Confit of Duck Breast and Sausage Cassoulet

Ingredients

• 1  bay leaf dried
• 1 pound cannellini beans dried
• 4  boned duck breast halves ()
• 3 cups fat-skimmed chicken broth 
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves dried fresh chopped
• 0.5 pound garlic sausages sliced
• 5 cloves garlic minced pressed peeled
• 2  onions peeled chopped ( 1 lb. total)
• 0.5 teaspoon pepper 
• 2 tablespoons salt 
• 2 tablespoons sugar 
• 0.3 pound thick- bacon chopped
• 8 servings thyme sprigs rinsed
• 0.5 lb firm-ripe tomato cored rinsed chopped
• 0.8 cup wine such as beaujolais nouveau dry red

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• ladle
• slotted spoon

Directions

1. Sort beans and discard debris. Rinse beans, drain, and put into a 5- to 6-quart pan with 4 quarts water. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour.
2. Drain beans, discarding liquid; if making up to 1 day ahead, cover and chill. Put beans in a 4 1/2-quart or larger electric slow-cooker.
3. Meanwhile, pull and cut skin from duck breasts; reserve skin for cracklings (cover and chill up to 1 day).
4. Place breasts in a bowl.
5. Add 2 tablespoons salt and the sugar, and mix; cover and chill at least 30 minutes but no longer than 1 hour. Rinse breasts well under cool running water; if making up to 1 day ahead, cover and chill.
6. Cut meat into 1/2-inch chunks.
7. In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium-high heat, frequently stir bacon until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Discard all but 1 tablespoon bacon drippings.
8. Add onions and garlic to bacon; stir often until onions begin to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
9. Add broth and wine; bring to a boil over high heat, scraping up browned bits from pan bottom.
10. Pour onion-broth mixture into slow-cooker with beans.
11. Add tomato, chopped thyme, pepper, and bay leaf; mix.
12. Place duck pieces on the beans.
13. Cover and cook until beans and duck are very tender to bite, 5 to 6 hours on low, 4 to 5 hours on high. If there is more liquid than desired, uncover slow-cooker, turn heat to high, and simmer to concentrate the mixture, up to 30 minutes.
14. Stir sausage slices into cassoulet and cook until hot, 5 to 10 minutes. Ladle cassoulet into bowls, sprinkle equally with duck cracklings, and garnish with thyme sprigs.
15. Duck cracklings. Chop reserved duck skin (see preceding) into 1/4-inch pieces. In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium-high heat, frequently stir skin until crisp and golden, 5 to 8 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to towels to drain.
16. Sprinkle with salt. When cool, wrap airtight; chill up to 1 day. Makes 1/3 to 1/2 cup.