Confit de Gesiers

This confit de gesiers takes a tough, inexpensive part of the chicken and turns it into tender morsels that are a great appetizer for your cocktail party. 

Several years ago, my mom and I traveled to France to visit friends. While we were there, we hit all of the local markets and one of our favorites had a stall that served roasted rotisserie chicken, which was fabulous. But the very best part were the gizzards that cooked in the dripped fat in a pan at the bottom of the rotisserie. They were so tender they almost melted in our mouths.

I wanted to recreate those gizzards at home. These come pretty darn close. If you are serving picky eaters, just don't tell them these are gizzards until they've had a taste! They will love them. 

Confit de Gesiers

Confit is a traditional French method of slow cooking then preserving poultry, usually duck, in fat. If you have enough duck fat, you can certainly use that instead of canola oil in this recipe. Gesiers, of course, is French for gizzards.

Ingredients

3 1/3 lbs or 1500g gizzards, cleaned

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

8-10 small cloves garlic, peeled

2-3 bay leaves

4 cups or 946ml canola oil

Method

Preheat your oven to 250°F or 121°C.

Pile the gizzards into a Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid. Season them with the salt and both peppers and give them a good stir. 

Pour in the oil and heat the pot on the stovetop slowly until the oil is warm, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Poke in garlic cloves and bay leaves, making sure they all covered with the oil. 

Put the tight-fitting lid on the Dutch oven and put it in your preheated oven for 4 hours. Stir once midway through. 

Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and put the gizzards in sterilized jars. Cover them with the cooking oil and store in the jars in the refrigerator. 

To serve them, fry the gizzards in a little of the oil until browned and crispy. Sprinkle on some chopped parsley. Put the pan out with toothpicks.

(Another serving suggestion: Warm the gizzards and drain off the oil. Serve on a salad of spring greens that have been tossed with a light vinaigrette.)

Enjoy! 

Today I’m joining a new group of bloggers for a virtual event we are calling Sunday Funday, where we share recipes your families will love every Sunday. Many thanks to this week's host Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• Barbecue Smokehouse Almonds by Palatable Pastime
• Cheddar Horseradish Dip by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chunky Peanut Butter Dip by Sneha's Recipe
• Confit de Gesiers by Food Lust People Love
• Fontina Salami Bites by Making Miracles
• Olive Tapenade by Pandemonium Noshery
• Spiced Cheese Wafers by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Tomato Bread by Our Good Life

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