Best 2 White Bean Sausage Duck Confit Cassoulet David Lebovitz Recipes

SAUSAGE AND WHITE BEAN CASSOULET

Steps:

• Wash the beans well and put them in a large stockpot. Add water to the beans to cover by 2 inches and set over high heat. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, remove from the heat, cover and let stand 1 hour.*
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Put the duck sausage on a baking sheet and place it in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and let cool. The sausage will not be fully cooked through.
• Add the whole onion, whole carrot, 2 of the thyme sprigs and 3 of the bay leaves to the beans. Add more water to the pot to cover again by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and let simmer until the beans are mostly tender but with still a little bite to them, about 50 to 60 minutes. The beans will have soaked up all most all of the liquid you cooked them in.
• Meanwhile, pour the olive oil into a large skillet and place over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook stirring every now and then until crispy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove the crispy bacon pieces to a paper towel lined plate and reserve. To the same skillet, add the diced onion, sliced carrots and garlic and sweat the mixture for 20 minutes, until the onion begins to turn translucent.
• Slice the duck sausage on the bias into 1/2-inch thick pieces and add them to the vegetable mix. Add the remaining bay leaves, thyme sprigs and sliced kielbasa and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Next add the wine, beef broth, tomato paste and salt and pepper. Raise the heat to high, bringing the mixture to a boil. Stir well to dissolve the tomato paste and lower the heat. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove the whole onion and carrot from the beans, add the vegetable sausage mixture to the stockpot and return to a low heat. Stir well and cover. Let the cassoulet simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until most of the wine mixture has been absorbed by the beans. Spoon into a casserole dish, sprinkle the top of each serving with some of the reserved crispy bacon and serve with a crusty baguette on the side.

WHOLE-DUCK CASSOULET

Steps:

• Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan and add the beans. Remove from heat and let soak for 1 hour.
• Cut the bacon slab into 4 large chunks and cover in water in another saucepan; turn the heat to medium, and when the water boils, turn it down to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes.
• Make a bouquet garni by combining the parsley stems, thyme, bay leaves and whole cloves in a piece of cheesecloth and tying it into a bundle. (I never use cheesecloth myself but turn to my old tea ball, which is around for only this purpose.) Add it, along with the bacon, to the beans; bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook, skimming occasionally, until the beans are just tender, 45 to 90 minutes. (Add water if necessary; ideally the beans will be moist but not swimming when they're done.) Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
• Sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper. Put 3 tablespoons reserved duck fat in a large pot over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the lamb and brown the pieces well. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 or 6 minutes; turn off heat.
• Remove the duck confit from the refrigerator and scrape off the fat; debone and shred the meat. Add the meat and garlic cloves to the pot with the lamb, along with 2 cups duck stock, tomatoes, chopped garlic and cayenne. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer; cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is very tender, 1 to 1.5 hours. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
• When you're ready to assemble the cassoulet, discard the bouquet garni. Cut the fat from the meat and cut the meat into small pieces.
• Heat 2 tablespoons reserved duck fat in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add the sausage and cook, turning as necessary until well browned; transfer to a cutting board and slice into quarter-inch rounds; don't wash out the pan.
• Heat the oven to 375. Transfer a layer of beans to a large enameled cast-iron pot with a slotted spoon to leave behind most of the cooking liquid. Layer half of the sausage and bacon on top, then another layer of beans, then half the duck-and-lamb mixture; repeat the layers until you have used all the beans and meat.
• Put the pot over medium heat and bring to a simmer, uncovered, then turn off heat. Cover with bread crumbs and chopped parsley leaves and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
• While the cassoulet is in the oven, put the skillet used for cooking the sausage over medium-high heat. When it's hot, cook the duck breasts, skin-side down, until they release easily from the pan, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn and cook to rare, just another minute or 2. Remove the duck from the pan with a slotted spoon and pour the drippings from the pan over the cassoulet; reduce oven heat to 350.
• Bake the cassoulet until it's hot, bubbling and crusted around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes; add a little duck stock if it starts to look too dry. Slice the duck breasts on the diagonal and transfer them to the pot, tucking them into the bread crumbs. Cook until the breasts are medium rare, another 5 minutes or so, then serve.