FRENCH CASSOULET

FRENCH CASSOULET image

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 12

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Ingredients

4 cups of dried great northern or other small white beans
4 fresh ham hocks (about 1 lb. each)
3 large yellow onions, peeled and quartered
5 sprigs thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 lb. fresh pork rind, cubed
1 ham bone
1 tbsp. duck fat
1 lb. unseasoned fresh pork sausage, (about 4 links), cut into 2" pieces
1 large head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled (about 3/4 cup)
Confit of 1 quartered duck or 4 whole legs
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Steps:

Rinse beans thoroughly.Place ham hocks in a large pot. Add 1 onion, thyme, and salt and pepper. Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for 2 hours. Remove from heat, allow to cool for 15 minutes, then drain ham hocks, discarding onion and thyme. Cut meat from each hock into 2 pieces. Discard bones and set meat aside. Meanwhile, place pork rind, ham bone, and 1 onion in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until pork rind is rendered, about 20 minutes. Add beans and enough water to cover by 1⁄2" (about 8 cups) and season with salt. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook until beans are tender, about 45 minutes. Adjust salt, if necessary, then set beans aside to cool. Heat duck fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausages and cook, turning to brown on all sides, for about 10 minutes. Place garlic, remaining onion, and 1⁄2 cup water in a blender and purée until smooth. Add garlic paste to sausages and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, turning sausages occasionally, for 10 minutes more. Preheat oven to 350°.Remove and discard ham bone and onion from beans (it is okay if some pieces of onion remain). Using a slotted spoon, transfer about half the beans with pork rind to a heavy wide-mouthed 5-6 qt. cast-iron, clay, or earthenware pot, about 4" high. Assemble cassoulet in layers: Place the meat from the ham hocks on top of the beans and cover with sausages and garlic paste. Divide duck into 8 pieces by separating drumsticks from thighs and, if using a whole duck, splitting breasts in half crosswise through the bone. Arrange duck on sausages, then spoon in remaining beans with pork rind. Season with nutmeg and add just enough reserved bean cooking liquid to cover the beans (about 3 cups). Reserve remaining liquid. Bake, uncovered 1 hr. Reduce heat to 250° and cook for 3 hours, checking every hour or so.