Smoked Duck Cassoulet

by 

From Chef Darin Nesbitt  

Makes 4 servings 
 
Ingredients:

1 ½ cups white beans 
1 pig’s foot, halved lengthwise 
10 oz. pork shoulder, 1 inch pieces 
4 oz. bacon, sliced in 1 inch pieces 
1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme and bay leaves tied with butcher twine) 
1 onion (pierced with 2 cloves) 
1 onion, medium dice 
1 carrot, medium dice 
2 cloves garlic, minced 
4 cups dark chicken or duck stock 
½ tsp. salt 
4 confit duck legs  
1-1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs with chopped parsley, thyme and oregano 
4 duck sausages 
Cracked black pepper to taste 
 
Method:
  1. Rinse beans and put them in a pot with enough water to cover by six inches and let soak overnight.
  2. Place the pig’s foot in a separate pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes and drain in a colander. Rinse thoroughly. In a heavy bottom saucepot, add the pork shoulder, bacon, pig’s foot, bouquet garni, carrots, garlic and onion and cover with stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer on low for 90 minutes.
  3. Drain the beans and add them to the pot with enough additional stock to cover by 1 inch. Return to a simmer and continue cooking for 45 minutes, adding salt after they have cooked 20 minutes. Gently stir the beans once or twice to make sure they aren’t sticking. Add more water or stock if necessary.
  4. With a pair of tongs remove pig’s foot and bouquet garni. Pick meat from pig’s foot and add it back to the bean mixture. Check seasoning and add more salt and pepper if desired.
  5. Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Fill a gratin dish three quarters full of bean mixture, arrange confit duck legs on top and arrange duck sausage around.
  6. Sprinkle with about a third of the breadcrumbs and place in the oven and cook 30 minutes until a crust is formed on top. Gently push the crust down into the beans with the back of a slotted spoon.
  7. Sprinkle with half the remaining breadcrumbs and bake for another 30 minutes. (If at any time the bean mixture seems dry or stiff, add additional liquid.) Remove from the oven and sprinkle with remaining breadcrumbs and bake a third and final 30 minutes. Remove and serve.

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