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1
Combine the coarse sea salt, pink curing salt, and quatre-épices. Rub the mixture thoroughly over all surfaces of the pork. Add the crushed garlic and bay leaves. Stack the pieces in a non-reactive vessel, cover, and refrigerate at 2–4 °C for 36 to 48 hours. The cure is complete when the interior of the thickest piece registers uniform seasoning on tasting; less than 36 hours leaves the interior under-seasoned.
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2
Remove the pork from the vessel. Rinse each piece thoroughly under cold water, then pat fully dry with a clean cloth. No trace of surface moisture should remain, as water will cause the cooking fat to spit violently.
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3
Melt the lard — blended with duck fat if using — in a deep, heavy vessel and bring to a steady 90–95 °C. Submerge the pork pieces completely. This is where the dish lives or dies: maintain the fat between 90 °C and 95 °C without deviation for 3 to 5 hours, depending on the thickness of the cut, until the internal temperature reaches 85 °C and holds there for a full 45 minutes, at which point the collagen of the shoulder muscles will have fully converted to gelatin and the meat will yield without resistance to a carving fork.
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4
Lift the pieces carefully from the fat. Transfer to sterilized crocks. Strain the cooking fat through a fine sieve — no protein sediment should pass — and pour it over the pork until every piece is fully submerged. Seal and refrigerate at 2–4 °C. The surface fat should set opaque and firm; any gap in the fat seal renders the storage unreliable.
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5
To serve, remove the required pieces from the crock and scrape away excess fat. Crisp in a hot dry pan until the exterior is deep golden and the skin or surface crust renders audibly, or incorporate directly into cassoulet Toulousain. Shred for rillettes as required.