Cassoulet

According to Wall Street Journal writer Aleksandra Crapanzano:

"When Martha Stewart asked the founder of gourmet meat purveyor D'Artagnan about the hearty French dish of duck confit, garlic sausages and tarbais beans, Ariane Daguin responded in a thick Gascon accent that imparted culinary authority. 'Cassoulet,' she said, "it is not a recipe in France. It is a way to argue between villages.'"

Crapanzano goes on to explain cassoulet's history, a dish that originated with "white beans, garlic, pork shoulder, sausages, [and] stale breadcrumbs." The name cassoulet refers not to the recipe itself but to the dish it's assembled and baked in.

When my friend Steph and I decided to make a traditional cassoulet for Easter, I began my research with the source of all French food: Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julia's "French Baked Beans" recipe is 6 pages long. In the introduction, she explains:

"As cassoulet is native to a relatively large region of France, each part of which has its own specialties, arguments about what should go into this famous dish seem based on local traditions. Toulousains insist that it must include among its meats preserved goose, confit d'oie, or it is not a real cassoulet. [...] Then there are those who declare the cassoulet was born in Castelnaudary, and originally contained only beans, pork, and sausages. A heretical few suggest the cassoulet was not a French invention at all, but an adaption from the Arab fava bean and mutton stew. And so on, with variations and dogmatisms rampant."

While a traditional cassoulet can be made with a variety of meats--duck, goose, pork, lamb--Julia says that "the important item is flavor, which comes largely from the liquid the beans and meats are cooked in." Her version is made with pork loin, lamb shoulder, unsmoked bacon & homemade sausage cakes.

In my cassoulet research, I also studied recipes from Michael Lewis (whose adaptation of Julia's recipe features duck confit, bacon, lamb bones, garlic-pork sausage & goose fat), Saveur (a tomatoey pork-extravaganza loaded with ham hocks, pork shoulder, pancetta, pork sausage & duck confit), Mark Bittman (which begins with a whole duck and finishes with bacon, lamb shoulder, seared duck breasts & garlicky sausage), Anthony Bourdain & Michael Ruhlman (a 3-day production layered with beans, pork sausage, more beans, pork belly, more beans, duck confit, and beans again with a caramelized onion & garlic puree between each layer), and Nigel Slater (his "unctuous meat and snowy white beans" version contains duck confit, pork shoulder, bacon & pork sausage with a breadcrumb crust that's stirred into the stew after an hour, then topped with more breadcrumbs & a drizzle of duck fat).

Slater writes:

"The perfect cassoulet is one that sends wave after garlicky wave of warmth from the end of your tongue to the tips of your toes. The beans are held in just the right amount of herby, tomatoey goo, the breadcrumb crust is crisp, and the first mouthful piping hot. It should contain haricot or broad beans, some fatty pork, garlicky sausages and a thick breadcrumb crust."

I pieced together aspects of a few different recipes to create my own Frankenoulet, but I used Crapsanzano's recipe from the Wall Street Journal (which she adapted from Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bistro) as my starting point...forgoing her step to reduce the bean cooking liquid, adding caramelised onions to her garlic confit puree, layering the cassoulet in Bourdain/Ruhlman fashion, and baking the assembled dish uncovered for a couple hours before adding the breadcrumb topping.

Steph and I made our cassoulet with (clockwise from bottom right) White Emergo beans (most recipes call for Tarbais beans, but Julia says that Great Northern beans work just as well), duck confit (thanks to Steph, who used a whole duck), fresh baguette breadcrumbs, olive oil used to make the confit (instead of using duck fat throughout the recipe), locally-made Bolognese sausage & pancetta, and caramelized onion & garlic confit puree.

Cassoulet isn't necessarily difficult to make; it just takes 3 days to prepare all the separate parts before baking the finished dish. Julia refers to this as "the order of battle." Day One: Make the duck confit (if you're making it instead of buying it) & soak the beans. Day Two: Cook the beans & make the garlic confit, then refrigerate overnight. Day Three: Finish the rest of the ingredients (make breadcrumbs, caramelize onions, cook pancetta & sausage), assemble the cassoulet & bake.

As Bittman says, "[...] cassoulet isn’t that demanding; it just takes time, and I’m here to say: You can do it."

And you CAN do it. WE did. So go do it already!

