Mother's Day

My mother's day present to my mom, was, well, the best present I can give, food. Not just any food however. I wasn't just gonna grill off a steak and call that my present. I made her chicken confit, oooooo, ahhhhhh.

(Mmmm Bacon Fat)

A few days before, I cured the legs with truffle-salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic overnight, then cooked them sous vide in bacon fat (that I had accumulated slowly after cooking much bacon) for eight hours at 176 degrees.


I really believe there is just nothing like confit. These legs were so much more succulent and flavorful than those of a roast chicken. The salting, and then slow cooking adds unmatched depth of flavor to otherwise ordinary legs. This chicken was extremely tender, almost too much so. Next time I will cook it at 180. I saved a leg for myself, and devoured it immediately, promising my belly that I would make it more often- and I really don't know why I don't. If I buy a whole chicken, I have two breasts for lunches, two legs for confit, and two wings and a body for stock.
I served the confit with a smooth potato puree and a kind of chunky avocado puree (saying mashed potatoes or guacamole just doesn't sound right in the context of the dish) because I really loved how the textures worked together. There are times for textural contrast, and there are times for textural uniformity. In this case, the uniformity really allowed the dish to meld. It was smooth and fluid to eat, and most importantly, Mom was happy.