Cassoulet

About This Recipe

Cassoulet is the king of French peasant dishes — white beans simmered slowly with duck confit, garlic sausage, and pork shoulder, finished with a golden breadcrumb crust. It's a long, loving labor that rewards patience with deeply layered, soul-warming flavor. Each region of southwest France (Castelnaudary, Carcassonne, Toulouse) claims their own version. The crust must be broken and reformed seven times — legend says.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 500 gdried white beans (Tarbais or Great Northern), soaked overnight
• 4 legsduck confit
• 400 gToulouse sausage (or garlic pork sausage)
• 400 gpork shoulder, cubed
• 200 gthick-cut bacon, diced
• 2 largeonions, chopped
• 1 headgarlic, cloves separated and peeled
• 2carrots, diced
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 2 cupschicken stock
• 2 cupsdry white wine
• 3 sprigsfresh thyme
• 2bay leaves
• 1 cupfresh breadcrumbs
• 3 tbspduck fat or olive oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook beans

   Drain soaked beans. Cover with fresh water in pot. Bring to boil, simmer 1 hour until just tender. Reserve cooking liquid.

2. 2

   Brown sausage and pork

   Heat 2 tbsp duck fat in heavy pot. Brown sausage and pork shoulder cubes. Set aside.

3. 3

   Cook bacon

   Add bacon to same pot. Render until crispy. Add onions, carrots, and garlic. Cook 10 minutes.

4. 4

   Build broth

   Add tomato paste, cook 2 minutes. Add wine, scrape browned bits. Add stock, thyme, and bay leaves. Simmer 5 minutes.

5. 5

   Combine

   Add beans, sausage, pork, and 1 cup bean cooking liquid to pot. Bury duck confit pieces in mixture.

6. 6

   First bake

   Cover and bake at 150°C for 2 hours. Stir gently halfway through.

7. 7

   Add crumbs and bake

   Top with breadcrumbs and 1 tbsp duck fat. Bake uncovered at 180°C for 1 more hour.

8. 8

   Break crust (traditional)

   Push down golden crust into beans 2-3 times during last hour, allowing new crust to form. The Castelnaudary tradition says 7 times.

9. 9

   Rest and serve

   Rest 15 minutes. Serve directly from pot with crusty bread and salad.

Variations

• •

  Add lamb shoulder for Carcassonne style.

• •

  Use canned beans for shortcut version (reduce cooking time).

Storage

Refrigerate up to 5 days. Reheat covered in oven with splash of stock.

Frequently Asked Questions