Cassoulet!

“Cassoulet is a rich combination of beans baked with meats, as much a part of Southwestern France as Boston baked beans are of New England.” – Julia Child*

So…basically cassoulet is beanie weenies.

I’M NOT SERIOUS.  Please don’t blacklist me, French customs…

I’ve been dreaming of this dish since last summer when I first started rendering duck fat at home.  The plan was to execute this rich, hearty, slow-cooked stew in December or January, but I got somewhat sidetracked.  Its already March, but thankfully there’s still snow on the ground.  Make no mistake, this is definitely a cold weather dish.

Cassoulet (pronounced cass-oo-lay) is supposedly named after the dish it is traditionally prepared in, the cassole, a glazed earthenware vessel.  According to a number of sources, cassoulet may date back to the 14th century and the Hundred Years’ War.  Depending on the region, the dish will differ and be vehemently defended as “the proper dish,” just as Chigoans and New Yorkers might argue over who makes the better pizza.  There are numerous variations, some with tomato, some without, some with breadcrumbs, lamb, partridge, pig ears, etc.  One might line the dish with pork rind, others may not.  The pot may be rubbed with a garlic clove, the top crust broken a specific number of times (I saw anywhere between 6 and 8 times from a number of recipes.)  My old French Sous put foie gras in his.  There is even fish cassoulet, which I’ll venture to try someday.

You can buy cassoulet in cans or jars in France, (not to mention canned foie gras and confit just as easily.)  That may seem surprising, but when you realize how much time and effort it takes to make this dish, the picture starts to make sense.  (One Frenchman I know insists that the canned version is actually pretty good.)

As for coming up with a recipe, this had to be the most massive undertaking yet.  I’ve actually only eaten cassoulet about twice in my lifetime, both over a decade ago or so, and not even in its native land, sadly.  I’ve therefore had to rely on information mostly gathered through a number of books.  Larousse offered the most thorough explanation, Julia, the lengthiest recipe, and Escoffier, the shortest, just to name a few.  The uniting factor was the presence of white beans, which lends creaminess to the dish, and pork, lots of it, at least 30% as decreed by the États Généraux de la Gastronomie française.**

Of course, being me, I had to add homemade duck confit, a popular ingredient (or goose confit).  One difference I did make was that I used chicken stock for cooking the beans;  all recipes I saw used water.  Also, I had to improvise a little on the sausage.  Often, cassoulet is made with Toulouse sausage, which is basically a coarser diced pork sausage made with garlic and wine.  My theory on that:  if you aren’t in Toulouse, its nearly impossible to find Toulouse sausage.  Basically, any pork sausage can be used, as long as its fairly plain, don’t use Italian spicy or sweet.  I ended up using this French garlic sausage from D’Artagnan.  Delicious but rather large in size, I cut  8 pieces out of a half-pound portion.  (Next time, I will probably try their duck armagnac links or just make my own, d**mit.  The idea is to have full sausages.)

I don’t know if my cassoulet would be considered sacrilegious by experts and there is still much to experiment with, but I’m pretty darn happy with this recipe.

CASSOULET
serves 6-8

There are a lot of steps and a lot of ingredients for this dish, so I’ve tried to organize it in such a way to make it slightly easier.  This is definitely a recipe that needs to be read through before cooking.  I’ve first provided a list of all ingredients (to make grocery shopping easier), and then all the recipes, with the ingredients listed again.

LIST OF ALL INGREDIENTS
1 pound white beans, Navy or Great Northern
7-8 C chicken stock
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 ea fresh bay leaf
2 ea small yellow onions
4 ea, whole garlic cloves
4 1/2 tbl duck fat
1/2 pound pork belly
1/2 pound pork sausage
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
duck confit:  all the meat of one 6-pound duck plus the gizzards, minus the breasts and liver, meat should be picked off the bone, skin removed.  (Alternately, 3 confit duck legs)***
1/4 C white wine
1/2 tsp tomato paste
2 ea, plum tomatoes
1/2 C veal demi glace
1 1/2 C fresh bread crumbs
1 tbl chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh sage
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

RECIPES

BEANS:
1 pound white beans, Navy or Great Northern
7-8 C chicken stock
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 ea fresh bay leaf
1 ea small yellow onion, rough large dice
2 ea, whole garlic cloves, peeled, gently smashed
1 tbl duck fat
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Soak the beans overnight in four times the amount of cold water.

Drain the beans and discard the water.