CASSOULET

For the beans:

1 1/2 pounds dried white beans
1 bay leaf
1 large garlic clove, peeled
6 peppercorns
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 onion, peeled and halved crosswise
1 carrot, peeled and halved crosswise
1 piece bacon skin or trimmings (about 2 ounces) *
4 quarts freshly-made chicken or duck stock

* I used the skin from the pancetta.

For the cassoulet:
2 tablespoons olive oil or duck fat
1 pound pancetta, diced into lardons
1 pound garlicky sausages
confit from 1 whole duck
1½ cups garlic confit puree (recipe below)

For the garlic confit puree:
2 heads of garlic, cloves separated & peeled
olive oil, as needed
2 onions, halved & sliced
salt & pepper
 
For the crumb topping:
3 tablespoons olive oil or duck fat
1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
3 tablespoons thyme, finely chopped
salt & pepper


Day One

• Cover the beans with room temperature water and let sit overnight in a nonreactive bowl.

Day Two

• Drain the beans and discard the water. Transfer beans to a large pot. Add bay leaf, garlic clove, peppercorns, thyme, onion, carrot & bacon. Cover with stock. (The beans should be covered throughout the cooking process by about 1 inch of liquid.)

• Bring to a light simmer and cook over low heat, uncovered, until fully tender. This could more than 2 hours, depending on what kind of beans you are using. Start testing after 90 minutes. When they are just tender throughout, turn off the heat and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate beans in their liquid overnight (cover the pot).  

• To make the garlic confit: Cut the root end off of the peeled garlic and place in a small saucepan. Add enough olive oil to cover the cloves by 1 inch. Set the pan over the lowest possible heat and cook gently. You should see very small bubbles in the oil but nothing that breaks the surface. If necessary, set the pan partially off the burner to achieve sufficiently gentle heat. Cook garlic, stirring occasionally, until cloves are completely tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Remove the pan from the heat and allow cloves to cool in the oil, about 1 hour. Then, pour the garlic and oil in a jar or covered bowl and refrigerate overnight. 

Day Three

• Drain the beans, discarding the vegetables and bacon but reserving the cooking stock. (If you used bacon fat or trimmings--not skin--save it to add to the garlic puree.)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

• To make the garlic confit puree: Caramelize the sliced onions (seasoned with salt & pepper) in a few tablespoons of the oil from the garlic confit. Puree the onion & the drained garlic cloves in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add some of the garlic oil if needed to make a smooth paste. (If you used bacon fat or trimmings in the beans, you can add it to the garlic puree as well.)

• Heat olive oil or duck fat in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the pancetta until lightly browned but not crispy. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.

• In the same pan, brown the sausages. Remove from pan & set the aside. (If you don't want whole sausages in your cassoulet, let them cool a little bit and slice them into 1-inch pieces.)

• Start layering the ingredients in a large heavy-bottom dutch oven. Star with a layer of beans, then add the sausages, some of the garlic confit puree, another layer of beans, the pancetta & duck confit, more of the garlic puree, then the rest of the beans.  

•  Add the reserved bean cooking stock, enough to just barely cover the beans.

• Bake uncovered for two hours. The cassoulet should be moist but not soupy. Check the beans for doneness; they should be soft and creamy.

• Meanwhile, combine all of the ingredients for the crumb topping. Sprinkle the cassoulet with the crumbs. Bake an additional 15 minutes, or until the topping is evenly browned. (We increased the oven temperature to 400 for this step, then finished with a couple minutes under the broiler for a crunchy topping.)

• Behold your gorgeous creation and rejoice because you are now a culinary badass.

• Serve immediately.

Duck Ragu

Yes! I've finally found it! THE BEST WAY TO COOK WILD DUCK! Braise the hell out of it in a robust tomato sauce!

Eureka!

After one of his big hunts this season, Jerad decided to clean & keep all the duck legs. Our first idea was to make confit. Then, I saw a recipe for duck ragu, which called for using legs, in Giada De Laurentiis's Everyday Pasta. This recipe was perfect for the skinless, bone-in legs I had. And, 3 hours of braising could only help the flavor & texture of the gamey wild birds.

Spiced Dove Breasts with Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

Last night, I was catching up on all of my DVR'd episodes of The F-Word, and in one episode Gordon Ramsay goes pigeon hunting. He sears the boneless breasts then serves them on top of what he calls a summer vegetable casserole (pan roasted leeks, beets, asparagus, carrots, broad beans in a chicken stock/red wine vinegar reduction with pancetta, garlic & tarragon).  

