Duck Cassoulet

How it’s made

1. 01

   Duck, Cook

   Place your French oven over a medium heat, add the olive oil and brown the duck legs on both sides. This should take around 10 minutes. If using confit duck, include the packaged duck fat.

2. 02

   Duck, Remove

   Remove the duck from the French oven as well as all but 1 tablespoon of the oil / duck fat mixture. We wont be using the excess, but you can keep it to make some yummy duck-fat potato chips (silly if you don't really).

3. 03

   Onions, Cook

   Lower the heat, and add the diced onions. Fry for around 5 minutes, stirring constantly until the onions become soft. Add the diced garlic and the Bockwurst and fry for another 5-8 minutes. You can turn up the heat a bit at this stage and try and get some brown into the Bockwurst.

4. 04

   Duck, Return

   Return the duck to the French oven. Add the red wine and sherry vinegar and bring to the boil. Briefly reduce for 1-2 minutes while stirring.

5. 05

   Stock, Add

   Add the stock, cherry tomatoes (with the juice), bay leaf(s) and the paprika. Simmer for around 5 minutes.

6. 06

   Oven, Cook

   Place the lid on your French oven and transfer to a preheated oven @ 130 degrees (middle shelf). Set a timer for 2 hours. This is a good time for a wine or 2 :-) The pictured bottle is from the winery that gave inspiration to this recipe.

7. 07

   Bones, Remove

   Carefully remove the duck legs from the French oven with some tongs. Remove all of the bones and break the duck meat into small pieces - although at this stage the duck meat should be falling off the bone. Set aside the duck meat for the next step.

8. 08

   Reduce

   Return the French oven to the stove top and over a high heat, reduce the liquid by around half. This should take about 10 minutes or so.

9. 09

   Beans, Add

   Turn down the heat and return the duck to the French oven. Add the beans (drained and washed first) as well as the fresh herbs. Heat through and put the lid on to keep warm.

10. 10

    Topping, Make

    Heat the butter in a small pot. Once fully melted, remove from the heat and combine with breadcrubs and parmesan. Mix well.

11. 11

    Ramekins, Construct

    Add the duck mixture to 4 x ramekins, leaving a little space at the top for the breadcrumb parmesan topping. Using a spoon evenly devide the topping between the ramekins. Using the base of the spoon, create an even layer of the breadcrumb parmesan mixture over the top of the duck mixture. For the gluten-free version, just add the parmesan.

12. 12

    Grill

    Grill (broil) the ramekins in the oven on an upper shelf until the breadcrumb mixture has browned and become crusty. Around 5-10 minutes.

13. 13

    Plate

    To serve add a sprinkle more of the fresh herbs and enjoy.

Originally published 12 July 2017 · by John Drummond