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Rich and cozy French Cassoulet

Cozy and Comforting French Cassoulet

This classic stew/chilli of beans, aromatics, veggies, and seared meats is not too thick or heavy, as some versions can be.  Slow baking uncovered creates a crust without relying on breadcrumbs to achieve this.  And leftovers are even more amazing!

Course Main Course
Cuisine French
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 7 hours
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1 pound 454 grams dried cannellini beans
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 quart 1 litre homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock , and more if needed to thin out the cassoulet as it cooks down
  • 3 packets 3/4 ounces unflavored gelatin, such as Knox (see note)
  • 2 tbsp 30 grams duck fat (optional)
  • 8 ounces 225 grams pork belly, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 6 to 8 pieces of chicken thighs and drumsticks or 4 whole chicken leg quarters
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound 450 grams garlic sausage (2 to 4 links depending on size)
  • 1 large onion finely diced (about 1 cup)
  • 1 whole head garlic separated and crushed
  • 2 large carrots unpeeled, cut into 1/2 inch dice
  • 3 stalks celery cut into 1/2 inch dice
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 8 cloves
  • 6 sprigs parsley

Instructions

Step One: Soak Beans (overnight)

  1. In a large bowl, cover beans with 3 quarts (3 litres) of water and add 3 tbsp salt. Stir to combine and let sit at room temperature overnight. Drain and rinse beans and set aside.

Step Two: Sear the Meats (30 minutes or so)

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and preheat oven to 300°F.
  2. Place the stock in a large liquid measuring cup and sprinkle gelatin over the top (see Note below). Set aside.
  3. Heat duck fat (if using) in a large Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add pork belly and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside. (If not using duck fat, cook pork with no additional fat.)
  4. Season chicken pieces with pepper (do not add salt) and place skin side-down in now-empty pan.
  5. Cook without moving until well browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip chicken pieces and continue cooking until lightly browned on second side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to bowl with salt pork.
  6. Add sausages and cook, turning occasionally, until well-browned on both sides.
  7. Transfer to bowl with salt pork and chicken. Drain all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot.

Step Three: Cooking the Beans (45 minutes)

  1. Add onions to the pot and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook for 2 minutes, and then add half of the crushed garlic cloves.
  2. Cook until onions are translucent but not browned, about 4 minutes.
  3. Add drained beans, bay leaves, cloves, and stock/gelatin mixture. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and cook until beans are almost tender but retain a slight bite, about 45 minutes.

Step Four: Baking the Beans and Meats (5-6 hours)

  1. Add the carrots, celery and remaining garlic to the beans and stir gently.
  2. Add the meats in layers, pork belly and sausages first, gently incorporating them lightly into the beans.
  3. Add the chicken on top of the beans with the skin facing upwards. Beans should be almost completely submerged.

  4. Transfer to oven and cook, uncovered, until a thin crust forms on top, about 2 hours, adding more water (or stock if you have it) by pouring it carefully down the side of the pot as necessary to keep beans mostly covered.  

  5. Break crust with a spoon and shake pot gently to redistribute.
  6. Return to oven and continue cooking, stopping to break and shake the crust every 30 minutes until you reach the 4 1/2 hour mark.

  7. Return to oven and continue cooking undisturbed until the crust is deep brown and thick, another hour or so, or about 5 to 6 hours total. Serve immediately.  

Recipe Notes

Salt added to the dry beans while soaking helps keep them tender as they cook.

Homemade stock cooked for a long time will naturally have enough gelatin (use my version here, to make up several quarts (litres) to store in the freezer till needed!) Only use the commercial gelatin if you are using purchased stock or if you are concerned that your stock may not have enough gelatin in it.

Duck fat will help impart the rich flavour to all the meats, without the need to purchase duck confit, which may be harder to obtain, or not liked by some members of the family.  You can purchase a container of duck fat at most independent butchers. Even larger grocery chains now carry it in the deli or meat aisle.  It's worth it, use it!  And once you have it, it stores it in the back of the fridge indefinitely!

Make sure the dutch oven or casserole is large enough to hold everything.  Ideally it should also be as wide as possible, for the most exposure of gelatin to air!  For a great crust!  Don't be put off by the time in the oven.  It is all about creating the crust.  If you find that the beans are cooked through, and the gelatin crust isn't important to you, you can definitely serve this earlier.

Serve this with a bright, crisp green salad to balance out the richness of the dish.  Sourdough bread on the side will be great to soak up any juices and broth.

Leftovers can be reheated with some more stock added to them.  Overnight the beans will soak up any remaining liquid, causing everything to thicken up.  The extra broth will help loosen it all up as it reheats.

This is a riff on Serious Eat's recipe found here