The French method of preserving meat by slowly cooking it in its own fat is called confit. The technique combines gentle cooking with salting, allowing meat to be stored beneath a protective layer of fat.
The best-known examples are confit de canard and confit d’oie, made from duck or goose legs. The meat is salted and seasoned, then cooked while submerged in rendered fat at a low temperature. It is not deep-fried: the goal is tender cooking and preservation rather than rapid browning.
Confit developed before refrigeration and became a specialty of southwestern France, particularly around areas such as Toulouse and the Dordogne. Once cooked, the meat could be packed into a container and covered with fat, limiting exposure to air. Today, confit is commonly refrigerated and served after reheating, often with crisped skin.
Confit is sometimes confused with rillettes or pâté. Rillettes are shredded meat preserved in fat, while pâté is a seasoned forcemeat or paste. Confit describes the cooking and preservation method itself, and it can also be used for fruit preserved in sugar.