-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Cassoulet
Date: Wed, 05 May 2004 19:57:38 -0700
From: alzelt <[email hidden]>
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
References: <[email hidden]>
Dunter Powries said:Can anyone recommend a good recipe for an easy cassoulet,
homestyle, rather than what might be served at a hotel?Thanks.
Dunty Porteous
--
"It tastes like burning..... waaaaa!!!!" -Ralph Wiggum
Well, OK. But I should make you first tell us whether you
want the style of Toulouse, Castlenaudary or
Carcassonne!!!!!! You caught me in good spirits tonight, so
here we go. Try these on for size:
* Exported from MasterCook *
Cassoulet
Recipe By : Saveur January/February 1998 Serving Size : 8
Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Beans French Game Main
Dish Meats Stew
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method --------
------------ -------------------------------- 4 cups
dried great northern or other small white beans 4 fresh
ham hocks (about 1 lb. each) 3 large yellow onions --
peeled and quartered 5 sprigs thyme Salt and freshly
ground black pepper
1/3 lb. fresh pork rind -- cubed 1 ham bone 1 tbsp
duck fat 1 lb. unseasoned fresh pork sausage --
(about 4 links), cut into 2'' piece 1 large head
garlic -- separated into cloves and peeled (about
3/4 cup) Confit of 1 quartered duck or 4 whole legs
2/4 tsp nutmeg
3. Rinse beans thoroughly, pick through and discard stones,
then set beans aside. (See We Didn't Know Beans for more
about preparing beans.)
4. Place ham hocks in a large pot. Add 1 onion, thyme, and
salt and pepper. Cover with water and bring to a boil
over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer,
partially covered, for 2 hours. Remove from heat, allow
to cool for 15 minutes, then drain ham hocks, discarding
onion and thyme. Cut meat from each hock into 2 pieces.
Discard bones and set meat aside.
5. Meanwhile, place pork rind, ham bone, and 1 onion in a
large, heavy-bottomed pot. Cook over medium heat,
stirring frequently, until pork rind is rendered, about
20 minutes. Add beans and enough water to cover by 1/2''
(about 8 cups) and season with salt. Bring to a simmer,
then reduce heat to low and cook until beans are tender,
about 45 minutes. Adjust salt, if necessary, then set
beans aside to cool.
6. Heat duck fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add sausages and cook, turning to brown on all sides,
for about 10 minutes. Place garlic, remaining onion,
and 1/2 cup water in a blender and purée until smooth.
Add garlic paste to sausages and reduce heat to medium-
low. Cook, turning sausages occasionally, for 10
minutes more.
7. Preheat oven to 350°. Using a slotted spoon, remove and
discard ham bone and onion from beans (it is okay if
some pieces of onion remain). Using a slotted spoon,
transfer about half the beans with pork rind to a heavy
wide-mouthed 5-6 qt. cast-iron, clay, or earthenware
pot, about 4'' high (see The Cassole). Assemble
cassoulet in layers: Place the meat from the ham hocks
on top of the beans and cover with sausages and garlic
paste. Divide duck into 8 pieces by separating
drumsticks from thighs and, if using a whole duck,
splitting breasts in half crosswise through the bone.
Arrange duck on sausages, then spoon in remaining beans
with pork rind. Season with nutmeg and add just enough
reserved bean cooking liquid to cover the beans (about 3
cups). Reserve remaining liquid. Bake, uncovered, until
cassoulet comes to a simmer and a crust begins to form,
about 1 hour.
8. Reduce heat to 250° and cook for 3 hours, checking every
hour or so to make sure cassoulet is barely simmering (a
little liquid should be bubbling around edges of
cassoulet). If cassoulet appears dry, break crust
(browned top layer) by gently pushing it down with the
back of a spoon, allowing a new layer of beans to rise
to the surface. Add just enough reserved bean cooking
liquid (or water) to moisten beans.
9. Remove cassoulet from oven. Allow to cool completely,
then cover with a lid or aluminum foil and refrigerate
overnight.
10. Remove cassoulet from refrigerator and allow to warm to
room temperature for at least 45 minutes. Meanwhile,
preheat oven to 350°. Bake for 1 hour. When cassoulet
begins to simmer, break crust and add enough warm water
to just cover beans (about 1 cup). Reduce heat to 250°
and bake, breaking crust and adding water as needed, for
3 hours. Remove cassoulet from oven and allow to rest
for 15-20 minutes. Serve cassoulet from the pot,
breaking the crust at the table.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTES : A beautiful, well-browned crust is one of the
glories of cassoulet, but how often the crust should be
broken and pushed down into the cassoulet while it cooks is
open to debate. Étienne Rousselot, owner of Hostellerie
Étienne, whose recipe is adapted here, recommends breaking
the crust often enough to keep the beans moist—at least four
times. Others say that it should be broken every hour. We
prefer to break the crust only as necessary (see steps 6 and
8). Rousselot defies Castelnaudary tradition by often using
duck instead of goose; he finds it more tender. Cassoulet
may be cooked for seven hours straight, but we prefer it
cooked over two days.
