Cook-off 1: Cassoulet

[plk]

We're thinking of doing cassoulet as an Xmas Eve dinner dish since it's so hearty and flavorful that it obviates the need for a bunch of sides.

About the pork rind -- Bourdain's recipe says to line the inside of the dish with the pork rind as if it were a pie crust. So, does that mean that it's kept whole and put in as a whole piece, or do you cut it into smaller pieces first and lay it in the dish? I'm having trouble picturing that stage of the process.

[Chris Amirault]

Cut it into 1" wide strips. You can always go back and dice it later if you want to keep it in.

[plk]

Ah okay, so cut it up like bacon, line the casserole with the strips, then start layering everything on top of the rind-lined casserole. Then after baking, you remove the rind strips and dice them, then put them back in?

[Chris Amirault]

If you can resist eating them first, yep.

[plk]

Thanks, that helps! I kept picturing somebody digging in for a big helping of cassoulet out of the pot and coming up with a giant piece of stewed skin.

[Chris Amirault]

Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.

[Dave Hatfield]

Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.

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According to Julia's original recipe you should first boil the rind to soften it, then cut into thin strips, then cut these into small triangles.

I do this & put them in as I assemble the casoulette. By the time the dish is served the rind triangles. have melted into the casoulette

[plk]

Aha, that does seem much easier and neater than fishing the rind out after. I assume the rind has a layer of fat attached? Should I be careful not to let it boil too long so that all the fat does not melt away?

[Dave Hatfield]

Aha, that does seem much easier and neater than fishing the rind out after.  I assume the rind has a layer of fat attached?  Should I be careful not to let it boil too long so that all the fat does not melt away?

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Don't think it matters too much as there is plenty of fat around from the comfit.

I usually boil it for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

[plk]

Excellent point about there being enough fat from the confit anyway.

Apologies for monopolizing the thread, but I have another question -- this time about quantity. Bourdain's recipe indicates that it feeds four. We'll be feeding 7, but would doubling the recipe make far too much food? Or make the dish too greasy with the added fat? A doubled recipe would use:

Duck Confit:

8 duck legs

4 C duck fat

Cassoulet:

10 C beans

4 lb pork belly

2 lb pork rind

12 sausages

8 duck legs (from confit)

That really seems extreme to me, but maybe I'm wrong. I imagine that would more than fill my 7 quart (?) Le Creuset French oven. We certainly don't want to be short on food, though, so I am a bit stumped.

[tammylc]

Bourdain's recipe is out of control. Feeds 4 - hah! Only four people who hadn't eaten in a month, maybe. I needed two casseroles to cook it, and fed 9 or 10 adults plus a couple of kids, then sent home leftovers with people. No need to double.

If you leave the duck legs whole, there will only be four of those. You can pull the meat off in advance, though, or cook them whole and pull the meat off for portioning at service.

[plk]

That is what I suspected. I mean, 10 cups of beans? 12 sausages? And an entire duck leg each? Good lord.

I think I will pull the duck meat off before serving so that everyone will get a nice portion of it.

Thanks!

[little ms foodie]

So a question. What are some other things to serve with this dish? I know, I know, a meal in itself, but I've got guests and don't want merely to slap down the cassoulet. Any salad ideas? Sides?

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I like to serve a celeric roumalade before my cassoulet. It's cool and crunchy and refreshing- hmmm, I guess you could serve that after in the european style of salads too!

smoked salmon rillettes is perfect before!

[plk]

I couldn't locate duck legs for this project, but I did get my hands on two ducks, which are now defrosting in the refrigerator. I assume that in order to render the fat, that I'll need to cut the skin and fat away from the carcass and slowly melt it over low heat (though I am certainly open to any suggestions on this point). Would that include the skin and fat on the legs, or should those stay intact? The duck confit in this thread is made with skin and fat attached to the legs, but the author already had quite a bit of rendered duck fat on hand, while I don't, and am not exactly sure how much I would get if the fat stayed on the legs. And I would think that the skin would be removed anyway before adding to the cassoulet, as I can't imagine that it would stay crispy.

So, is the confit made using legs that have already been skinned and de-fatted? Bourdain's recipe doesn't specify.

[Chris Amirault]

You can go either way. However, if you're short on duck fat and are planning on adding the confit to cassoulet (as opposed to crisping the skin up in a saute pan to serve with something else), you'll probably want to skin the ducks first.

This brings me to a little tip that someone (Paula?) mentioned somewhere and that I tweaked. If you pull off all the fat and skin from your ducks (I didn't skin the breasts -- duck ham) and then grind it up in a food processor with 1/2-1 c of water, you can easily render that skin and fat very quickly in a 200F oven. No cracklings, but the maximum amount of duck fat rendered, I think.

