Phoenix Confit

Going to be frank, Dungeon Meshi Maniacs. My wallet is feeling pretty light after this week's recipe.  The ingredients used aren't some you find that easily in my side of the dungeon.  And even though this is originally a peasant's dish it's rather pricey to make in the modern world.  What is up with that!?  But you won't hear me complain, DMMs. Price is the price I'm willing to pay to bring you great blogging.  Oh, and I also get to eat the dish.  Put on your Sunday best, DMMs. We are having Phoenix Confit!

 So what should we talk about first, DMMs?  What's a Phoenix or what's a Confit?  I'm going to save the explanation of a phoenix for next week and we'll get to what's a confit in a bit.  Why don't we start in the usual way we always do and look at how we come to cooking Phoenix Confit in the first place.  It's starts like all great stories, the gang finds a cabin in the woods.

A cabin in the woods in the dungeon to be precise.  This is the home of the Lunatic Magician themselves, DMMs!  Thistle goes here to...I'm not sure how they spend their spare time  actually.  I guess get nervous about people coming into the dungeon and touching things?  I to worry about people touching my things so I do understand.  That's why the house has a guard.....BIRD!

Wait...wait...I'm being told I'm about to be sued here...let's try again.

Now I'm being told that's too niche.  Okay, here we go!

The dungeon Phoenix!  Kinda looks like a cross between a Secretary Bird and a goose?  Either way, large birds make great guards, DMMs.  Even non-magical ones!  They are territorial for starters, can and will go for the face but most importantly make a TON OF NOISE.  Don't believe me?  Try sneaking past a group of geese, see how that goes for you.  The big problem with birds is they have one fatal flaw.

Getting arrowed!  Shame to. It looked like a pretty bird and I'd loved to have asked it who was a pretty bird. Now that they can be sure the Phoenix has been dealt with forever the gang is free to go inside only to find something shocking.

People sitting at a dinner table!?  Not what I'd expect from a manga about cooking monsters, DMMs.  Pretty rude of the gang to show up to a dinner party empty handed too.  Little Nih Family Secret: always have a frozen pie stuck in the back of the freezer.  You never know when you'll need it for a dinner party or a funeral!  Yes, you bring food to both where I'm from and everyone loves a freezer pie.  Egg is really on the gang's face especially seeing how they know one of the people here.

OMG!  It's Yaad in physical form!  Oh he is better than ever, DMMs!  Seems that Thistle is keeping the bodies of the people living in the Golden Land here while their souls are safe.  Gotta admit. I'm starting to think there's something wrong with this Lunatic Magician.  The reunion is short lived because someone is upset about that arrowing.

The Phoenix is back and it is angry, DMMs!  For those that don't know a Phoenix dies, bursts into flames and comes back to life.  That's kind of it's thing.  We'll get into more detail next week so for now just know the gang has a literal fire bird to deal with.  Not to drag things out they exploit a loophole with the dungeon.  The monsters cannot hurt people who live in the Golden Land which means Laois goes onto my crap list.

*sigh* Okay, I'll be a bigger slime and admit that I'm jealous the Laois gets to touch Yaad, DMMs.  The Phoenix may be have an immortal cycle but it's still a bird so getting hit with a human body is going to crush it.  And since it can't hurt Yaad it can't burst into flames again and come back to life.  The gang have a bird to eat so long as Yaad is around.  Which is exactly what Senshi does!

A Yaad backpack!  Now I'm jealous of both Senshi and Yaad.  This is a tough chapter for me, DMMs!  I may have some super private fiction to write later.  That will have to wait because now that w e know the monster and the recipe we have a Confit to make!  What's a confit exactly?  It's an ancient French dish that was created as a way to preserve anything.  You slowly cook what you want to preserve in a liquid, store it in said liquid until you're ready to eat it!  No kidding, you can Confit anything.  Fruit, garlic or most famous....DUCK!

