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Chicken Confit

Posted on December 23, 2021January 15, 2022 By Alexandra Wong No Comments on Chicken Confit

Make chicken confit at home? No way in hell, man! Or at least – until yesterday.

Now, I’ve seen chicken or duck confit in restaurant menus a number of times, in particular fancy restaurants. The price tag is usually hefty, which gave me the impression it must be super delicious AND super difficult to make.

The former IS true, but not the latter.

How is chicken confit different from roast chicken?

The ingredients are pretty similar. From outside appearances, chicken confit looks exactly like roast chicken, and yes it has the same crispy skin. But under the skin lies a world of the difference: the meat retains much more moisture and because of this it’s unbelievably fall off bone tender. Because it’s been cooked slowly in the herb-and-spice flavoured oil for so long, the chicken acts as a sponge and absorbs their flavours as well. Unless you’re a vampire, adding garlic is a must. In the oil, it becomes meltingly soft, creamy and sweet … omg, my mouth is watering even at the memory.

Think roast chicken, but 100x more delicious.

The key lies in how the chicken is cooked.

Confit is a method of cooking food in which the meat is submerged in an oil or fat bath at a low temperature of no more than 130 C. For comparison, baking or roasting typically takes place at temperatures above 180 C and dries out the meat. By cooking meat at such a low temperature, the loss of fluids from meat is minimised and results in succulent, juicy meat that’s incredibly rich in flavour. Read more about the science of confit cooking here.

You can eat the chicken as it is when you take it out of the oven, but the skin will be meltingly soft instead of crispy. So what people do is to take the chicken out of the oil, then sear it over a frying pan until the skin is crispy. Think Peking duck crispy.

The best part? Making chicken confit is so EASY.

You literally just assemble everything in an oven-safe dish, cover it with oil and then pop it in the oven and let it do its thing while you go do your nails, wash your hair, or even watch a Netflix movie.

Just like there are many ways to skin a cat, there are variations on chicken confit. Here are some tips:

— Add whatever aromatics and spices you like to flavour the oil. Most recipes call for Italian herbs and garlic is a must.
— Add vegetables to the dish. Try carrots, mild peppers, or even potatoes. Voila, you have a one-pot meal 🙂
— Use a large enough baking tray so that you have enough room to tuck those additional vegetables etc.
— Of course the authentic recipes use duck fat or chicken fat, but I used a mix of rice bran oil and olive oil as that’s what I had. It turned out fine.
— What to do with all that oil? Just strain and reuse to saute vegetables, toss salads, etc.

Lastly, let me address an “issue” which worried me but never came up. I was terrified that the oil would bubble and splash all over my oven, but that never happened because I cooked the dish at 130 C, which is too low to evoke that kind of explosive reaction. So folks, don’t worry.

For more awesome poultry recipes, click here.

Chicken Confit

Now you can make restaurant-style chicken confit - slow-cooked in an oil bath - at home!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 1 hr 30 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Western
Servings 2

Equipment

  • Oven-safe dish, oven

Ingredients
  

  • 2 chicken legs
  • Dry or fresh Italian herbs of your choice
  • 1 carrot, quartered
  • 1 bulb garlic, cut in half
  • Salt & black pepper
  • Enough oil to cover chicken halfway

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 125 deg C.
  • Make cuts in chicken so that it can absorb more flavours. Rub salt and pepper into chicken.
  • Place chicken legs in a oven-proof dish.
  • Tuck carrots, herbs and garlic in the nooks.
  • Pour enough oil until it covers chicken HALFWAY. A lot of recipes call for you to fully cover the chicken, but I didn't have the heart to use so much oil, and my chicken turned out ok.
  • Cook in oven for 1.5-2 hours. Remove chicken and vegetables from the oil.
  • Press the chicken meat from the side so that it detaches from the bone, in order to get a "flatter" piece of meat and bone, meaning all the skin is now mostly on one side.
  • Now, in a saucepan, add back 2 tbs of the confit oil and heat to medium high. Fry the chicken legs, skin side down, for a few minutes until the skin turns golden brown and crispy.
Keyword chicken
Post Views: 1,900
One-pot meal, Poultry Tags:chicken, poultry

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Who’s Ipohbunny, lah?

Welcome!

I’m Alexandra Wong, a self-taught Malaysian home cook on a mission to simplify and healthify recipes using affordable quality ingredients. I am a writer by profession, mostly known for my feelgood stories about people, travel and food.

ipohbunny

Mee goreng on a banana leaf  😍😍😍 After Mee goreng on a banana leaf  😍😍😍

After a big feast at lunch with friends, Mum and I decided to take it easy for dinner and share a mee goreng from a stall in our neighbourhood.

