Preparation Time:Overnight
Cooking Time:2+ Hours
Level of Difficulty:Intermediate
Servings:4

Ingredients

• 4 Silver hill duck legs
• 150g/51oz coarse sea salt, plus extra for serving
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 head garlic, separated into cloves
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 dried bay leaves, crumbled
• 4 tbsp brandy
• 700g/11lb 8oz duck or goose fat
• Cassoulet
• 300g/10oz dried haricot beans, soaked in cold water overnight
• 1 onion, studded with a few cloves
• 1 bouquet garni (2 bay leaves, a few sprigs each of thyme and flat leaf parsley and a 7.5cm/3in celery stick, tied together)
• 4 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 sausages
• 4 Confit duck legs
• 350g/12oz Smoked Bacon Diced
• 2 tbsp goose or duck fat (or oil)
• 1 large onion, chopped roughly
• 1 large carrot, chopped roughly
• 2 celery sticks, chopped roughly
• 290ml/1 pint dry white wine
• 400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 heaped tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 heaped tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Marinade Duck Legs
2. 1.    Rub the duck legs with the sea salt, ground black pepper, crushed garlic clove, four sprigs of thyme and the bay leaves.
3. 2.    Put into a ceramic dish, skin side down, pour over the brandy, cover the dish & and leave to marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2.
5. Scrape the marinade off the duck pieces.
6. 1.    Heat the duck fat in an ovenproof dish; add the duck, the remaining garlic cloves and the remaining thyme. Make sure that the duck is completely submerged in the melted fat.
7. 2.    Transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 3 hours, or until the meat is very tender and the fat in the skin is completely rendered.
8. 3.    Remove from the oven and allow cooling.
9. 4.    Strain half of the fat and bring to the boil in another pan, then pour into a clean ceramic dish large enough to hold the duck without it touching the sides. Leave to set in the fridge.
10. 5.    Once the duck is cool, place into the prepared ceramic dish and strain over the remainder of the melted fat and place into the fridge for 1-2 hours to set. (This can be stored in the fridge for up to one month.)
11. 1.    Drain and rinse the beans, tip into a large pan and cover generously with cold water. Bring to the boil and skim off the scum.
12. 2.    Add the onion, the bouquet garni, and half the garlic, the sausages.
13. 3.    Stir and cook on a low heat for a further 30 minutes.
14. 4.    When the beans are cooked, discard the onion and bouquet garni. Place the sausages to one side.
15. 5.    Add the tomatoes, tomato purée & herbs, season to taste.
16. 6.    Add 850ml/11pt water to the dish and bring to the boil. Stir, then lower the heat so the liquid is just simmering.
17. 7.    Peel off the sausage skins, slice the sausage meat thickly on the diagonal and add to the dish.
18. 8.    Give the Cassoulet a good stir. The consistency should be quite thick, but not stodgy. If you prefer it slightly runnier, add a little water. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
19. 1.    Preheat the oven to 200C/390F/Gas 6.
20. 2.    Scrape off the fat from the duck legs, then place into a roasting tray. Sprinkle over the coarse sea salt and roast in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and golden-brown. Serve immediately.
21. 3.    Place a ladle of the Cassoulet into a deep bowl and place the crispy Confit duck leg on top, Garnish with some fresh greens.
22. •    The cassoulet can be served on its own with the Confit duck shredded and mixed through.
23. •    You add other types of meat to the cassoulet such as neck of lamb and pork belly
24. •    A tasty alternative is to put the cassoulet into a large casserole dish and top with breadcrumbs and then bake in the oven until the breadcrumbs are crispy and golden.