Thanks for all the answers. I love watching cooking shows and going through cookbooks and whatnot but every time I hear or see "confit" I wonder what in the world they're talking about. I imagine at some point I'll just need to invest in a copy of Pépin's Technique book. Until then, food pickle it is!

It was originally a way to preserve goose in oil. The French would salt the goose thighs with legs attached for a couple of days to draw out the blood. They would then cook it slowly, without boiling it, in its own fat. They would then store it in crocks covered in the fat, which would preserve it. True confit gets better with age. Paula Wolftert in her Cooking of Southwest France has a great recipe for this and a very detailed explanation. Pretty much now days anything submerged in oil and simmered for a period of time is being called confit but it is because of the method of cooking, say the garlic, not actually preserving it.

Confit means to cook at a low temperature, submerged in oil or fat. Please do not "boil" your food in the oil.

Confit is something that is cooked by being submerged in something else. i.e. duck confit - cooked by boiling in oil from cold.

Not heard of garlic confit- sounds delicious!