SC - Re: sca-cooks Creativity
Dottie Elliott
macdj at onr.com
Tue Apr 15 11:27:54 PDT 1997
Elizabeth Marsh wrote:
>
> Well the best modern example of keeping fowl in its own fat is duck confite
> (confeet? confete?, spelling is not my forte') , which is essentially
> cooked duck covered completely in duck fat and refrigerated for many
> months. I would think the refrigeration is quite key. But the fat keeps
> out the air and the nasty things that it carries hence allowing for an
> increased length of preservation. Modern recipes should be readily
> available in a french cookbook and would probably lend themselves to
> adaptation. (or if you watch the food channel David Rosengarten did a
> really neat rendition of this)
>
> Elena
The whole point of confits of duck, goose, pork, and a host of others,
is that they were devised to keep food fresh before refrigeration was an
issue. Almost invariably, the meat was and is subjected to a light cure
before the confiting process begins.
Ideal temperature for storing such confits is considered to be in the
50's F.; while there was no artificial refrigeration, there were things
like cellars to compensate. Also, this was less of a problem when there
was no central heating either.
By the way: Confits are believed by many to be Savoyard in
origin...Anybody know offhand if they appear in Chiquart? I don't have a
copy...I guess it would depend on the season of the feast Chiquart
covers.
Adamantius
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