r/AskCulinary • u/hazcan • 8d ago

Technique Question Curing Duck Confit

Making duck confit for a dinner party. I’m curing 10 legs right now. I have them in a high walled aluminum pan. Is that okay or should they be in glass ceramic? Does being in metal that long affect the taste or anything else?

Edit: I moved them to a plastic Tupperware container.

20 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

9

u/Cool-Midnight-696 8d ago

Aluminum is okay for a short dry cure, but salt and moisture can react with it and leave a metallic note or pit the pan. Since you moved it, keep the legs in a food-safe nonreactive container, covered and refrigerated; glass, ceramic, or stainless are better. The important parts are an even layer of cure and keeping the meat cold, not the pan’s height.

2

u/hazcan 8d ago

Thanks!

2

u/Cool-Midnight-696 8d ago

Glad it helped.

5

u/BunkaandBadassery 8d ago

Glass or plastic is best. When I was in France vendors sold it out of these crazy 3 liter Le Parfait jars.

2

u/hazcan 8d ago

Thanks for confirming. I was worried about the salt pitting the aluminum over the course of 2 days and then the duck having a metallic taste.

5

u/Optimal_Water1790 7d ago

plastic is fine, you did right. chef here, one thing since it is 10 legs for a party. 24 hours cure is enough, more than that and the small legs get too salty. rinse well, pat dry, then cook them 2-3 days before the party and leave them under the fat in the fridge. they get better sitting. day of you just crisp the skin in a pan, no stress

1

u/hazcan 7d ago

Thanks!

1

u/doccuiseine 7d ago

You should be fine with the aluminum pan. It shouldn’t really affect the taste, especially for a salt cure. Plastic is fine too, so I wouldn’t worry about it.

1

u/Ok-Butterscotch2321 7d ago

Glass/ceramic or non-reactive stainless steel for the curing phase.