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Traditional French Cassoulet

Creamy, flavor-packed beans with meltingly tender nubs of pork belly and sausage and poultry that falls off the bone in moist shreds, all in a rich, sticky liquid that drinks like liquid pork. A meaty stew of poultry, sausage, pork, and beans, all under a rich, dark brown crust.
This is the kind of fare that demands you sit down and make an event out of, good Languedoc wine and all. It's the kind of meal so rich and hearty that all you could possibly eat on the side is a simple green salad (preferably with an excellent French vinaigrette).
Servings: 6
Author: Serious Eats

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried cannellini beans or Tarbais (Cassoulet) beans, 454g
  • 3 tablespoons kosher salt 27g Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume or the same weight
  • 5 cups chicken stock homemade or store-bought unsalted, divided (see notes), 1.2L
  • 3 packets unflavored gelatin 3/4 ounce; 21g, such as Knox (optional, see notes)
  • 2 tablespoons duck fat 30ml (optional)
  • 8 ounces salt pork cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 1 1/4 cups), 227g
  • 8 ounces boneless pork shoulder cut into 1-inch cubes, 227g
  • 4 pieces skin-on bone-in chicken thighs or 4 fresh duck legs, or 4 prepared duck confit legs
  • black pepper freshly ground
  • 1 pound garlic sausage divided into 2-4 segments, if sausage is large, 454g
  • 1 large onion finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups), 12 ounces; 340g
  • 1 large carrot unpeeled and cut into 3-inch sections, 4 ounces; 113g
  • 2 ribs celery cut into 3-inch sections, 6 1/2 ounces; 188g
  • 1 head garlic whole, 2 3/4 ounces; 80g
  • 4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 cloves

Instructions

Brine the beans:

  • In a large bowl, cover beans with 3 quarts (2.8L) water and add salt.
  • Stir to combine, then let stand at room temperature overnight.
  • Drain and rinse beans; set aside.

Prepare the stock:

  • Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
  • Place 4 cups (946ml) of stock in a large liquid measuring cup.
  • If using gelatin, sprinkle it over the top and set aside.

Brown the meat:

  • Pre-heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
  • If using duck fat, add it to the Dutch oven to melt and heat through. If not using duck fat, don't add any additional fat.
  • Turn the heat to high and add the salt pork and pork shoulder Brown the meat, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, about 9 minutes .
  • Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a large bowl, leaving rendered fat in the Dutch oven. Set the browned meat aside.
  • Season the chicken or duck thighs with pepper (do not add salt) and place skin side down in the Dutch oven.
  • Cook without moving until well-browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
  • Transfer to a plate and let cool to room temperature.
  • Add the sausages to the Dutch oven and cook, turning occasionally, until well-browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the bowl with the salt pork.
  • After the chicken or duck has cooled, cover and transfer to the refrigerator.

Sauté the vegetables and cook the beans:

  • Drain all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot.
  • Add the onions to the Dutch oven and cook, stirring and scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot, until the onions are translucent but not browned, about 4 minutes.
  • Add the drained beans, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, cloves, and stock/gelatin mixture.
  • Bring to a simmer over high heat.
  • Reduce to low, cover the Dutch oven, and cook until the beans are slightly softened but retain a bite, about 20 minutes.

Cook the pork and sausages:

  • Using tongs, remove the carrots, celery, parsley, bay leaves, and cloves from the pot and discard.
  • Add the pork and sausages to the pot and stir to incorporate. The beans should be almost completely submerged.
  • Transfer to the oven and cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes.
  • Add the remaining 1 cup (237ml) of stock, as necessary, to keep the beans mostly covered, by pouring it carefully down one side of the pot to avoid disturbing the developing crust.
  • Keep the beans mostly covered and continue cooking for another 45 minutes, until a thin crust forms on top.

Cook the poultry and develop the crust:

  • Break the crust with a spoon and shake the pot gently to redistribute.
  • Nestle the chicken or duck into the Dutch oven, skin side up.
  • Return to the oven and continue cooking, stopping to break and shake crust every 30 minutes, until crust is deep brown and thick, an additional 1 hour 30 minutes.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

  • If not using salted pork or prepared duck confit, salt the pork and poultry with kosher salt and refrigerate uncovered overnight. Otherwise, make sure not to salt the mean or to use a salted, or even low-sodium, chicken broth, lest the dish end up too salty.
  • If you are using homemade chicken stock that already has lots of gelatin (i.e., it should thicken and gel when chilled), you can omit the unflavored gelatin here; if your stock is store-bought, or if it's homemade but watery even when chilled, the unflavored gelatin is an essential ingredient.