Cheaters Chicken Confit

Shot through the super clean oven door thanks to the worlds most awesome oven cleaner.

Mmmmmm.

As others eyes turn to largest sporting event to hit the country, mine are turned to the oven.  Or, to be more specific, to the dish currently residing therein.

Confit is a very rare treat for me.  I only have it when I strike it on a restaurant menu and the best I ever had was in a wee bistro next to the Waterloo train station.  The chef was as proud as a new father of his confit and took me into the kitchen to have a good old poke around and chin-wag.

Occassionally I have gotten inspired to tackle the dish and have always has grand designs of saving the precious duck fat and making it a regular occurence.  This never happens and it turns out be a very expensive dish.  I mean to say, not even I have a kilo or two of rendered duck fat on hand.

This morning dawned as one of those days where the gathering storm clouds and the immanent return of my oft absent wife and the hasty promise of a feast fit for royalty led me to turn my thoughts to the duck confit, or at least the 8 portioned ducks residing in the deep freeze.  Alas, my wife does not favour the dish quite as much as I.  So with a sigh, I put my thinking cap on.

Confit  of anything allows the intensification of flavour and creates what I like to call a rich-ification of food.  True the process was born of the need to preserve a bountiful harvest, but that does not detract from the fact that it make food taste more like food.

And so, with the purchase of 8 portions of chicken thighs, I created a compromise of meat and methodology and thus the Cheaters Chicken Confit was hatched.

The traditional method of slowly poaching at a low temperature in a small bucket of fat is impractible, however I have an oven which could be adapted to the process.  (Yes, I considered the slow cooker but would like to do more research on the temperatures it maintains before giving this a crack.)

The idea is simple,  apply a constant low heat to chicken pieces as they nestle in a luxurious spa of whole garlic cloves, bran oil, fresh thyme, bay leaves and wholepeppercorns.  Continue the immersion for a few hours before reserving and resting, then applying a high heat to brown up.  And of course, straining the remaining unctuous oil to keep in the fridge for making olive oil mashed potatoes.  Yum, yum.  Anyway, on with the particulars.

Ingredients
8 chicken leg portions
500 mls bran oil
small bunch of fresh thyme
whole bulb of garlic, broken into cloves with paper still on
around 30 peppercorns
2 bay leaves

Method

Preheat oven to 100 deg C.

In a large roasting dish, cover the bottom with some of the oil in a thin layer.  Add the thyme, garlic cloves, peppercorns and bay leaves.  Top with the chicken portions, nestled tightly.  Add the rest of the oil.

Place in the oven for 2.5 - 3 hours until the chickens juices run clear.   Remove from the oven and gently lift out of the oil which can be strained and reserved.  Allow to rest for a few minutes before placing on a baking sheet lined with grease proof paper.

Increase the heat to 180 deg C, and bake for another 20 odd minutes, turning to brown both sides.


The chicken will keep in a jar, covered in the oil for about a week, or can be frozen for six months.  Alternatively, free-flow freeze the chicken and strain the oil, leaving behind the layer at the bottom.  Freeze separately and re-use as required.