Cassoulet Days 1 and 2

I have been pushed from the kitchen. The husband has forbade me to have a primary hand in one of the greatest dishes ever. Cassoulet. He is he master of this creation and not I. And it might be slowly festering inside me, but I am making do as the prep and sous chef - even though he has taken away my cleaning duties as well...

If you'd like to follow along, we're making Bourdain's recipe from the Les Halles book. It's full of meat and wonderment. If you have never eaten cassoulet, or seen it, or heard of the thing, it is a one pot deal featuring as much meat as possible. Basically, it's white beans cooked in a dish lined with pork skin, with alternating layers of pork belly, duck confit, and pork sausage. That being said you can add whatever kind of meat you'd like, though this is traditional. The porkier the better. And the white beans make it healthy!

We began this dish with a three day plan, day one (Friday) was pretty simple, all we had to do was soak the beans over night and then salt the duck legs which were to be confit in the morning. We spent the time before starting the festivities with shopping. Off to Gene's in Lincoln Square for the ordering of the belly and skin to be picked up in the morning, as well as the duck legs.

We ended up soaking about 1/3 as many beans as we needed and awoke to them pouring out onto the kitchen counter. Then it was off to Paulina Market for the duck fat and the rest of the ingredients for our Sunday feast!

When we got home, the husband covered the duck in the liquid fat, along with rosemary, thyme and some garlic, and cooked it in the over at 375 for two hours (longer than the recipe asked, since our legs are actually quarters), the cooled it in the fridge. He then simmered the beans with pieces of the skin and fat as well as the belly, cooking the beans and creating a luscious broth. While that was cooking he fried the pork sausage in some of the reserved duck fat, and after used the remaining to brown onions and a few pieces of remaining fat from the belly which were pureed following the browning.

Once all the parts were sliced and diced and simmered, then came the layering. In the bottom of a large oven safe pot or dutch oven went skin first, then beans, the sausages, beans, pork belly, beans, duck confit, and more beans along with a dollop of the onion puree in each layer. Presently they are in the oven, and have to cook another hour. After they will sit over night in the fridge and have another session of cooking tomorrow!!!

As the sous chef, I don't see why I have to stay up and wait for them to finish their time in the oven tonight. Technically, I'm on vacation for another few days, so I'm heading to bed.