The first time I had cassoulet, the classic French country casserole with three or four meats and a rich sauce developed via slow cooking with a base of white beans, was like I had stumbled on the holy grail. We were staying at the Albion River Inn and someone recommended the Ledford House for dinner. They are known for their cassoulet. I had to try it.
What's so magic about this French country dish, which Aleta Watson called "originally a modest peasant dish, now a French national obsession"? I can't speak for the French but for me it was about the perfect balance of meat and beans, a song of herbs, a ballet of creamy sauce and crunchy breadcrumbs. Harmony in a clay pot. I was in love.
I looked up the recipe and at the time, gave up on the idea of making at home. The classic recipe takes days, with many hours in the oven, four meats, and seven turnings to cycle the breadcrumbs to form the crunchy crust. The ingredients were mostly available, except for duck confit, duck parts slow-cooked in duck fat.
I found simpler recipes but they seemed to compromise too far. I made simpler cassoulet-esque dishes that were good, but not the same.
Last week, the Food section of the local paper carried an article on cassoulet, accompanied by a recipe from Gordon Hammersley's "Bistro Cooking at Home." This recipe sounds like the right balance between complexity and results and I resolved to make it as a New Year's Eve dinner.
I am about to start. But first -- I needed duck.
Cosentino's, a good nearby market, normally has duck legs and even carries duck legs confit. But since the cassoulet article ran, the only duck legs they had were attached to the rest of a frozen duck. Last year, I saved some duck fat in the freezer so I could make my own confit (not that I have done it before). So I at least had a backup plan.
The plain old grocery didn't have any. Nor did another upscale store, nor a Korean grocery, nor Trader Joe's.
I hit pay dirt at Whole Foods where I not only found duck legs — I found great legs! This is the very duck that I read about just a few days ago. It was recommended in huge terms by food snob (I mean that in a nice way) David Rosengarten. This was Muscovy duck, a breed said to be superior to the Pekin duck or Long Island duck we more commonly see in the United States. Grown by Grimaud Farms, a California arm of a French company, this was the exact brand and breed Rosengarten says is the equal of fine French duck and used by the top restaurants in the country. I visited five stores but now it suddenly seems worth it.
I bought a couple of legs and just in case I decide my own confit attempt is not adequate, I also grabbed a bag of confit wing drummettes. I think the French might bristle at that thought but Rosengarten liked them and I think they would be perfect in a cassoulet.
I am off to the kitchen now. Tune in tomorrow for Part 2...
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