Wahhh, I can see why this stall has become mum's favourite.

Generous in portion and sauce, which is more savoury (I like!) than sweet, and cukup wok hei. I must have walloped 2/3 of the portion and left only a bit for Mum #baddaughter 

Nice chap too. Do support if you are in the neighbourhood :) Located along a stretch of food stalls on the busiest street in Tmn Merdeka, the gerai also has mee rebus and pasembor. 😊

📍Mee Goreng Penang Classic Maimoon
Jalan Labrooy
Taman Merdeka
5.30-10.30pm daily ("kecuali kalau saya ada hal")
RM6 per serving

#supportlocalbusinesses #Ipohhiddengem
#meegoreng #meegorengmamak #friednoodles #Malaysiablogger #Malaysianfoodblogger #eatwithipohbunny #Ipohfood #Ipohfoodie #Ipoh #Ipohawesomecity #Muslimfriendly #jommakan #Malaysianstreetfood #hawkerfood #Malaysianhawkerfood #foodreels #igreels
Look at that beauty of a sourdough loaf! Came acr Look at that beauty of a sourdough loaf!

Came across @danishbydanishbakery in some food channels so I dragged hubs to check it out last weekend.

Lucky me! Seconds after walking out of the bakery, I bumped into Erik, the father of the baker. Seconds later, as we were driving off, the baker-son turned up! Snap!

Danish's version is authentic, proper European style sourdough, meaning it's more dense and tangy than the localised/Malaysianised version of sourdough. Some people prefer the latter, but hubby and I are hardcore, so the more sour and denser the better 😎

Honestly, it was easier to find European style sourdough in KL so hubs and I have been missing it, until we found The Baking Garage, except that's all the way in Tjg Bungah. Then news of a new Danish bakery in Georgetown surfaced.... Hurrah!!

Generously coated with seeds and grains on the outside, the bread is good enough on its own. I had just made gochujang-miso butter, inspired by another channel I started following recently, @thomas_straker

The little bakery is very new and only has a few other pastries so far, but they all look Yumcious. Next time.

#sourdough #Europeansoursough #Penangbakery #Penangbakeries #Georgetown #malaysiablogger #Penangfood #bread #bakery #smallbusinesses #eatwithipohbunny #Danishbakery #healthybread
A chronological carousel of my journey as a writer A chronological carousel of my journey as a writer, just because 😀

1 - 2008. As a freelancer, I was super lucky to be selected to represent The Star on an 8 day trip around Noosa & Gold Coast. Feasted like royalty!
2 - @francischeah00 Remember this?? I wrote about your fusion Western stall and playfully called you the fierce headmaster haha! The story appeared in The Star.
3 - Interviewing Nelson Kwok founder of the Nelson's corn franchise. This came out as part of a series of interviews with entrepreneurs for MBA Postgraduate.
4 - Writing for Going Places. Travelled to Slim River to spend half a day with the founder of Roti Babu Mokhtar, a bakery institute in SR.
5 - for Scoot magazine. With one of the most talented chefs I've ever met, Sam Lau of @Artisanhandmadebread It was so educational shadowing him at the market, and later observing him at work in the kitchen
6 - Spent a fun day with Clarissa Chong, one of the sunnniest people I've ever met, of healthy food producer @cottage_farm for The Star
7- Catching up with Mr Sambad whom I've covered for Fireflyz and The Star. He is as sweet as his Apam Balik 😍
8 - In 2019 with @anisnabilah . I still remember her memorable words, which I included in the Going Places article, “Our ancestors have been using pandan for centuries and all of a sudden, Nigella Lawson says pandan is the next it ingredient, only then we are raving about it! Why are we waiting for other people to popularise our food? Malaysians like to say our food is the greatest but we don’t support our industry with action. We are willing to pay through our noses for Western food, yet we don’t want to spend more for a local dish that has undergone hours of labour and utilizes scores of ingredients to prepare.”
I'll probably get into trouble for saying this. My I'll probably get into trouble for saying this. My favourite kai si hor fun (chicken hor fun) stall is not in Ipoh, but at @queensbaymall 's food court upstairs.

I know, I'll get a lot of flak for this, but hear me out.

I'm an objective person and my reviews are not influenced by popular public opinion. I would not say a place has the best this or that just because it got a million awards, or a hundred blogs say so.

