A slow-baked casserole of white beans, sausage, and duck confit from southwestern France, finished with a crisp golden crust.
Cassoulet is one of France's great regional casseroles, hailing from the southwest (with rival versions from Toulouse, Castelnaudary, and Carcassonne all claiming authenticity), built on white beans slow-cooked with sausage, pork, and often duck confit, then baked uncovered so a crust forms on top -- traditionally broken and folded back into the beans several times during baking, a technique called 'crouter.' It's a dish of genuine regional pride and rich culinary history. The technique that defines cassoulet is the crust-and-fold method: as the casserole bakes uncovered, a golden skin forms on the surface of the beans, which is periodically broken with a spoon and pushed back down into the liquid, allowing a new crust to form -- repeated several times over hours of baking, this builds layers of flavor and texture that a single bake could never achieve. The beans should be cooked with the meats from the start, absorbing their rendered fat and flavor throughout the slow braise rather than being combined only at the end. Served bubbling hot straight from the baking dish, cassoulet is substantial, cold-weather feast food -- the kind of dish that takes real time and is meant to be shared among a table of people over a long, unhurried meal.
Serves 6
Cook bacon or salt pork in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until fat renders, about 5 minutes.
Add pork shoulder and brown on all sides. Remove and set aside. Brown sausage separately, then slice.
Add soaked beans, onion, carrots, garlic, and bouquet garni to the pot with the rendered fat. Cover with stock and bring to a simmer.
Simmer 1 hour, partially covered, until beans are nearly tender. Remove onion, carrots, and bouquet garni.
Stir in crushed tomatoes, browned pork shoulder, sliced sausage, and duck confit. Season with salt.
Preheat oven to 150C/300F. Transfer everything to a large baking dish, top with breadcrumbs, and bake uncovered 1.5-2 hours.
Every 30-40 minutes, break the golden crust that forms and push it back into the beans, adding more breadcrumbs on top each time.
Let the final crust form and serve bubbling hot straight from the dish.
Don't skip the crust-and-fold technique -- it's genuinely what builds cassoulet's signature layered richness over the long bake.
Use a mix of meats (duck confit, sausage, and pork) rather than just one -- the combination of fats and flavors is central to an authentic cassoulet.
Cook the beans until nearly, but not fully, tender before baking -- they'll finish cooking through during the long oven time.
Cassoulet de Toulouse uses Toulouse sausage and duck or goose confit as the signature meats.
A simpler home version can use just pork shoulder and sausage if duck confit isn't available.
Add a few slices of garlic sausage on top in the last 20 minutes for extra texture.
Refrigerate up to 4 days in an airtight container; cassoulet is famous for tasting even better reheated the next day. Reheat covered in a 160C/325F oven for 30-40 minutes. Freezes well up to 3 months.
Cassoulet originates from the Languedoc region of southwestern France, with the towns of Castelnaudary, Toulouse, and Carcassonne each claiming their own traditional version, and the dish's roots are often traced back centuries to rural farmhouse cooking using whatever meats and beans were on hand.
Yes -- while duck confit is traditional, a version using just pork shoulder, sausage, and bacon is still a legitimate and delicious cassoulet, especially for home cooking.
It likely needs more stock added during the long bake -- check every 30-40 minutes and add a splash of stock if the beans look like they're drying out before they're tender.
Traditionally 3-4 times over the total baking period is standard, letting a new crust form each time before folding it back in.
Per serving (480g / 16.9 oz) · 6 servings total
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