CASSOULET AND DUCK CONFIT

I SAID that it was the season for comfort food, and now that the Christmas holidays are almost over, I can concentrate on this delicious version of Cassoulet. 

When someone turns 60, it is definitely something worth celebrating. And what better way to do that than with a few unctuous items which will make you bilious for a week! Bilious or not, I took my own advice and stuck to the plan:

Oysters Rockefeller

Cassoulet

Tiramisú

CASSOULET

"That's not too rich, is it?", said with a wry, slightly sly grin.

My recipe for Oysters Rockefeller can be found in my very first blog in September 2012. 

I first had this dish at a restaurant in Milwaukee called Pastiche. It is the best Cassoulet I have ever eaten this side of the Atlantic and I do mean the real deal! This recipe is based on theirs, which was published in the Milwaukee Sentinel on January 1, 2013 (Pastiche Cassoulet). Mine was good, but it wasn't as good as theirs, but practice in all things does make perfect and I will try again before the winter is out.

Cassoulet needs a lot of time, almost as much as pâté. It is a dish which requires cooking in steps and several days in which to do it. One day should be dedicated to the duck confit and the pork shoulder. The second day for stewing the lamb and soaking the beans (overnight). The third day for cooking the beans and assembling the whole dish. You can serve it immediately but it is far, far better if refrigerated and eaten the next day or even the day after that. This allows all the flavors to marry while still retaining some of its own individuality and character. What you need for about 6 people, is this:

6 Confited Legs of Duck 

1-2 lbs. Flageolet beans

1 lb. lamb (in cubes for stew)

1 small pork shoulder

1 smoked pork shank

3 Andouille sausages

3 Merguez sausages

1/4 lb. pork belly cut into medium dice

1 chopped onion

4 tbs. tomato paste
2 tbs. flour

1 cup Reisling or Sauvignon Blanc
2 cups stock (preferably lamb)
2 bouquet garni, as follows:

1 bag filled with a sprig of fresh rosemary, 2 tsp. Herbes de Provence, 1 or 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 6 leaves fresh tarragon, 2 bay leaves

another bag filled with fresh thyme, rosemary, garlic, whole black peppercorns and bay leaf

1 can chopped tomatoes minus half the juice

4 cups beef stock

2-4 cups bread crumbs

DAY 1: Let's start with the duck.

Confit is rather simple to make and once you get passed the whole immersion in fat business it's really a cinch. Only an un-watchful eye can screw this up.

Take the legs and place them in a large enough dish to hold all the pieces, rub with salt and pepper, Herbes de Provence and galic and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 

DAY 2:

Place all the pieces (you can separate the legs from the thighs or keep them intact) in a roasting pan large enough to hold the duck and deep enough to hold enough goose, duck or chicken fat (or a combination of two or all three) to cover all of the pieces. 

Add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, thyme, a few black pepper corns and 5 garlic cloves.

Cover in aluminum foil, place in a 300º oven and cook for 2-3 hours. Check after 2 hours to see if they are done. You want to make sure the duck meat is tender but not dry or stringy.

At this point, if you aren't going to use the confit you can store it in a large glass jar and immerse the pieces in fat which was used to cook the duck and refrigerate (up to 6 months, if left undisturbed).

After all that, I should mention that there is always an alternative to making confit yourself, especially if time is of the essence: buy the prepared legs of confit at any green market or butcher who specializes in game and poultry. 

Now, onto making the cassoulet.

Salt and pepper the shoulder of pork, score the fatty side and insert a few slivers of garlic and bay leaves all over the top. Roast in a 375º oven for one hour and lower the heat to 325º and roast for 2-3 more hours.

In the meantime, pat dry the lamb pieces and brown on all sides in a well oiled deep casserole dish. Remove the lamb and sauté the chopped onions over moderately high heat until the onions begin to caramelize. Add the tomato paste and stir cook with the onions until the tomato begins to color a deep brownish red and caramelize the tomatoes as well. Place the cooked pieces of lamb and sprinkle on the flour and stir to combine. Add the Reisling and reduce by half. Add the stock, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add the first bouquet garni, cover and place in the oven with the pork roast and cook for about 2 hours. When the lamb and the roast pork are done, remove from the oven, let cool and refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to meld and condense.  Immerse the beans in about 8 cups of cold water (making sure that they are completely covered by at a least an inch) and refrigerate overnight.

DAY 3: 

Drain the beans and rinse in a colander. Place in a large pot with the beef stock, salt, the pork shank and the second bouquet garni. Bring to the boil, lower heat and simmer for aout 1-2 hours. Remove the pork shank and as soon as it is cool enough to handle, separate the meat from the shank bones and put the meat back into the beans, along with the canned tomato. 

While the beans are cooking, reheat the lamb stew, cut up the pork shoulder making sure to keep a bit of the fat on the pork pieces (you want at least a pound of cut up pork). Remove the bouquet garni from the lamb stew and add the beans and the pork to a large pot with the beans. Brown the sausages and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Take the pork belly and cut into 1/4 inch dice. Fry that in the same pan. Add the sausages and the pork belly to the beans. Mix well to combine, cook over moderately high heat, bring to the boil and immediately reduce the heat and cook steadily to reduce if there is a lot of liquid. Place half of the cassoulet into a large porcelain or earthenware casserole   dish and place the duck pieces on top and cover the duck with the rest of the bean mixture. Sprinkle with a healthy amount of bread crumbs, cover and place in a 350º oven and bake for about 2 hours. Remove cover if necessary and bake until thick and crusty. 

As I mentioned previously, it is always better if you allow it to cool, refrigerate overnight and reheat and serve the next day. 

This is totally optional and according to your own personal preference but you will note that I don't call for much salt in this recipe. The pork, the sausages and even the confit provide quite a bit of saltiness to the dish to make up for the addition of salt.

Bon appetit!