 Duck Confit is about as classically French as you can get, DMMs.  When you lived a more farming life you had better access to duck.  I do not live on a farm and have a hard time finding duck.  Luckily, my local butcher had some on hand!  Duck looks and feels like chicken but tastes nothing like it.  No, duck's flavor is far more rich.  It's not that delicate so you can cook it like chicken if you want.  Cooking confit is actually very easy with only a few steps.  The hard part is you have to plan ahead of time! This dish takes at least a day because the duck has to sit in herbs.  What are those herbs in question?

Just about every spice you can think of, DMMs!  Salt, black pepper, oregano, rosemary, thyme, juniper berries, garlic, and the secret weapon Chinese Five Spice.  Five Spice is one of the best spices to have in your cabinet, DDMs.  It covers so many flavors in one jar; star anise, cloves, cinnamon, sichuan pepper and fennel seeds!  It's fantastic for any rub.  As for measurements this is a serious rub so it will require a lot.  I went with two tablespoons of salt, six cloves or garlic, all of the oregano and rosemary that you see there (about a fourth cup each), a fourth cup of the thyme, about 9 Juniper Berries and two tablespoons of the Five Spice.

Here's a lesson I learned the hard way, DMMs.  Put your contacts in BEFORE you make this rub.  It doesn't matter how many times you wash your hands. There is always be some spice left over.  Since this is a rub that is the next step.  Rub it all over your duck and put that duck in the refrigerator for at least a day.

See you tomorrow, duckies!  I told you that you had to preplan Duck Confit, DMMs.  This is not something you can decide to have on the way home from work....unless you prepared it already and stored it properly.  While the duck soaks in the rub let's talk the liquid you're going to cook the duck in.  Duck Fat!

Liquid gold, DMMs!  And I'm not calling that because it's one of the most expensive fats that you can buy.  No, this is the good stuff.  You'll need about 24 ounces or two jars of this stuff.  Lucky for me I could find it at our local chain grocery store.  Not like the bad old days when you'd have to render the fat yourself.  Now that a day has past you're ready to cook.  Take the duck out and rinse all of the rub off!  It has done its job, no need to cover it in hot oil.  Let the duck come to room temperature in the roasting pan you are going to use.  Heat the oven to a cool 285 and heat the oil over medium high heat.  You're going to get the oil pretty hot, DMMs.  About when you see a little smoke and some movement in the oil.

 Okay, you can't really see it here but the oil is starting to almost boil. Next comes a very dangerous step, DMMs.  One that I don't have pictures of because it needed both hands and a lot of concentration. You are going to pour this boiling oil SAFELY onto the duck.  Seriously, be safe during this step.  I managed to get a small bit of hot oil on my arm and it's still a little red in that area two days later!  Even without a photo you will pretty much submerge the duck in the oil, cover it with tinfoil and put it into the oven for THREE HOURS!  That's quick, DMMs.  The classic way would take up to eight hours.  Trust me, it's worth the wait.

Sure, it doesn't look like much while it's still in the oil.  Just trust me, this is one of the best dishes we've made during this journey, DMMs.  Now you could try to crisp up the skin but honestly I found that more trouble than it was worth.  The meat is literally falling off the bone at this point!  Better to just dig in while it's great.

Oh boy, DMMs.  Looking at that photo makes my mouth water again.  Just an absolutely delicious dish.  Duck is one of the best meats out there.  You can see why it was a plot point in Yakuza: Like a Dragon!  I served it with candied carrots and parsnips with a side of boiled new potatoes.  The good news doesn't start there, DMMs.  Once the oil has cool you can strain it and save it for later uses!

Sure, duck fat isn't cheap.  But you can use it several times before you have to throw it out!  I can't wait to try and fry some potatoes in it.  Be sure to treat yourself to this one, DMMs.  Have it on a special night or a night you just want to feel like you're eating at Le Pantaloons de Fancy.  You're worth it!  There's no wrong way to eat duck confit.  Well...almost no wrong way.

Come back in seven when you look at all things Phoenix!  Trust me, it'll be worth coming back for again and again!