Xesla Research Organisation

I was having some friends over for dinner and wanted to be very french, and just happened to have a lot of stuff stashed in my freezer that was perfect for it … Freshly cured pork belly, a bone from a home cured ham, duck legs, confit pork belly, and slow cooked beef ribs.

I decided to make a stock with the ham bone and use this for some French Onion Soup, Use the duck in a Cassoulet, and the belly and ribs for an appetizer plate.

For the appetizer plate I warmed up the beef ribs and the config pork belly in a water bath so that they remained nice and tender. I also made some Ham Croquettes with the meat that came off the stock bone and some sourdough bread crumbs. To go with them I made a Charcuterie Sauce which is a ‘Sauce Robert’ with chopped cornichons from The Saucier’s Apprentice.

For the French Onion Soup I made a strong stock with the ham bone and the usual collection of vegetables, herbs and spices in the pressure cooker. After straining I clarified the stock with egg whites.

I then cooked down 6 finely sliced onions in some french butter, added a splash each of balsamic vinegar, and port wine.

I then added in the stock, some sliced cured pork belly and and a bouquet garni. I simmered this for about 40 minutes scooping off any scum.

To serve the soup I poured it into ramekins and topped it with two slices of toasted sourdough, sprinkled with Guyere cheese and popped it into the oven to melt the cheese. For added effect I hit the cheese with a gas torch.

For the Cassoulet I started by browning some chopped cured pork belly, some diced pork shoulder, diced lamb shoulder and some sausage. Obviously you’ll want to do this in batches so that you brown the meat, not boil it.

Once the meats were nicely browned, I was left with a pot covered in beautiful brown bits of fond. I browned off some onion and garlic in the pan, stirring it to loosen the fond off the surface of the pot and then added some tomato puree.

I cooked this for a few minutes and then added a few peeled tomatoes and a splash of water. When this cooked down to a nice tomato sauce I added some canned navy beans ( ideally I would have used dried beans and rehydrated them etc ), a bouquet garni and some dark veal stock.

I then added in the pork and lamb and topped it with some sourdough breadcrumbs and put it into a hot oven.

I cooked it for a good three hours, breaking the crust of the breadcrumbs and mixing it up, then topping with more breadcrumbs three times. The last time I added the sausage so it formed part of the final crust for serving.

Meanwhile I had some duck legs in fat cooking in my Sous Vide setup, a great way to confit duck legs with minimal duck fat required.

Once cooked I seared them off in a hot pan and then shredded the meat off the bone.

When the Cassoulet was ready I topped it with the duck confit and plated it up.

Cassoulet may not photograph well, but it tastes amazing.

Tags: cassoulet, confit, duck, french, french onion soup, lamb, Onion, pork, soup, Sous Vide