Cassoulet with Duck Confit

Name: Cassoulet with Duck Confit
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; Two 1/2-inch-thick slices of pancetta (4 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch dice; 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice; 1 pound dried flageolets or Great Northern beans, rinsed and picked over, then soaked for 2 hours and drained; 4 thyme sprigs; 2 quarts water; 1 quart chicken stock; 1 large head of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled; Kosher salt; 4 pieces of duck leg confit, trimmed of excess fat; 3/4 pound French garlic sausage, sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick; 4 ounces lean slab bacon, cut into 1-inch cubes; 2 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs; 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

548 Ratings
2 Reviews

Chef Laurence Jossel created this stripped-down version of the classic French stew, with creamy white beans, luscious store-bought duck confit, smoky French garlic sausage and slab bacon. Letting the beans rest overnight develops their flavors. More Bean Recipes

By Laurence Jossel

November 2008

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Credit: © Cedric Angeles

Recipe Summary test

active:

50 mins

total:

3 hrs

Yield:

Directions

Step 1
In a large saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the pancetta and cook over moderate heat until the fat has been rendered, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the beans, thyme sprigs, water and stock and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat, stirring and skimming occasionally, until the beans are al dente, about 1 hour.

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Step 2
Add the garlic cloves to the beans and simmer until the garlic and beans are tender, about 15 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs. Season the beans with salt and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate the saucepan overnight.
Step 3
Preheat the oven to 350°. Rewarm the beans over moderate heat. Transfer the beans to a large, deep baking dish. Nestle the duck legs, garlic sausage and bacon into the beans. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the cassoulet is bubbling and all of the meats are hot. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes.
Step 4
In a skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the bread crumbs and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and the parsley over the cassoulet and serve.

Make Ahead

The cassoulet can be prepared through Step 3 and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Rewarm before proceeding.

Suggested Pairing

Jossel's cassoulet brings to mind the south of France, which produces robust, spicy red wines that are good partners for this dish. Some of the region's best values are labeled Vin de Pays d'Oc.

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Esther M.

04/13/2021

After reading the other review I was a little worried about how this would turn out, so I read other recipes and incorporated a few ideas from them to make this a keeper! Changes in the ingredients were to add bay leaves, rosemary, and pepper corns along with the thyme sprigs. Reduce the amount of water to 1 quart and when assembling the dish I added 1 5.5 oz can of V-8. Only 2 drumsticks of duck leg confit, top skin removed but reserved. Guanciale (cured hog jowl) rather than slab bacon. This is my Step 3. Preheat oven to 350°. Drain the beans reserving the liquid. Transfer 1/2 the beans to a large, deep baking dish and top with duck legs, garlic sausage, guanciale, top with remaining beans. Add enough of the liquid + the can of V-8 to just cover the beans. Top with the reserved duck skin and bake for at least 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes. Remove duck skin and continue with step 4 as in the original recipe. We gave my recipe with these changes a 5 star plus rating!

Deli

11/23/2016

I followed this recipe as an experiment, with misgivings rising about the combination of thick pancetta AND duck confit AND garlic sausage (and a whole head of garlic) AND slab bacon. Next time I went with the Kenji Lopez-Alt recipe--which is an inspired hack, using chicken thighs instead of duck, gelatine instead of bread crumbs, and isn't hard to make--loved the result...and put this in the recycling bin. Not F&W's best.

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Cassoulet with Duck Confit

Gallery

Recipe Summary test

Ingredients

Directions

Make Ahead

Suggested Pairing

Reviews (2)

All Reviews for Cassoulet with Duck Confit

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Cassoulet with Duck Confit

Gallery

Recipe Summary test

Ingredients

Directions

Make Ahead

Suggested Pairing

Reviews (2)

All Reviews for Cassoulet with Duck Confit