Place a medium sized-pot over medium-high heat.  Melt the duck fat and cook the onion, until partially browned, about 8-10 minutes.  Add the beans, aromatics and stock.  Season lightly, and bring to a gentle simmer.  Cook until beans are tender, about 30 minutes.

Remove from heat when finished.  Allow to cool and then drain, reserving the cooking liquid.  Remove thyme stems, bay leaf, garlic and any large pieces of onion from the beans.  Discard.  Keep the beans in a medium mixing bowl.

MEAT GARNISH:
1/2 pound pork belly, rough 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound pork sausage
2 tbls duck fat
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
duck confit meat, skinless, boneless, bite size pieces

1 ea small yellow onion, small dice
2 ea garlic clove, minced
1/4 C white wine
1/2 tsp tomato paste
2 ea, plum tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded, small dice (directions follow)
1/2 C veal demi glace

For the tomatoes:  Bring a small pot of water to a boil.  In the meantime, core the tomatoes with a paring knife, and then score a small “x” on the opposite ends.  Prepare a bowl of ice water.  When the water is boiling, drop the tomatoes into the pot, and count to 10 (time will really depend on ripeness of tomato, the best way is to watch when the skin starts separating from the tomato).  Remove the tomatoes to the ice water.  The skins should peel off easily.  If not, place tomatoes back into the boiling water for a few seconds and shock in the ice water again.  Once peeled, cut the tomatoes into quarters, and remove seeds.  Roughly chop the tomatoes into a small dice.  Discard skins and seeds.

For the meat:
Heat a 5 qt Dutch oven over medium high heat.  Season the pork cubes.  Add the duck fat, and cook the pork until browned on all sides.  (Use a grease screen if you have one, fat will pop a lot, be careful),  Remove pork, and lower heat to medium.  In the same pan, brown the sausage on all sides.  Remove the sausage, allow to cool, and slice if needed.

In the same pan, sweat out the onion and garlic until translucent, about 4 minutes.  Deglaze with the wine, scraping up any brown bits.  Add the tomato paste, diced tomato and demi-glace.  Lower the heat slightly and simmer for about 8 minutes.  Remove, lightly season and combine with the beans.  Adjust seasonings one more time, don’t over-salt, as the confit is already salty (I would taste the duck meat first.)

HERBED BREAD CRUMBS:
1 1/2 C fresh white bread crumbs
1 tbl chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh sage
1 1/2 tbls duck fat
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Combine herbs with breadcrumbs in a large mixing bowl.  Melt the duck fat.  Drizzle the fat over the crumbs and toss immediately, coating crumbs as evenly as possible.  Season lightly and toss again.

FINALLY, the CASSOULET:
cooked beans
browned pork belly
browned sausage
duck confit
bean cooking stock
bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 300˚F.

In the same 5-qt Dutch oven, layer the beans and meat alternately, starting and ending with the beans.  Add in the reserved bean cooking stock, so that its just level with the beans.  Save leftover stock.

Place pot in the oven, uncovered, and cook for 3 hours. During the cooking, a crust will form on top, turning golden brown.  Break this crust with the back of a spoon 5-6 times during the cooking.  You should just see a few bubbles coming from the liquid.  If it gets too dry, add a bit of the reserved stock.  When done, remove and serve while hot.

Suggestions for garnish: duck cracklings, double-smoked bacon lardons

Suggestion for serving: salad with a light acidic vinaigrette, lots of red wine, perhaps a Bordeaux

NOTE:  I haven’t tried this, but I believe the cassoulet can be cooked partially a day ahead.  I would cook on the first day for two hours with half the breadcrumbs, cool completely, and refrigerate.  On the second day, I would allow the cassoulet to sit outside the fridge for at least an hour to temper, sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbs, then cook the final hour.  This method may even yield a better result, as the first cooking and rest period will allow the flavors to develop even further!  (Ever notice how food sometimes tastes better the next day?…)

NOTE 2:  To re-heat, add some stock, as the beans will absorb a lot of the liquid over time.

NOTE 3:  Duck confit legs and demi-glace can both be found on D’Artagnan’s website or in higher end supermarkets.

NOTE 4:  pork shoulder can be used instead of pork belly.

*  Mastering the Art of French Cooking, New York:  Alfred A Knopf, 2009.  Print.

**  Larousse Gastronomique, New York:  Crown Publishers Inc., 1988.  Print.

***  If you choose to try my recipe, just note that the wings, neck and gizzards can be added in with the legs.  The cooking time is the same for all except the gizzards, which may be removed earlier.

To read more about cassoulet, click here.

I was not paid to endorse D’Artagnan.

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