Cassoulet With Chicken Or Duck Recipes

TRADITIONAL FRENCH CASSOULET RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cover beans with 3 quarts water and add salt. Stir to combine and let sit at room temperature overnight. Drain and rinse beans and set aside.
• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Place stock in a large liquid measuring cup and sprinkle gelatin over the top. Set aside. Heat duck fat (if using) in a large Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add salt pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a large bowl, leaving rendered fat in Dutch oven, and set aside. (If not using duck fat, cook pork with no additional fat.)
• Season chicken pieces with pepper (do not add salt) and place skin side down in now-empty pan. Cook without moving until well-browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip chicken pieces and continue cooking until lightly browned on second side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to bowl with salt pork.
• Add sausages and cook, turning occasionally, until well-browned on both sides. Transfer to bowl with salt pork and chicken. Drain all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot.
• Add onions to pot and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook until onions are translucent but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add drained beans, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, cloves, and stock/gelatin mixture. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce to low, cover Dutch oven, and cook until beans are almost tender but retain a slight bite, about 45 minutes.
• Using tongs, remove carrots, celery, parsley, bay leaves, and cloves and discard. Add meats to pot and stir to incorporate, making sure that the chicken pieces end up on top of the beans with the skin facing upwards. Beans should be almost completely submerged. Transfer to oven and cook, uncovered, until a thin crust forms on top, about 2 hours, adding more water by pouring it carefully down the side of the pot, as necessary, to keep beans mostly covered.
• Break crust with a spoon and shake pot gently to redistribute. Return to oven and continue cooking, stopping to break and shake the crust every 30 minutes until you reach the 4 1/2 hour mark. Return to oven and continue cooking undisturbed until the crust is deep brown and thick, about 5 to 6 hours total. Serve immediately.

QUICK DUCK AND CHICKEN CASSOULET

Steps:

• In a large casserole dish, brown the duck breasts for about 8 minutes.
• Take the duck breasts out of the casserole.
• Keep 1 tablespoon of the duck fat, and pour away the rest.
• Brown the chicken drumsticks in the casserole dish for about 10 minutes, until they are golden on all sides.
• Take the chicken out of the casserole.
• Put the halved shallots (or chopped onion), crushed garlic and bacon into the casserole, and heat, stirring, for 5 minutes.
• Return the duck and chicken to the casserole.
• Add in the drained cannellini beans, tomatoes, chicken stock, chopped herbs and salami.
• Bring to the boil, then simmer it on the stovetop for an hour and a half.
• Instead of on stovetop, you could put it in the oven for an hour and a half at a medium heat. (I think I used 160 degrees C.).
• Season with salt & black pepper.
• I served this with new baby potatoes tossed in butter, french bread and a salad, and added parsnip and turnip mashed together - but then I had 3 more guests than I'd expected!

CASSOULET WITH CHICKEN OR DUCK

Steps:

• Soak and cook beans: Cover beans with cold water by 2 inches in a large bowl and soak 8 to 12 hours. Drain in a colander. Transfer beans to a 6- to 8-quart pot and bring to a boil with 8 cups cold water, broth, tomato paste, onion, and 2 tablespoons garlic. Put celery, thyme, bay leaf, cloves, parsley sprigs, and peppercorns in cheesecloth and tie into a bundle with string to make a bouquet garni. Add bouquet garni to beans, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until beans are almost tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir in tomatoes with juice and simmer until beans are just tender, about 15 minutes more. Prepare chicken or duck and sausage while beans simmer: In a large skillet, cooked chicken or duck legs, skin side down, until deeply browned. Turn and brown the other side then transfer to a plate. Add the sausage to the pan and brown on both sides as well. Remove from pan, slice and set aside with the chicken or duck. Reserve skillet oil for toasting bread crumbs later. Preheat oven to 350F. Make bread crumb topping: Add remaining tablespoon garlic to fat in skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cracklings. Assemble casserole: Remove bouquet garni from beans and discard, then stir in sausage, chicken/duck meat, remaining teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Ladle cassoulet into casserole dish, distributing meat and beans evenly. (Meat and beans should be level with liquid; if they are submerged, ladle excess liquid back into pot and boil until reduced, then pour back into casserole dish.) Spread bread crumb topping evenly over cassoulet and bake, uncovered, in lower third of oven, until bubbling and crust is golden, about 1 hour.