Cassoulet- Day 3

Oh yeah, aromas have filled the house. Clovey, porky, garlicy, nutmeggy, duck-fatty goodness. Vegans, beware!

When the duck legs were ready I set about getting the meat picked off the ham hocks, cooking the sausage and crisping up the duck skin. Once that was done, I layered the meats with the beans and into the oven it went- 1 hour at 350 degrees and 3 hours at 250. Low and slow, as they say...

Every once in a while I am to break the bean "crust" that forms

on top of the uncovered cooking vessel. I also must add- as needed- the reserved cooking liquid. I'm afraid to leave the house, as the kitten will devise a way to open the oven door and devour this dish to which I have already devoted approximately 15 hours of labor.

Cassoulet - Day 2

OK, got the duck legs properly marinated and into the slow-cooker, my "technique" for confit. My favorite part of the recipe is the cloves stuck into the head of garlic. When I first read the recipe, I interpreted "cloves" to be the garlic cloves, and kept thinking, "why would I put garlic cloves into a head of garlic cloves?" Ahhhh, now I understand.

While the duck cooks for the next 4 hours, I will get the beans underway with the ham bone and ham hocks, onions & fresh thyme. The beans should be suitably softened for the layering with the meats an stock for the sloooooow cooking* in the oven. I can't wait until the aromas fill the house.

* don't they always tell you to read the recipe all the way through before you begin? I'm so cocky that I believe I am exempt from that step. Well, I learned my lesson... I need to cook the cassoulet in the oven for 3+ hours, then refrigerate it overnight and then cook it for another 3 hours. Looks like another "Cassoulet" post is coming tomorrow.

Cassoulet - Day 1

Since I've taken the week off between Christmas and New Year's and it is unusually cold and windy, what better dish to make than an authentic French cassoulet? I already had the flageolets, lovely celadon and white beans. And I knew how to confit the duck legs, as that has been my obsession since acquiring the Gourmet Today cookbook. I even had some pork belly on hand that I could use to substitute the pork rind. All that was left to get was ham hocks.

So far, so good!

So, with a completed list of ingedients, the first thing I have to do is get the duck legs in the

marinade, as they need to sit for at least 1 day.

With this prep work done, tomorrow I'll be able to confit the duck legs while I pre-cook the beans with the ham hocks, onions & thyme.

Just have to keep those vulture-like felines out of the kitchen...