Duck Confit Orange Ramen
Duck confit is one of those French techniques that sounds impossibly fancy until you realize it's just meat cooked in its own fat for hours until it falls apart. Pair that with ramen noodles and strips of candied orange peel, and you've got this weird, wonderful collision of bistro refinement and Japanese simplicity. The duck comes out so tender it barely holds together, the fat enriches the broth into something silky and almost indulgent, and the orange peel adds this bright, slightly bitter contrast that keeps the whole thing from feeling too heavy. It's gourmet without being pretentious, the kind of dish you make when you want to impress someone or just treat yourself to something that takes actual time and effort. Slow food meeting fast noodles in a bowl that tastes like you spent all day in the kitchen, because you kind of did.
Duck melts in fat's heat—orange peel cuts through the rich—slow patience rewards.
Let Me Tell You...
I learned about duck confit from this pretentious cooking show where the host kept saying "confit" with this exaggerated French accent and acting like it was some kind of culinary sorcery.
It annoyed me so much that I decided to make it myself just to prove it wasn't that complicated.
Turns out it's not complicated at all, it just takes forever, which is a different kind of challenge when you're used to throwing together dinner in twenty minutes.
You salt the duck legs, let them sit overnight, then submerge them in rendered duck fat and cook them low and slow until the meat is so tender it practically dissolves off the bone.
The cure draws out moisture and concentrates flavor.
The first time I made it, I didn't know what to do with all that leftover duck fat, so I just poured it into a jar and stuck it in the fridge like some kind of culinary hoarder.
A week later I was making ramen and had this idea to use the duck fat as the base for the broth instead of regular oil or butter.
I shredded some of the confit meat, tossed in strips of orange peel I'd candied in sugar syrup because I was feeling ambitious, and the whole thing just clicked together in this way I wasn't expecting.
Use it for frying potatoes or enriching broths later.
The fusion part wasn't intentional, it just happened because I had ingredients from two completely different culinary traditions sitting in my kitchen and I was too lazy to make two separate meals.
But that's how the best combinations happen sometimes, not because you're trying to be clever or inventive, but because you're working with what you have and trusting your instincts.
French technique meeting Japanese noodles isn't weird when you think about it, both cuisines care deeply about texture, about balance, about letting good ingredients speak for themselves without drowning them in noise.
Raw peel is too bitter and tough.
Now I make this whenever I have time to kill and want something that feels special without being fussy.
It's the kind of dish that makes people ask how you did it, and when you tell them it's just duck cooked in fat for two hours, they look at you like you're lying.
But that's the truth of it, good food doesn't have to be complicated, it just has to be thoughtful, patient, and willing to let time do most of the work while you sit back and wait for the magic to happen.
Ingredients
- 2 duck legs (about 1 lb total)
- 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups rendered duck fat (or substitute with olive oil if needed)
- 2 packs ramen noodles (discard seasoning packets)
- 4 cups chicken or duck stock (preferably low-sodium)
- 3 strips orange peel (about 3 inches long each, white pith removed)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- Salt and white pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Rub duck legs all over with coarse sea salt and crushed black peppercorns. Place in a dish with thyme sprigs and bay leaves, cover, and refrigerate for 12-24 hours to cure.
- Preheat oven to 225°F (110°C). Rinse the salt cure off the duck legs and pat them completely dry with paper towels.
- Place duck legs in a deep oven-safe pot or Dutch oven. Cover completely with rendered duck fat (legs should be fully submerged). Add smashed garlic cloves.
- Cover the pot with a lid or aluminum foil and place in the preheated oven. Cook for 2-2.5 hours, until the duck meat is very tender and pulls away from the bone easily.
- While the duck cooks, prepare the candied orange peel: In a small saucepan, combine orange peel strips, honey, and 1/4 cup water. Simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes until the peel is translucent and tender. Remove and set aside.
- When duck is done, carefully remove legs from the fat (reserve the fat for future use). Let duck cool slightly, then shred the meat off the bones, discarding skin and bones.
- In a medium saucepan, bring chicken or duck stock to a simmer. Add soy sauce, mirin, and 2 tablespoons of the reserved duck fat. Stir to combine and taste, adjusting seasoning with salt and white pepper.
- In a separate pot, bring water to a boil and cook ramen noodles according to package directions (typically 3-4 minutes). Drain well.
- Divide cooked noodles between two large bowls. Ladle the enriched broth over the noodles.
- Top each bowl with shredded duck confit, candied orange peel strips, and sliced green onions. Serve immediately with optional toppings on the side.