Before refrigerators, French cooks preserved meat by cooking it slowly in fat and sealing it under that fat. Today confit is made for its flavor and texture, and kept cold.
Key idea
Confit (kohn-FEE): meat, usually duck legs, salted for a day, then cooked very slowly submerged in fat until meltingly tender, then stored in the fat in the refrigerator. Pâté is a seasoned paste of meat, liver or fish; a terrine is a pâté (or layered vegetables) cooked in a mold, often in a water bath, pressed, chilled and sliced. A forcemeat is the mixture of ground meat, fat and seasoning they are made from.
- Terrines are cooked to a safe internal temperature for their meat (165°F if they contain poultry).
- Cool by the two-stage rule, then keep refrigerated; slice cold with a hot, wet knife.
- Keep forcemeats very cold while grinding and mixing so the fat doesn't smear.
- Confit and terrines are refrigerated foods; the covering of fat is not a reason to keep them at room temperature.
Why it works
Fat seals out air but not every germ; some dangerous ones grow without air. Modern guidance treats confit and terrines as refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods with the usual 7-day date-marking limit in restaurants.
Worked example: Date mark
A chicken liver terrine is made on day 1 and kept at 41°F. On which day must it be used or discarded at the latest?
- Ready-to-eat TCS food: 7 days, with the day it was made as day 1.
Answer: Day 7.
Common mistake
Keeping confit in a cupboard "like in the old days". Keep it in the refrigerator.
Practice at home
- Make a simple vegetable terrine (layers of roasted vegetables pressed in a loaf pan lined with plastic wrap). Chill overnight, unmold and slice it neatly.