Cooking with Chef Johnny Vee: Cassoulet
WEB EXTRA
9/30/2008
The amount of time it takes to pull the dish together varies. If you choose to make it without the optional confit of duck legs, it comes together very quickly — a half-hour or less to get it all in the pot, where it bakes for an additional 30 minutes. If you include purchased duck leg confit in the mix, it will take only a few minutes longer to assemble, but have a much more authentic flavor. If, however, you choose to make your own confit of duck — it's not difficult but requires more advance planning — you'll need to start the process a few days ahead of the date you plan to serve the stew.
In general, a confit (from an old English word meaning "to prepare") is a condiment made by cooking fruits or vegetables down to a thick, jamlike consistency. But, when the word refers to the duck legs that give a cassoulet its special flavor, it is referring to a meat that has been salted and seasoned, then cooked and stored covered with the fat used to prepare it.
Confiture is an old-fashioned way to preserve and put meat — most commonly goose and duck — aside for the winter; the fat that covers the meat keeps it from being in contact with oxygen, which could lead to spoilage. Covered and stored in a cool place, confits could keep for several months.
In Santa Fe, you can find already prepared confit of duck at Kaune Foodtown or order them over the Internet. If you decide to make your own using the recipe that follows — leftovers are great for duck hash, or for adding flavor to other soups and stews — you also can usually find the frozen uncooked legs and the canned goose fat for preparing them at Kaune's, 511 Old Santa Fe Trail.
To watch John prepare the stew — and catch his chef's tips for success — log onto Cooking with Chef Johnny Vee at www.etastesantafe.com.
QUICK FRENCH CASSOULET
(Serves 6 to 8)
2 tablespoons olive oil or goose fat
2 single boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound smoked sausage (such as kielbasa) cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 confit of duck legs, skinned, boned and shredded (optional)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and chopped tomatoes
2 (15.5 ounce) cans white beans
3/4 cup white vermouth or dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup butter
1-1/2 cups dry bread crumbs
Salt to taste
Heat olive oil or goose fat in the bottom of a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken pieces and sauté until nicely browned but not completely cooked. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Add sausage to Dutch oven and sauté until browned. If using confit of duck, add that to pan and brown slightly.
Add onion and garlic to pan and sauté until onion softens, about 3 minutes.
Drain tomatoes and beans and add to pan. Stir in vermouth or wine, stock, thyme, parsley and pepper. Simmer over medium heat until liquid has been reduced by one-third — about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter in medium fry pan and add bread crumbs. Stir crumbs over medium heat until nicely browned.
Return chicken to Dutch oven, stir once, taste and season cassoulet with salt. Scatter bread crumbs over top of casserole and bake in a pre-heated 375-degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until mixture is bubbling and baked through.
Serve hot.
(Recipe adapted from Cooking with Johnny Vee: International Cuisine with a Modern Flair, Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 2008, $24.95)
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CONFIT OF DUCK2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 shallot, peeled and sliced
6 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves, crumbled
Coarsely ground black pepper
4 duck legs with thighs
4 duck wings, trimmed
About 4 cups duck or goose fat
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of salt in the bottom of a dish or plastic container large enough to hold the duck pieces in a single layer. Evenly scatter half the garlic, shallots, thyme and bay leaves in the container. Arrange the duck, skin-side up, over the salt mixture, then sprinkle with the remaining salt, sugar, garlic, shallots, thyme and bay leaves and a little pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Melt the duck fat in a small saucepan. Brush the salt and seasonings off the duck.
Arrange the duck pieces in a single snug layer in a high-sided baking dish or ovenproof saucepan. Pour the melted fat over the duck — the duck pieces should be covered by fat — and place the confit in the oven. Cook the confit slowly at a very slow simmer — just an occasional bubble — until the duck is tender and can be easily pulled from the bone, 2 to 3 hours.
Remove the confit from the oven. Cool and store the duck in the fat. (The confit will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.)
Note: The duck fat can be strained, cooled and reused.