French Dog

This is another of my series of Inspired Hot Dogs, in this case, based on elements of French cuisine.

To make this hot dog, you will need the following, already prepared :

• Mushroom and Onion accompaniment for beef (Deluxe Version)
• Duck Confit

Of course, the duck confit takes quite a while to prepare, so you will either need to purchase it (if you can find it anywhere) or think about making this well in advance !

I started with a 6 inch long mini-baguette, as you might expect with any French meal. This was split, not quite in two, and buttered with a compound butter made of the following:

• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
• 1 clove of garlic, finely minced

The bread is then toasted on the grill.

On this, I used what would typically be a French country sausage:  A mild pork sausage link seasoned with garlic and herbs. These were grilled over low heat until brown and crispy on the outside.

Place the sausage on the toasted baguette, top liberally with the onion/mushroom mixture, and add pulled duck confit to the top.

This is rich in two ways: the flavor, and the cost, which ended up being about $12/dog, not even counting the time. Still, it was well worth it.

Duck Confit

Duck confit is one of those items that few every really make because 1) Duck leg quarters are hard to find, 2) it takes a decent amount of time, and 3) a lot of folks do not know what ‘confit’ means. And all that is a shame, because when done, you are amply rewarded by a rich and flavorful treat.

First, the basics, and the resolution of issue number 3. ‘Confit‘ means to slow cook in fat. Although liquid other than fat my be used, this is normal considered braising, not confit. The confit cooking process is a form a charcuterie, the preparation and preservation of meat. Allowing the fat to solidify around the meat after the cooking process allows the meat to be preserved for a couple of weeks, and longer if refrigeration is used.

I solved problem number one, the duck leg quarters, by simply buying a whole duck and breaking it down. Even Kroger had whole frozen duck available.

After breaking down the duck (just as you would a chicken, but with lots more skin and fat), you will have 2 leg quarters, and 2 wings, which will also be used in the confit. The breasts are rarely used for confit, but for no other reason other than the hugh number of other ways they may be utilized.

The next step in the process is the curing of the meat. For the cure, I used the following:

• 2 tablespoons of coarse kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon of coarse black pepper
• 6 garlic cloves, smashed,
• 12 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Take half of the curing mixture, and spread evenly on the bottom of a glass or ceramic dish which is large enough for arranging the duck pieces in a single layer. Then add the duck, and top with the remainder of the curing mixture.

Cover this and refrigerate the duck for at least 1 day, preferably 2 days. OK, so I was not able to solve issue number 2 about the length of time it takes to make this !

Remove the duck pieces and scrape off most, but not all of the cure mixture. Reserve a couple a garlic cloves and a couple of thyme sprigs.

And now for the fat. If you can find it, duck fat is the traditional way to go. And I can’t get this anywhere locally that I am aware of. It can be ordered online. So I opted for the next best thing – Lard. Believe it or not, in this age of vegetable oils, this can still be found in most grocery stores.

Add about 16 ounces of lard to the dish you use to cure the duck in (after cleaning, of course), and melt the lard in the oven at 220 degrees. When melted, remove the dish from the oven and add the reserved garlic and thyme, then the duck pieces in a single layer as shown below.

I leave the top skin side of the duck un-submerged in the fat, to allow the skin the get a little crispy during the cooking process. You may have to add or remove a little lard to get this just right, based on the size of your duck pieces and the size of your dish.

Place the dish back in the oven, still at 220 degrees, and allow the duck to slow cook for about 4 hours. You may wish to turn the heat up to about 300 degrees during the last hour to help brown and crisp the skin.

After cooking, remove the confit, and allow it to cool to room temperature. At this point you have 2 choices. The preferred way is to then refrigerate the confit (lard and all) for at least a day. This really concentrates the flavor, and as mentioned earlier, can be used to keep the confit for several weeks. Reheat the confit to melt the lard and remove the duck. Or you can just remove the duck pieces and enjoy straight away !

You will be amazed at how rich and tender the duck meat is, and I think you will agree that it was time well spent during the preparation.