Duck and Pork Cassoulet with Georges de Latour Cabernet

TL;DR: This is a full, traditional cassoulet built over two days: duck confit made ahead, white beans simmered with a bouquet garni, and a layered bake with ham hock, garlic sausage, and a breadcrumb crust that gets basted three times. It serves 8 to 10 and is designed to stand up to a wine with real structure, Beaulieu Vineyard's Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cassoulet is a dish that rewards patience rather than speed. It's a Southwestern French classic built on the idea that beans, duck, and pork improve the longer they spend together, first in the pot, then in the oven under a crust that gets broken and re-formed three times. It's a project, not a weeknight recipe, but it's the kind of centerpiece dish that makes a dinner feel like an occasion, and it was built with a bottle of Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon in mind from the start.

At a Glance

Ingredients

• 1 lb cannellini beans, or other white beans
• 1 tsp salt, for soaking the beans
• Bouquet garni: 1 bay leaf, 5 thyme sprigs, parsley sprigs
• 4 duck legs, for confit
• 1 garlic bulb, plus 6 garlic cloves, smashed
• Salt, pepper, and chili flakes, for the duck confit
• 1 large ham hock, cut into pieces
• 3 garlic sausages, pricked 3-4 times on top
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 leek, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 3 cups tomato puree
• ¼ cup red wine
• 2-3 cups chicken stock
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups panko or other plain bread crumbs

Instructions

Day 1: Soak the Beans and Make the Duck Confit

1. Soak the beans. Place the beans in a large bowl with 1 teaspoon salt, cover with 4 inches of water, and soak overnight.
2. Season the duck. Liberally salt and pepper the duck legs. Place them skin side down in a Dutch oven with ¼ cup water, a garlic bulb with the top cut off, and a pinch of chili flakes.
3. Confit low and slow. Cook at 250°F for about 3 hours, checking every hour. After the second hour, flip the legs skin side up.
4. Cool and reserve. Remove from the oven and let cool. Remove the skin from the legs and reserve the duck fat for cooking the cassoulet, you should have about ¼ cup. Refrigerate the duck if making a day ahead. Reserve the roasted garlic for later.
5. Make cracklings (optional). Place the reserved duck skin under the broiler until crispy for a cook's treat while you work.

Day 2: Cook the Beans and Build the Base

6. Simmer the beans. Drain the soaked beans and place in a large stockpot. Cover with 2 inches of water, add the bouquet garni, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper. Simmer over medium heat until tender, stirring occasionally, about 1.5 hours. Drain and set aside.
7. Build the mirepoix. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the reserved duck fat and sauté the onion, carrot, leek, celery, garlic, salt, and pepper until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
8. Brown the sausages. In the same skillet, brown the sausages on all sides, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
9. Deglaze and combine. Deglaze the pan with the red wine. Add the tomato puree, beans, mirepoix mixture, and thyme leaves back into the skillet. Cook 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
10. Prep the garlic. Remove the roasted garlic cloves from the reserved bulb and set aside for layering.

Assemble and Bake

11. Layer the cassoulet. Heat the oven to 350°F. In a large Dutch oven or deep casserole dish, layer the ham hock pieces on the bottom. Add about a third of the bean mixture and a few roasted garlic cloves. Top with 2 sausages and 2 duck legs, then add more bean mixture. Repeat with the remaining sausage, duck legs, and beans.
12. Add the stock. Pour stock over the beans until the liquid reaches the top layer of beans without covering them.
13. Top with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle bread crumbs evenly over the top. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of duck fat or other oil if needed.
14. First bake. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned.
15. Baste the crust. Use a large spoon to lightly crack the crust and spoon some of the bean liquid over the top. Return to the oven.
16. Repeat and finish. Bake for about 1 hour more, cracking the crust and basting with liquid two more times during that hour. Remove from the oven and let cool briefly before serving.

Why This Dish Works With Georges de Latour Cabernet

Cassoulet is rich, fatty, and built on slow-cooked duck and pork, exactly the kind of dish that needs a wine with enough tannin and acidity to cut through it rather than get lost. Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon brings the structure to stand up to the duck confit and sausage, while its dark fruit and savory depth echo the tomato and thyme running through the beans. It's a pairing built for a long dinner, not a quick one.

Recipe Notes

• This dish is easiest to manage across two days. Make the duck confit and soak the beans on day one, then cook and assemble on day two.
• Save any leftover duck fat from the confit. It's useful well beyond this recipe for roasting potatoes or searing other meats.
• Cassoulet is traditionally reheated and enjoyed even better the next day, making it a strong make-ahead option for a dinner party.

FAQs

Can I make cassoulet in one day instead of two? Yes, but plan for a long day. The duck confit alone takes about 3 hours, and the beans need roughly 1.5 hours before assembly and baking even begin. Splitting it across two days makes the process far more manageable.

What can I use instead of duck confit if I'm short on time? Store-bought duck confit, available at many specialty grocers, is a reasonable substitute if you want to skip the 3-hour cooking step, though homemade confit adds more depth to the dish.

Why does the crust get cracked and basted during baking? Cracking the crust and spooning liquid over it several times is what builds cassoulet's signature layered crust, a mix of crisp top and soaked-in richness underneath. Skipping this step results in a drier, less traditional crust.

Can I substitute a different white bean? Yes. Cannellini beans are traditional, but other white beans like Great Northern or navy beans will work with similar cook times.

Is this recipe good for a crowd? Very much so. It serves 8 to 10 and holds up well over a couple hours of gathering, making it a strong choice for a dinner party or holiday meal.