Duck Cassoulet
By Gameford Lodge - www.saveurduck.com
This is a rich & hearty meal - ideal for winter nights with friends. But it does take a little time, so be prepared for a late afternoon start in the kitchen!
Serves 4
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Ingredients
4 fresh or defrosted duck legs
Rock Salt
Rendered Duck Fat or Duck Fat Trimmings
300g of pork shoulder fillets cut into large pieces (remove skin)
6 fresh Little Boys Pork & Fennel Sausages
1 onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
2 sticks of celery chopped
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
500ml red wine, plus more if required
500ml chicken stock, plus more if required
1 tbsp chopped thyme, 2 bay leaves
2 x 400g can of white beans (drained & rinsed)
Method
Trim the duck legs of any excess skin and reserve the skin for use during cooking.
Score the skin and score the skin around the shank of the leg (this will expose the bone during cooking).
Salt the duck legs liberally and leave to marinate for 2-3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 120°C.
Pack the duck legs into a close fitting dish, and cover with rendered duck fat. If insufficient fat to cover, then add duck skin trimmings.
Cover with foil and bake for 2 hours, or until tender.
When duck legs are cooked, drain well and set aside.
To prepare the cassoulet, preheat the oven to 160°C.
Brown the pork pieces in a heavy casserole dish and remove.
Brown the sausages in the same pot and remove for later use.
Add the onion, carrots, celery garlic to the same pot and cook slowly until just cooked.
Add back the pork, with all the juices, the tomatoes, red wine & chicken stock.
Bring it all the boil, and then cover and put in the oven for 1.5 hours.
Check the cassoulet, if it is too dry, add more wine & stock in equal measures, then add the sausages (we halved these for ease of eating), duck confit and beans.
Cook this uncovered in the oven for 30-45 minutes.
Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes, before serving.
We served it with a crisp salad, but hot bread would also be good. There wasn't much left for seconds the next day!