And since I have a bunch of fresh dove breasts (and a few pigeons) in my fridge, I decided to give his recipe a try tonight.  But then...

As I was browsing the recipes archives at London's Channel 4 (Ramsay's British home base), I came across a more interesting recipe for wild bird...pigeon breasts marinated in yogurt & spices, served with a warm butternut squash & arugula salad.  I figured this would be the perfect dish to coax autumn out from under the rainy, humid weather we've been having.

After marinating for a few hours, the dove was very tender and really not gamey at all. We usually cook dove either dredged in flour and browned or wrapped in bacon and grilled, but I think I like this recipe the best.

Spiced Dove (and Pigeon) Breasts 

with Roast Butternut Squash Salad

slightly adapted from delicious magazine

Wild birds like pigeon & dove can be cooked briefly and eaten while they're still a little on the pink side.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 16 dove or 8 pigeon breasts (boneless)
• 3 tablespoons Greek-style yogurt
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika (smoked, if possible)
• 1 medium butternut squash 
• 2 red onions
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
• Handful of arugula leaves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• toasted pumpkin seeds, optional

1. Put the dove or pigeon breasts, yogurt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ginger, cumin, salt and paprika in a shallow ceramic dish and marinate for at least 2 hours (or preferably overnight).

2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel the squash & cut in half lengthwise.  Discard the seeds and cut the squash into bite-sized cubes. Toss in the remaining olive oil and add a little salt & pepper. Roast on a baking sheet for 25 minutes, or until slightly browned and crispy at the edges. 

3. Meanwhile, slice the red onions and toss in a bowl with the lemon juice and the olive oil. Season lightly. Gently mix the onion with the squash and arugula leaves to make a warm salad.

4. Heat the butter in a wide-bottomed frying pan and sear the dove breasts for about 2 minutes (3 minutes for pigeon breasts) on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Cut each breast in half on a bias and serve with the butternut salad and an extra drizzle of olive oil, if you like. 

Kelly's note: I added a sprinkle of toasted pumpkins seeds to my salad, too. I also left out the raw onion, but I think it would be good with some caramelized onions.

Duck Potstickers with Spicy Cherry Dipping Sauce

In yet another attempt to find yummy ways to use up all this wild duck (the duck pastrami was a complete bust, but I'm planning another attempt soon!), I made potstickers. The recipe I used called for grinding the raw breast meat, but since I don't have a grinder that will tackle such a task, I made some alterations.

First, I braised the boneless, skinless breasts like I did for the shepard's pie. This time, I seasoned the meat with salt, pepper, ginger, & garlic. I still topped them in bacon, sliced onions, & chicken stock, then roasted them (covered) at 400 degrees for 15 minutes & for an additional 40 minutes at 300 degrees. Afterwards, I let the meat cool before shredding it.

I made the filling by mixing the cooked meat & bacon with scallion, carrot, ginger, garlic, soy, & pepper in a food processor to make a paste.

I will say that I didn't soak the meat in milk (or buttermilk) beforehand, and I could really taste the difference. The filling ended up tasting very livery, which is not something I really liked. However, if you like that sort of thing, you're sure to love these...they were rich and meaty. Next time--and every time I use wild duck from now on--I'll be sure to give them a milk bath to cut back on the gamey flavor. That being said, I will try this recipe again!

Duck Potstickers with Spicy Cherry Dipping Sauce

For the potstickers:
4 wild duck breasts, boneless & skinless
4 slices bacon (for braising)
1 onion, sliced (for braising)
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
2 scallions, coursely chopped
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
black pepper
potsticker or wonton wrappers
duck fat
chicken stock

For the dipping sauce:
1 cup cherry jam
1 tablespoon chile paste (sambal oelek)
2 tablespoons soy sauce

• Braise the ducks breasts as explained above.
  
• Pulse the cooked meat with the bacon, scallion, carrot, ginger, garlic, soy, & a couple grinds of black pepper in a food processor to form a paste. Taste & adjust seasonings if needed.
• Fill the potsticker wrappers with about a 1/2 tablespoon of filling, fold over, and seal the edges. Shape the potstickers so that they are standing up, not laying flat.

• Melt about 1 tablespoon of duck fat in a nonstick skilled. When it's hot, add the pot stickers and cook for a few minutes until lightly browned on the bottom.

