Confit is a French word meaning to preserve, it is normally applied to Duck or Goose and probably as they are the two most common fats to use for it's preparation and preservation. Just about anything can be confit, pork, salmon, trout, garlic, the list is pretty long but the methods are basically the same.
The meat, duck in this case, is first salted with herbs to remove moisture and add flavour, and then poached in it's own (or a substitute) fat for a few hours until any remaining moisture has been evaporated out and the fat has sealed the meat, this can then be drained, roasted, grilled, fried... or can be preserved for use later by adding the cooking fat back to the meat in a suitable container, plastic or glass, until the meat is completely emersed in the fat, and then sealed with a layer of lard.
Preserved this way a confit can last up to 6 months in a fridge, if sous vide (cooked in a vacuum bag in a water bath), considerably longer than that and if frozen or canned properly can last for years and years. There are as many recipes for confit as there are French Grandmothers, and as I said you can confit a lot of different foods, generally, a fatty meat or oily fish will confit alot better than lean or non fatty, but have a look around for recipes, the taste is divine and not at all oily or greasy and you will be amazed at how long it will keep.
I've added a link here for a Confit of Duck from Raymond Blanc who I respect greatly.
http://www.raymondblanc.com/recipes/con ... beans.aspx
Try the recipe in full with the flageolet beans it's superb, but if you want to preserve the confit, at the end of step 2 remove the duck from the fat, place a table spoon of the liquid fat in the bottom of a sterilised plastic or glass container, add the duck and then cover with the remaining fat, making sure the meat is below the level of the fat. Cool this and once cooled add a 1/2" layer of lard over the top, cover with a greaseproof disc and a lid and leave it for a few months. If you want it to keep longer either freeze it or use a bit more salt in the initial stages. Frozen it will keep almost indefinately.
Not so much a recipe but a method of cooking which is both deliciou and prepper friendly. Bon Appétit!
C
