Cajun Duck Cassoulet

Serves 4 (and yields extra duck confit & stewed beans*)

Ingredients

For Duck Confit

  • 8-10 ducks legs
  • salt & pepper for seasoning
  • 1½ cups olive oil
  • 1½ cups duck fat (or use additional olive oil)
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 tbsp ginger, sliced
  • 10 cloves garlic, whole

For Cassoulet

  • 1 qt dried red kidney beans
  • 2 tbsp canola oil
  • 5-8 cloves garlic, sliced
  • ½ jalapeno pepper, sliced
  • 3" piece of ginger, peeled & thinly sliced
  • 1 cup green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 cup Spanish onion, diced
  • 1 cup celery, diced
  • 2 cups andouille sausage, sliced ½" thick + ½ link, split
  • 2 tbsp jerk seasoning
  • 2 tbsp dark chili powder
  • 2 tbsp paprika
  • 2 tsp allspice
  • 1 tbsp ginger powder
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 5 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 qts chicken stock
  • 1 qt water
  • 2 tbsp duck fat (reserved from duck confit)
  • ½ cup croutons (cornbread suggested)
  • olive oil for drizzling

How-to

Day Ahead Preparations - Soak Beans & Make Duck Confit

  1. Soak beans in water overnight
  2. Preheat oven to 300º
  3. Season duck legs with salt & pepper. Place in a large, shallow baking dish with garlic cloves, sliced ginger & thyme
  4. Top with duck fat and olive oil (if duck fat cannot be found, more olive oil can be used in place)
  5. Bake, uncovered 1-1¼ hours. Remove and allow to cool. Reserve 2 tbsp fat for cooking

Assemble & Finish Cassoulet

  1. Preheat oven to 450º
  2. Heat 2 tbsp canola oil in a large pot over medium-high heat
  3. Sauté ginger, garlic and jalapeno pepper for 2 minutes
  4. Add bell pepper, onion and celery. Soften for 3-5 minutes
  5. Add sliced andouille and saute for 2 minutes
  6. Drain the kidney beans and add to the pot
  7. Add spices, thyme sprigs and stir. Pour in chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook for 1-1¼ hours until the beans are tender, and the mixture has slightly thickened
  8. Heat reserved fat from duck confit in saute pan over medium-high heat
  9. Salt both sides of 2-4 confit duck legs and add to pan
  10. Add split andouille sausage to pan, split-side down. Sear both duck and sausage 2 minutes per side
  11. Ladle bean mixture into oven-proof serving dish (or individual, smaller dishes such as clay cazuelas). (There will be extra beans left over.) Top with croutons and bake 3-5 minutes
  12. Remove from oven and garnish with fresh thyme and a drizzle of olive oil for sheen

*Note: The recipe yields extra duck confit and stewed beans. Keep duck in refrigerator submerged in fat, and use for a variety of dishes, for example, seared, pulled and served atop salad greens, etc. The stewed beans can be served as an entree atop rice