Dear Tamar: Can I use and reuse and reuse the fat I used to make confit of gésiers a/k/a chicken gizzards? It's too delicious to throw out, and the gésiers—also ridiculously delicious— are disappearing fast so it won't be needed to preserve them for more than another few minutes.
Thanks for that delightful contemplation of my problem. You asked, so I send. Actually I have a small collection of confit de gesiers recipes and sort of read them all and then merge them without a second glance each (infrequent) time I acquire gizzards to cook. I offer this recipe because it is the most charming of them, and more or less how I do it, except for the first paragraph, the most charming part, which I don't bother actually doing "the cure." Just reading about it surely has the desired effect. Don't have any idea where I found this recipe, other than to say it came from above, a/k/a the Internet.
1 1⁄4# chicken gizzards (1 pack from the market)
1 1/2T Kosher salt
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
1T black peppercorn
3 bay leaves
2 cloves of garlic sliced thinly
1 quart rendered chicken, duck or pork fat
All proper confit should start with a cure. Take the gizzards and rinse them with a little water. Gently pat them dry as you would your forehead while wagering on horses and place into a small bowl. Add the salt, peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves and garlic to the bowl. Toss all the ingredients together and cover the bowl. Place the bowl into the cooler and let the gizzards embrace the cure for 8-12 hours.
Preheat your oven to 225 degrees. Remove the properly cured gizzards from the cooler and place all the ingredients into a colander and rinse with a slight bit of vigor. Pat the gizzards dry. Place a pot of medium size onto the stove with your fat of choice. Add the gizzards to the pot and turn your stove top’s flame to a medium-low. When the gizzards start to be nudged around a little by the increasing warmth of the fat, place the pot into the oven and let the mixture slowly roll around for 3 hours. Remove the gizzards from the stove and let cool in the fat.
P.S. This recent time I couldn't find any duck, pork, or chicken fat so I threw caution to the winds and used mostly butter and some olive oil. The result was transcendent. As was the resulting fat which was quickly reused.
Oh, this is the most wonderful recipe. But do you salt them 8-12 hours ahead, or do you use all the recommended herbs etc and do it just before. I'd like to raise a glass to this recipe writer!
I'd like to tell you who s/he is but dunno! Yes I use all those herbs, and just put it all together in the dutch oven to slow cook. Serve the gizzards warmed up and sliced on a salad of whatever delicate things are around, with a vinaigrette. I shall try gribiche next time.
Thank you for the positively enriching read. It definitely beats reading about what "the one that shall not be named" has done since yesterday. 🤷🏼 I don't eat confit or gizzards- only plant-based. Can I make a plant-based confit? But I do reuse stuff all the time. Lukas Volger was thrilled about my feta brine infused tofo. My parrot (and my husband ) loves my healthy kombucha snacks (strain the fruit from the second fermentation jar; bottle the kombucha, and mash up the fruit with an apple, pear or banana & chia & flax seeds and dehydrate spread thin for 7 hours @165F). And I love beans soaked overnight in whey which I end with, if my kefir sits out a bit longer. Not wasting anything here. Even the spent grain from my husband's beer brewing hobby goes into my sourdough bread. But then--I'm retired and have time to think about this stuff while everyone else is zooming through life. 😁
Thanks for that delightful contemplation of my problem. You asked, so I send. Actually I have a small collection of confit de gesiers recipes and sort of read them all and then merge them without a second glance each (infrequent) time I acquire gizzards to cook. I offer this recipe because it is the most charming of them, and more or less how I do it, except for the first paragraph, the most charming part, which I don't bother actually doing "the cure." Just reading about it surely has the desired effect. Don't have any idea where I found this recipe, other than to say it came from above, a/k/a the Internet.
1 1⁄4# chicken gizzards (1 pack from the market)
1 1/2T Kosher salt
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
1T black peppercorn
3 bay leaves
2 cloves of garlic sliced thinly
1 quart rendered chicken, duck or pork fat
All proper confit should start with a cure. Take the gizzards and rinse them with a little water. Gently pat them dry as you would your forehead while wagering on horses and place into a small bowl. Add the salt, peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves and garlic to the bowl. Toss all the ingredients together and cover the bowl. Place the bowl into the cooler and let the gizzards embrace the cure for 8-12 hours.
Preheat your oven to 225 degrees. Remove the properly cured gizzards from the cooler and place all the ingredients into a colander and rinse with a slight bit of vigor. Pat the gizzards dry. Place a pot of medium size onto the stove with your fat of choice. Add the gizzards to the pot and turn your stove top’s flame to a medium-low. When the gizzards start to be nudged around a little by the increasing warmth of the fat, place the pot into the oven and let the mixture slowly roll around for 3 hours. Remove the gizzards from the stove and let cool in the fat.
P.S. This recent time I couldn't find any duck, pork, or chicken fat so I threw caution to the winds and used mostly butter and some olive oil. The result was transcendent. As was the resulting fat which was quickly reused.
Oh, this is the most wonderful recipe. But do you salt them 8-12 hours ahead, or do you use all the recommended herbs etc and do it just before. I'd like to raise a glass to this recipe writer!
I'd like to tell you who s/he is but dunno! Yes I use all those herbs, and just put it all together in the dutch oven to slow cook. Serve the gizzards warmed up and sliced on a salad of whatever delicate things are around, with a vinaigrette. I shall try gribiche next time.
Thank you for the positively enriching read. It definitely beats reading about what "the one that shall not be named" has done since yesterday. 🤷🏼 I don't eat confit or gizzards- only plant-based. Can I make a plant-based confit? But I do reuse stuff all the time. Lukas Volger was thrilled about my feta brine infused tofo. My parrot (and my husband ) loves my healthy kombucha snacks (strain the fruit from the second fermentation jar; bottle the kombucha, and mash up the fruit with an apple, pear or banana & chia & flax seeds and dehydrate spread thin for 7 hours @165F). And I love beans soaked overnight in whey which I end with, if my kefir sits out a bit longer. Not wasting anything here. Even the spent grain from my husband's beer brewing hobby goes into my sourdough bread. But then--I'm retired and have time to think about this stuff while everyone else is zooming through life. 😁
This all sounds so delicious. You know, both eggplant and tomatoes work for confit, actually! I love the beans in whey idea!!!