[plk]

Aha, good tip on rendering the fat! It also does make sense to me to skin the legs ahead of time, since they'll all be used for the cassoulet. So, I'll go that route.

[DerekW]

Aha, good tip on rendering the fat!  It also does make sense to me to skin the legs ahead of time, since they'll all be used for the cassoulet.  So, I'll go that route.

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If you end up short on the duck fat then supplementing with [home-rendered] pork fat is a reasonable fix. I seem to remember Paula Wolfert mentioning a 50/50 ratio but that might be my goldfish-like recall rather than a reality.

Breaking two ducks usually gives me enough fat to confit one duck's worth of legs. I often do half the breasts pan-seared for dinner and the other half as 'prosciutto'. The latter keep their fat, the former have much of it rendered out gently at the start of the cooking; that stuff is usually clean enough to make it into the confit supply.

Last weekend half a dozen of us sat down to a variant on the 'beans in Madiran' recipe from Ms. Wolfert's [excellent] book; confit of home made sausage, some rather ancient goose breast transformed into tasty goodness by the confit process, and a couple of duck cuisses, slow cooked overnight twice before a third day reheating for service. The crust colour was more rosewood and ebony than mahogany, and the wine-cooked beans converted at least one avowed non-bean eater.

[Abra]

I recently made one of Paula Wolfert's daubes that calls for lining the casserole with pork rind. I did not boil it first, left it whole and draped it like a pie crust, and then after several hours of cooking, just slipped it out, diced it up fine, and threw it all back into the daube. You want it all in there, for the beautiful melting texture.

[chicagowench]

Duck legs are partway through the confit process. And I can find pork rind absolutely nowhere. Suggestions? Can I dispense with it entirely, or should I soak some salt pork overnight and then blanch it, and line with that? I'm pretty much sticking with the Les Halles recipe.

I'd post photos, but my camera has festively died on me.

[Dave Hatfield]

Duck legs are partway through the confit process.  And I can find pork rind absolutely nowhere.  Suggestions?  Can I dispense with it entirely, or should I soak some salt pork overnight and then blanch it, and line with that?  I'm pretty much sticking with the Les Halles recipe.

I'd post photos, but my camera has festively died on me.

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Don't dispense with the pork rind. Can you find pork hocks with the skin on? Or can you find a helpful butcher?

Salt pork prepared as you outline will wok in a pinch.

What you are looking for is something to add a certain glutinous quality to your casoulette. Pork rind does that.

A bit of extra duck fat will help as will a little walnut oil added near the end.

Good luck!

I'm doing one just before New Year. For some variations on your recipe you can look at the one I posted earlier on this thread or on my blog below. Haven't done it pictorially yet, but plan to with the upcoming casoulette.

[chicagowench]

Hocks I can possibly do- fresh or smoked? Smoked is no problem around here (despite the name, I am not in Chicago. The helpful butchers have not been so helpful on this)

[Bombdog]

Hocks I can possibly do- fresh or smoked?  Smoked is no problem around here (despite the name, I am not in Chicago.  The helpful butchers have not been so helpful on this)

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I used smoked rind, from some bacon I smoked a while back, for Christmas dinner. I'm not sure it's authentic, but the flavor was nice, not overwhelmingly smoky, just a nice background.

[eldereno]

I've decided to join in on the fun , and make cassoulet for guests coming New Year's Eve. Decided to do the Les Halles recipe. Ordered the ingredients I need (got some duck legs confit to use in a few days for the recipe AND duck legs to confit myself for the future duck confit needs) and they are arriving today. Will try to remember to take pictures. My friends are anxiously awaiting this treat. Wish me luck!

I've been making a few loaves of bread using the minimalistic no knead technique with good results. Plan to have that and a light salad. Any other suggestions?

[Chris Amirault]

Sounds good to me. I'll just be doing a salad.

[Dave Hatfield]

Hocks I can possibly do- fresh or smoked?  Smoked is no problem around here (despite the name, I am not in Chicago.  The helpful butchers have not been so helpful on this)

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I used smoked rind, from some bacon I smoked a while back, for Christmas dinner. I'm not sure it's authentic, but the flavor was nice, not overwhelmingly smoky, just a nice background.

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Think that either will do. I'd lean towards fresh, but only because I'm not sure what the smoky flavour would do to a casoulette.

Sounds good to me. I'll just be doing a salad.

I agree. Only question whether to salad before? Or after? casoulette.

Think I'll do after as I've been talked into a Grand Mariner soufflé for dessert. Some people are just gluttonous!