Duck rillettes with toast (Rillettes de canard)

1. Season the duck legs with salt and pepper and place them in melted duck fat in a pot; add the garlic, thyme and bay leaf.

2. Cook very gently (confit), barely simmering, for about 2.5-3 hours until the meat falls from the bone.

3. Lift out the meat, remove the bones and skin, then shred the meat into fibres with two forks (do not mince it).

4. Mix the shredded meat with just enough strained rendered fat to make it creamy and spreadable but still fibrous; season with salt and pepper.

5. Press into small jars, cover the top with a thin layer of fat and chill (at least overnight in the fridge).

6. Let it come up a little from fridge-cold and serve with freshly toasted baguette.

Tip: The essence of rillettes is the slow confit and the fibrous, not pasty texture – shred with a fork, not a food processor. The set layer of fat on top keeps it for weeks in the fridge.