• Add 1/4-1/2 cup of chicken stock to the pan and cover with a lid. Steam for about 5 minutes, or until most of the stock has evaporated. Remove the lid and continue cooking until the bottoms of the potstickers are browned and crispy. Remove from the pan & serve with the dipping sauce.

• To make the dipping sauce: Combine the three ingredients together. Puree in a food processor if you have chunky jam & add more soy if you want it to be thinner. Alternatively, you could simmer the ingredients in a sauce pan until melted and smooth.

Seared Duck Salad

In my quest to find tasty recipes for wild duck, I experimented to find out the best way to sear duck breast.

Preparing the meat is a crucial step to eliminate the gamey taste and to tenderize the meat. I soaked fresh boneless & skinless breasts--And I mean fresh, those duckies were breasted out on my front porch!--in salted water overnight. Then, I soaked them in whole milk over another night.

After a rinse, the breasts were dried, sliced thin against the grain, generously seasoned with salt & pepper, dredged in flour, then quickly seared in a touch of olive oil.

At first, I tried chopping the meat coarsely, seasoning, & searing. The insides of the little meat cubes were pretty rare. While the meat was tender and the flavor was good, it was still a bit too raw for me. That's when I tried cutting the meat into thin slices instead. I liked the flavor and texture of the dredged pieces rather than the "naked" ones.


I served the slices (cut into bite-sized pieces after cooked) with a salad of spinach, romaine, caramelized onions, goat cheese, toasted pine nuts & pecans, and pomegranate seeds. I made a dressing with orange juice, rice wine vinegar, olive oil, thyme, garlic, salt & pepper.

And it was really good! I'll put this one down as a "do again" recipe!

Duck Hunter's Pie

I have like a gazillion fresh, wild duck breasts in my refrigerator because Hunter McGee brings them to me. Seriously. I have no idea what to do with them. I heard that curing them like pastrami is good, but I haven't yet tried that (though I intend to very soon).

I've tried searing them (with the skin on). That was just okay, but not something I'd make again. Last week, I tried roasting a whole duck. That was a total failure. In fact, it grossed me out. (I have pictures, but I won't punish you with them.)

Anne said the key to cooking wild duck is to add fat and cook it low & slow.

So, I search online for some recipe ideas...because I am determined to find something to do with all this meat! I came across a recipe for "Duck Coop Pie," which is basically Shepard's Pie with shredded duck instead of lamb or beef.

To prepare the breasts--which are split, boneless, & skinless--I decided to braise them, making the most of the "low & slow" method. First, I soaked the meat in whole milk for 30 minutes(though, I've since heard that soaking in buttermilk overnight is better). This is supposed to make the meat tender and eliminate any gaminess.

Then, I put them in a baking dish, snug but not overlapping. I added salt, pepper, dried thyme, & garlic. Over the top, I laid thick slices of hickory-smoked bacon & sliced onions. I tucked in a couple of bay leaves before adding about a cup of chicken stock (the stock should just about cover everything). I covered the dish with foil and baked it at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then I turned the heat down to 300 degrees and continued cooking for 40 minutes.

Afterwards, I took the pan out of the oven, removed the cover, & let it cool. When the breast were cool enough to handle, I chopped the meat (the meat was fairly tender, but it was difficult to shred).

I made the pie filling by sauteing a couple a medium white onion with some chopped celery (2 stalks) & carrot (a handful of baby carrots) in some duck fat. Then, I added the duck meat, a cup of frozen peas, & a cup of frozen corn seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, & fresh rosemary. Next, I stirred in a bit of flour (a couple tablespoons), let it cook a minute or so, then added a few cups of chicken stock. It looked too thin, so I added some slurry (flour & stock mixed to a thin paste). I wanted it to look like gravy.

When the filling was thick, I poured it into a large baking dish. I topped it with mashed potatoes (skins removed & pressed through a potato ricer, then mixed with whole milk, butter, duck fat, salt & pepper) & dotted it with butter

The final step was to bake the pie at 375 degrees until the filling was bubbly & the potatoes were starting to brown, about 30 minutes.


And it was good! The meat was tender and flavorful, not gamey.

So, I'm inspired to try other recipes with wild duck breast. I'm thinking that pastrami for sure, as well as stew (with sausage & beans, cassoulet style) and confit (can you do that with breast meat?).

Any other suggestions? Please leave a comment!