The only benchmark I use is my own tongue. And my mum's.

Now it was my hubby who first told me about the Souper Chef stall in Qbay. He told me the kai si hor fun was very good, which I Ipohmali girl listened with disbelief. How can..?

But one day, I felt like a kshf fix and tried it out. Omg. The soup was so rich.. So robust with flavour and BODY, like it'd been boiled with a hundred chicken's bones and collagen and shells from a thousand prawns. Okok you get my point.

Anyway, the staff told me that the founder is from Ipoh. I suspect he has tweaked it slightly to suit Penang palates, because its more intense and richer than the Ipoh version, which I've always found too mild.

So where my mum's tongue come in? 😂 She is probably the fussiest eater I know, partly because she's such an excellent cook herself. So I actually bungkus two packets and took then all the way to Ipoh,just to see their reaction.

They were gobsmacked. Both Mum and Dad agreed the soup was very good (hoe kau mei), the chicken too was exceptionally moist and the noodles tender and silky. Yes. Better than the ones we've had in Ipoh. But taste is personal, so I'll let you be the judge of that. 

In the meantime, let you see the photos for yourself :)

Psst the chicken rice is also very good. Their version is a bit different, it's oil rice generously flavoured with garlic. 

#kaisihorfun #chickenhorfun #Queensbay #foodcourt #chickennoodles #eatwithipohbunny #porkfree #Malaysianfood #Penanghiddengem #horfun #malaysianstreetfood #malaysiablogger
Look at this thing of beauty. Wat tan hor, char ho Look at this thing of beauty. Wat tan hor, char hor fun, sar hor fun ....it all refers to silky egg flat rice noodles.

It is not hard to make at all, but it does involve a few components. Personally, I prepare some of them ahead of time so I don't feel so pressured and rushed when I'm assembling everything before serving it up for dinner.

1. There are three stages to the whole process which I practise: i) prepare gravy ii) fry noodles iii) finish off gravy with vegetables, cornstarch and egg. Then assemble everything.
2. There are two components to the dish: the base gravy, and the noodles. I make the gravy ahead of time because if you're inexperienced, you might need to adjust the taste until it's just right. In fact you can bottle the gravy up and freeze it for future use. (PRO TIP: Make the gravy just a little bit salty because when it is eventually absorbed by the noodles, the salty balance will be just right - thank you Martin!) 
3. To make things even easier, I always prepare chicken stock ahead of time. Every weekend, I buy 3-4 chicken carcasses from a Halal chicken stall in the new Lip Sin market (their carcasses are cleaned well, and compared to other vendors, relatively free from yucky skin and fatty attachments). Then I'd boil them up to make 2-3 bottles of stock which I can use for all types of dishes throughout the week.
4. Instead of traditional prawns, chicken and pork, my version uses fish cutlets as the protein. I ate this in KL and loved it so much!

Here's the whole recipe.
1. Prepare base gravy. In a pot, heat up oil and add in aromatics: chopped whites of spring onions, garlic and a few slices of ginger. Fry until fragrant, then add oyster sauce, light soy sauce and dark soy sauce (2:1:1/2 ratio - I find ratios more helpful than actually quantity)
2. Cook for a minute or too, then add chicken stock. Boil for 10 minutes at least to develop the flavours. Set aside.

(continue in comments)

#kuayteow #wattanhor #charhorfun #ricenoodles #Malaysiancooking #Malaysianrecipes #cookwithipohbunny #Malaysianhomecook #foodstagram #Malaysianfoodie #cookathome #homecooking #homecook #glutenfreerecipes #
Lately, I keep making these Dutch baby pancakes. T Lately, I keep making these Dutch baby pancakes. They are freaking delicious and soo easy to make. Just mix egg, flour and milk together into a batter, then pour it over hot butter in a cast iron skillet and bake it in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

The sky is the limit when it comes to the toppings. So far, I’ve tried pairing them with cheese, creamy mushrooms, rocket, egg. You can also add berries and cream and turn it into a dessert. Honestly, these are the most unscrew-up-able pancakes you can ever make!

Full recipe:
https://www.cookwithipohbunny.com/recipe-dutch-baby-pancakes/

#Dutchbabypancake #Dutchbabypancakes #pancakesforbreakfast #pancakes #easyrecipes #unscrewupable #cookwithipohbunny #Malaysianhomecook #Malaysiancook #breakfastideas #madeathome #instafood #foodstagram #familyfriendlyrecipes
OK, call it tourist trap or whatever you like, but OK, call it tourist trap or whatever you like, but I couldnt leave Langkawi without doing this. And I loved it!

