Why It Works Rendering the trimmed duck fat creates a flavorful searing fat. Searing the legs before roasting creates crisp, golden skin and a more pronounced herb crust. Roasting the duck atop vegetables bastes them with rendered fat, seasoning the whole pan. "Too often, we think of French haute cuisine without remembering the old, rustic heart that beats beneath it." A Split Personality France is a two-faced country. About a month ago, I ordered duck confit at an English French restaurant. It came out like a sculpture, the plate glazed with a filigree of haricots verts, and laced with a doily of frisée. It was all very embellished--like a necklace belonging to the Empress Josephine, with the duck as the crown jewel. But then last week, I ordered duck confit in Paris. It was perched unceremoniously atop a smattered nest of coin-sliced potatoes, seared in duck fat and garlic. I often find that we regard the French, and French food, from without as something different from what they truly are within.…