Cassoulet
White beans slow-baked with duck confit, pork, and sausage until a crust forms on top, which gets broken and basted back into the beans repeatedly over hours — a dish so regionally contested between three Languedoc towns that a famous quip calls it 'the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.'
Meat
⚠ Contains: Gluten. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried white beans (lingot or cannellini), soaked overnight
- 4 duck confit legs
- 1 lb pork shoulder, cubed
- 1 lb Toulouse sausage or other coarse pork sausage
- 4 oz pork skin or bacon, chopped
- 1 onion, studded with 2 cloves
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 bouquet garni
- 4 cups chicken or duck stock
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Steps
- Simmer the soaked beans with the studded onion, garlic, bouquet garni, and pork skin in the stock until just tender, about 1 hour. Remove the onion and bouquet garni.
- Brown the pork shoulder and sausage in a separate pan.
- Layer the beans, pork shoulder, sausage, and duck confit in a large baking dish, ladling in enough of the bean cooking liquid to almost cover.
- Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top and bake uncovered at 300F for 3 to 4 hours.
- Every 30-45 minutes, break the crust that forms on top and baste it back down into the beans, letting a new crust reform each time.
- Serve hot, straight from the baking dish.