One tip: To get to the climactic experience i.e. the sky bridge, you need to take the Skyglide (a mini tram) or walk through a nature trail

if you're not fit, don't be a macho-ass. Pay extra for the Skyglide.

Becauae the alternative is to walk down the 324 stepped nature trail (which isn't hard) but the return trip (you have to climb UP) is no joke. The steps are damn high. I might or might not be huffing and puffing when I got to the top. 

#langkawi #cuticutilangkawi #langkawiskycab #langkawiSkybridge #cuticutimalaysia #vacay #getaway #travelMalaysia #cablecar
Foodwise, we had some hits and misses in Langkawi Foodwise, we had some hits and misses in Langkawi but we were absolutely charmed by this little French creperie on Jalan Pantai Cenang!

Opened by a French couple, @myfrenchfactory has made quite a name for itself, judging by the rave reviews on Google.

They specialise in galette bretonne or French buckwheat galette, a thin pancake made with buckwheat flour, water, and salt and served with a savory filling, and is a specialty of the Bretagne or Brittany, a beautiful region in France's northwest.

It's quite a small place, so I sat next to the chef and had a front row view of him making our order, Galette No 9.

Big mistake.

Seeing Chef drizzle the hotplate with the galette batter and watching it crisp up into an appetizing golden brown at the edges, then stuff it to overflowing with caramelised onions, blue cheese and potatoes, only to realise that the order was not for me, but earlier customers who also ordered no 9 - omg, this was torture in the first degree.

By the time it arrived, I was ready to chew my knuckles off in hunger.

But I didn't, thank goodness, because every morsel was a delicious umami bomb. The combination of crispy-edged batter and creamy potatoes and intense hit of funky blue cheese ...ooo la la!

My ravenous state MIGHT have a wee bit to do with the fact that we'd walked all the way from our hotel to Pantai Cenang (we chalked up 20K steps that night), but the delectable galette was the perfect reward at the end of the road.

PS they do both sweet and savoury crepes.. I happened to order the savoury one.

#langkawi #pantaicenang #langkawidesserts #langkawicafe #frenchcrepes #frenchcrepeslangkawi #frenchfoodlangkawi #francemalaisie #langkawifood #langkawiyummy #dessertparlour #musttry #cuticutilangkawi #cuticutimalaysia #sedapgila #crêperie #brittany #bretagne #chocolate #chocolateandbanana #francaisenmalaisie #bestdessertslangkawi #homemade #frenchchefmalaysia #frenchcafe #buckwheat #galettesbretonnes #frenchcrepes #frenchfoodmalaysia #creperie
So proud of myself. I cleaned and cooked this salt So proud of myself. I cleaned and cooked this salted egg squid, all by myself!

Tasty or not?

"Better than the one we had in that Langkawi restaurant last week."

😀😀😀

Wahhh but I have to agree. (The restaurant one - squid was very chewy and sauce was too sweet.) 

And its all thanks to @shersonlian 's fantastic recipe!!

Tq Sherson, your recipes never never fail - and I love your tip of uisng the salted egg white itself (instead of salt) as the marinade for the sotong. No food wastage! 

This is how I did it, just slightly different from Sherson's method, because I had abalone juices on hand:

1. Clean squid. Cut tubes into ¼ in rings
2. Mince garlic, slice up red chilli, and strip curry leaves
3. Crack salted duck egg. Reserve the white.
4. Steam the yolk and then mash. 
5. Marinate squid in salted duck egg white and some curry powder.
6. Coat with rice flour. Shake off excess.
7. Heat up enough oil to double-fry coated squid.
8. Heat up a bit of oil. Add garlic, egg yolk, curry leaves and a little butter. 
9. When foamy and fragrant, add sliced red chilli, liquid (milk, chicken stock) to make it saucy and umami agents (oyster sauce, abalone juice from can, etc).
10. Add a touch of sugar. Taste for seasoning. 
11. Add back deep fried sotong, toss and serve.

Sherson's recipe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o4dywPQtzA

How to clean squid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf0BvXTvahg

#Malaysianhomecook #Malaysiancooking #saltedegg #saltedeggyolksauce #squid #saltedeggsquid #cookwithipohbunny #homecooking #sotong #sotongtelurmasin #sedapgiler #umamibomb #seafoodrecipes #squidrecipes
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