The opposite of the breast on the same bird — dark, tough, collagen-heavy, and wanting 175-185°F where the breast wants 130°F. Confit is the traditional answer and still the best one.
The leg quarter includes thigh and drumstick with a piece of the back, running six to ten ounces on a Pekin duck and considerably more on a Moulard. Ducks walk and swim constantly, so the leg muscles are dark, dense and threaded with connective tissue, and the skin carries a heavy fat layer as it does over the breast. Unlike the breast, the fat here is distributed around and through the muscle as well as under the skin, which is why the leg tolerates and rewards long cooking that would destroy the breast.
High collagen and high fat means the leg follows the braising curve: nothing good happens until the connective tissue starts converting above 160°F, and the target is 175-185°F where it has become gelatin and the fat has fully rendered. Confit exploits this precisely — submerged in fat at 200-215°F, the meat sits in the conversion band for hours while being physically unable to dry out, since fat conducts heat gently and there's no evaporation. The salt cure beforehand does two things: it seasons through and it lowers water activity, which is what historically made confit a preservation method rather than just a cooking one.
The definitive treatment. Full collagen conversion with no possibility of drying, and the legs keep for weeks under their own fat.
HowSalt with garlic, thyme and bay for twenty-four hours, rinse and dry. Submerge in duck fat at 200-215°F for two and a half to three hours until the meat pulls from the bone. Cool in the fat. Crisp the skin hard in a dry pan before serving.
The fat renders and bastes the meat while the collagen converts, and the skin crisps without any added fat at all.
HowScore the skin, salt overnight uncovered. 300°F on a rack, two to two and a half hours, then 425°F for fifteen minutes to crisp. Save every drop of the rendered fat.
Wet heat converts the collagen and the braising liquid picks up a great deal of rendered fat and gelatin.
HowBrown skin-side first to render, pour off the fat, then braise in wine and stock at 325°F covered for ninety minutes to two hours.
Holds the leg exactly in the conversion band and produces confit texture without a litre of fat.
HowSalt-cure overnight, then 167-175°F for eighteen to twenty-four hours with a spoonful of fat in the bag. Chill, then crisp the skin in a hot dry pan.
Duck breast is cooked like a steak to 130-135°F, and the two cuts come off the same bird, so the instruction gets carried across. It shouldn't be. The leg is a hard-working limb packed with connective tissue, and at 135°F none of that has converted — the meat is chewy, the fat is unrendered and greasy, and it eats like an undercooked braise, which is what it is. The leg wants 175-185°F and hours, at which point the collagen has turned to gelatin and the abundant fat has rendered through the meat. This is the same breast-versus-leg split as chicken and turkey, exaggerated: on a duck the two cuts are forty-five degrees apart and there is no version of cooking them together that serves both.
Pekin or Long Island legs are what most shops carry, six to ten ounces each — one per person, two for a large appetite. Moulard legs are much larger and richer. Look for intact skin with a thick even fat layer. Frozen is common and completely fine given the long cook. Pre-made confit legs are sold vacuum-packed and are a legitimate shortcut, though they're usually oversalted; rinse and crisp them rather than reheating in the liquid. If you cook duck breast regularly, save the rendered fat and you'll have enough for confit without buying any.
Doneness: 175-185°F internal, or fork-tender with the meat pulling from the bone. Confit at 200-215°F ambient for two and a half to three hours. Sous vide 167-175°F for eighteen to twenty-four hours. Never 135°F.
Traditionally the legs are fully submerged, which takes a lot. Two workarounds: cook them in a narrow, deep dish so less fat covers more, or vacuum-seal each leg with two tablespoons of fat and cook sous vide, where full submersion is unnecessary because the bag holds the fat against the meat. The fat is also reusable indefinitely — strain it after each use and it improves.
Properly made and fully submerged under a sealed layer of its own fat, several weeks to a few months refrigerated — that was the entire point of the technique before refrigeration. The seal has to be complete, with no meat breaking the surface, and the container has to be clean. Once you break the seal, treat it as ordinary cooked meat and use it within a few days.
Yes, and you should — it's the same fat. A single magret renders a quarter to a third of a cup, so a few breast dinners accumulate enough for a batch of confit. Strain it through cloth and keep it in a jar in the fridge, where it lasts months. It's also the best roasting fat there is for potatoes.