CHICKEN CONFIT

This recipe was inspired by a dish I used to love at of one of our favorite restaurants, but is no longer available so I decided to take a crack at it. I must say, this was a home run on the first try, and that never happens. It is now officially one of the easiest dishes I have made and maybe one of the most delicious. And incidentally one of the least expensive. It’s mostly hands-off, foolproof cooking, and when you’re done you’ll have a delicious pot of liquid gold that can be used to cook more chicken confit, roast vegetables or my favorite, to fry thick slices of sourdough bread. Since this is the ultimate make ahead recipe, it is perfect for company. So, what more is there to say?

Serve over mashed potatoes, pearl couscous, grits, whatever and garnish with fresh herbs and lemon if you want. Please don’t forget to drizzle the finished dish with the incredible pan sauce. Take my advice and make the fried bread to go with it as well.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 whole chicken legs
• fresh thyme sprigs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 large bay leaves torn in half
• 1 large shallot or small onion, sliced
• 6 large cloves garlic, peeled & left whole
• olive oil, the good stuff is not necessary here*
• Flake salt, such as Maldon
• Parsley or thyme & lemon wedges for serving, optional
• Thick slices of sourdough bread, optional

*Note: Anytime you roast a chicken, store the pan drippings in the fridge to use here or you can use straight olive oil. I used an inexpensive bottle of mass produced regular ol’ olive oil here. And it was delicious. This is not the place for expensive cold pressed EVOO.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Dry the chicken leg quarters well with paper towels.
2. Season chicken all over with kosher salt and pepper.
3. Place the chicken in a ziptop bag or in the pot you’re using to cook it in (which I did) and add thyme and bay leaves and place the lid on the pot if using. Put in the fridge overnight or as long as you can up to 24 hours.
4. One hour before you’re cooking the chicken, take it out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.
5. With the skin-side up in your pot pour oil around the chicken until it covers the meat completely. I left the skin exposed. I used a large oval baking dish with a lid that was just big enough to fit the chicken snugly in one layer.
6. Add onion slices and whole garlic to the pot and press them down so they are submerged in the oil.
7. Cover with the lid and place in a 225 degrees F preheated oven for 6 hours.
8. From here you can leave the covered pot on top of the stove to come to room temperature for up to 2 hours. It will stay warm or you can store the pot in the fridge for several days until ready to use.
9. When ready to serve, bring the pot of chicken to room temp if you stored it in the fridge and heat in a 350 oven for about 15 minutes or until warmed through. Heat some of the fat from the pot in a sauté pan, and gently lift each piece of chicken from the pot and sear the chicken skin-side down until crispy. Press down with a spatula do make sure the skin gets extra crispy.
10. Alternately, if you’re feeling extra lazy or if the chicken is falling apart and fragile, just gently place chicken on a foil lined sheet pan and broil (with the rack set in the middle of the oven) until it is sizzling and crispy, keeping a close eye on it. Serve with a drizzle of the pan sauce and a big sprinkle of flake salt.
11. Oil can be strained and stored in the fridge for at least a month. But you’re gonna want to use it way before then.
12. If making the bread, and why wouldn’t you, just heat a skillet over med-high heat. Head a couple of spoons of the fat from the pan of chicken and fry the bread slices on both sides until nice and brown.