* Exported from MasterCook *
Cassoulet (Fine Cooking)
Recipe By : Jean-Pierre Moulle, Fine Cooking, 01/02 Serving
Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Beans Dinner
French Game Lamb Main Dish Meats Pork Sausage Stew
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
FOR THE BEAN STEW: 1 lb. dry white
beans -- such as cannelini or Great
Northern 1 pig’s foot or 1 small
fresh ham hock
3/4 lb. pork belly or pancetta
4/2 lb. pork rind 1 medium carrot -- halved
5/2 large onion -- peeled and halved, each half
studded with 1 whole clove
6/2 tomato -- peeled and seeded, or 1/2 cup canned
whole tomatoes -- drained
7/2 rib celery -- halved
8/2 head garlic -- halved across the top 1 bay leaf
-- several sprigs of fresh thyme, and several
parsley stems -- tied together in a bouquet Salt
and freshly ground black pepper FOR THE LAMB STEW:
1 lb. boneless lamb shoulder -- neck, or shank meat
-- (about 2 lb. on the bone) Salt and freshly
ground black pepper
9/4 cup duck fat or olive oil 1 medium carrot --
peeled and coarsely chopped 1 onion -- peeled and
coarsely chopped
10/4 cup dry white wine 2 tomatoes -- peeled and
seeded, or 2 cups canned whole tomatoes, lightly
squeezed 1 bay leaf -- several sprigs of fresh
thyme, and several parsley stems -- tied together
in a bouquet 2 cloves garlic 2 cups homemade or low-
salt chicken broth or duck stock FOR THE CASSOULET:
11/4 cup duck fat or olive oil
12/2 lb. garlic sausage or sweet Italian sausage
that’s not seasoned with fennel 4 duck confit legs
1 clove garlic Bean stew (see the recipe above)
Lamb stew (see the recipe above) 2 cups coarse --
unseasoned breadcrumbs, toasted, preferably from a
baguette Extra chicken broth or duck stock for
moistening the cassoulet during baking -- if needed
Make the bean stew: Soak the beans overnight in enough cold
water to cover them well. Drain, rinse, and pick through
them for stones and damaged beans. In a large saucepan,
cover the pig’s foot or ham hock, pork belly or pancetta,
and pork rind with cold water. Bring to a boil, simmer for 3
mm., drain, and rinse in cold water. Reserve. In a large
saucepan, cover the beans with lukewarm water. Bring to a
boil, drain, and return to the pan. Cover with hot water.
Add the carrots, onion, tomato, celery, garlic, and herb
bouquet. Bring to a boil, add the reserved pig’s foot or ham
hock, pork belly or pancetta, and pork rind. Simmer,
covered, for 1 1/2 hours, until completely tender (don’t add
salt yet). Transfer to a large pan to cool and reserve the
beans in their cooking liquid. Remove the carrot, onion, and
herb bouquet; discard. Taste and season with salt and pepper
as needed, but be prudent, as the pork parts add a good bit
of salty flavor.
Meanwhile, make the lamb stew: Cut the lamb into 2 1/2-inch
pieces. Season with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy sauté
pan over medium-high heat, melt the duck fat or heat the
oil. Sear the lamb pieces until well browned on all sides.
Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Add the carrot and
onion, lower the heat to medium, and cover the pan. Sweat
the vegetables until tender but not browned, about 6 mm.
Raise the heat, add the white wine, and boil, scraping up
any browned bits with a wooden spoon, until the liquid is
reduced by half. Add the reserved lamb and any juices, the
tomatoes, herb bouquet, garlic, and broth or stock. Bring to
a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until
the lamb is tender, about 1 hour, skimming off the fat and
froth as needed. Discard the herb bouquet and reserve the
lamb stew until it’s time to assemble the cassoulet.
To assemble the cassoulet: Heat the oven to 250F. In a medium-
size sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat half of the duck
fat or olive oil. Add the sausage; brown it on all sides.
When cool enough to handle, cut it into six pieces. Cut the
duck confit legs in half at the joint. Rub the garlic clove
over the inside of an earthenware casserole, an enameled cast-
iron Dutch oven, or a large ceramic soufflé mold. Retrieve
the pig’s foot or ham hock, pork rind, and pork belly or
pancetta from the bean stew. Discard the pig’s foot or ham
hock bones. (If you’ve used a ham hock, tear off any
remaining meat and add it to the bean stew). Cut the pork
belly or pancetta into 1/2-inch pieces and reserve. Cut the
pork rind into 1/2-inch pieces and scatter them over the
bottom of the dish.
With a slotted spoon, transfer one-third of the beans to the
dish. Do the same with half the pork belly or pancetta, all
of the duck confit, half the lamb stew (again, use a slotted
spoon, because you’ll be using the cooking liquid later),
and all of the sausage. Cover the meats with another one-
third of beans, the remaining pork belly and lamb stew, and
finish with the last one-third of beans. Combine the bean
juices with the lamb sauce, taste for seasoning (remembering
that the duck confit is salty), and pour just enough over
the dish to barely cover the beans.
Sprinkle the dish with the breadcrumbs and drizzle the
remaining duck fat (melt it first if it’s still solid) or
olive oil over the breadcrumbs. Bake for 2 1/2 hours and
then raise the heat to 350F and bake until the crust is a
rich golden brown and the cassoulet is bubbling around the
edges, about another 30 mm. Check the cassoulet during baking-
if it’s getting too dry, add more broth or stock; if the
crust is browning too quickly, cover it with foil. Let the
cassoulet rest for at least 30 mm. before serving. Bring the
entire dish to the table and serve each guest some crust,
beans, and pieces of the different meats.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTES : This recipe serves six generously, and it’s easily
doubled if you want to make more (plus, leftovers are
delicious). If you don’t have the traditional deep
earthenware casserole, use a 5-quart enameled cast-iron
Dutch oven or a ceramic soufflé dish-the vessel needs to be
wide enough for a crust to form. For pork rind, order it or
buy salt pork and cut the rind off, freezing the salt pork
for another use. Serves six.
--
Alan
"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the relig-
ion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home."
-- James Michener
--
Alan
"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the relig-
ion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home."
-- James Michener