings on and finish in the oven on 375. Roll dough to desired thinness. Drizzle sheet pan with olive oil and place dough on sheet pan and drizzle with more oil. Cook on middle rack for 4-5 minutes and flip and cook for 3-4 on the second side. Remove from oven.
- Add a little sauce to the base of the pizza, then top with duck that has already been tossed lightly in sauce. Top with caramelized onions and fontina cheese. Bake until melted.
- Remove from oven and top with watercress or arugula. Drizzle with chili oil.
