Cassoulet

The white beans, soaked, parboiled, and layered with the duck and the country sausage in the deep pot, and baked slow at 160 °C while the liquid is taken in and the crust is set over the top. The dish is braise and bake on the same register: the braise article's slow world, done in the oven instead of the pot, and the meat temperature article's collagen, in the duck, at the temperature the bake holds.

Origin

Languedoc, Castelsarrasin and Carcassonne

Difficulty

3 / 5

Servings

4

Prep

12 hrs of soaking + 40 min

Cook

2–3 hrs

Total

~14 hrs, most of it the overnight soak

The page is the braising article, on the oven end, with the stock article's veal stock doing the liquid the beans take in. The meat temperature article's slow world — the collagen, in the duck, at the temperature the bake holds — is the one that does the pull, and the braised short rib is the neighbor on the bone, in this dish the bone is in the pot, and the baguette is the half of the section that does the bread.

Equipment

• A deep, heavy pot, 30 cm across, with a lid — the braising pot, in this dish the bake instead of the pot, and the lid is the half that keeps the liquid in during the 2–3 hrs of the braise article's own register
• A colander, for the beans, the rice article's own drain, in this dish the beans instead of the grain
• A wooden spoon, for the stirring, the braising article's own spoon, in this dish the beans, and the duck, and the sausage, all of it, in the pot

Ingredients

• 1 kg of the white beans, the haricot or the lingot if you have it, the braising article's own bean, in this dish the dish itself, and the one the braise is tuned on
• 1 duck, the legs and the breast, the meat temperature article's slow cut, and the one the braising article is about, in this dish the bake instead of the pot
• 150 g of the country sausage, the saucisson sec if you have it, else the andouille, the Thai section's register, in this dish the braise article's own pot
• 1 onion, the yellow, sliced the 5 mm thick, the stock article's own onion, in this dish the pot instead of the stock
• 1 tomato, grated, the ragu article's own tomato, in this dish the pot instead of the ragu
• 3 cloves of garlic, the outer skin on, crushed
• 2 sprigs of thyme, and 1 bay leaf, the braising article's own herb
• 400 ml of the veal stock, the stock article's own stock, in this dish the liquid the beans take in
• 250 g of the breadcrumbs, the sourdough article's own crumb, in this dish the crust over the beans, and the one the baguette article's bread, if the day is without the sourdough
• 3 tbsp of the oil, the frying article's own oil, in this dish the brown, before the bake
• A small pinch of salt, and a small pinch of black pepper, and a small pinch of four épices if you have it, the sauces 101 article's own register

Method

1. The beans, the soak. The white beans, rinsed once, and into the cold water, 12 hrs or overnight — the braising article's own soak, in this dish the beans instead of the collagen, and the one the braise does on the dish. The beans, drained, and into the pot of cold water, and brought to a boil, and the heat down, and the 15 min of the braise article's own parboil, the beans, the outside just set, and the center, the faintest give, and the pot, off the heat, and the colander, and the beans, drained, and set, wait until the duck, and the sausage, and the bread, are at their window.
2. The brown. The duck, the legs and the breast, and the sausage, and the wide, heavy pan, hot, and the oil, and the duck, browned in the 4–5 min of the frying article's own pull, the meat temperature article's fast side, done on the bone before the pot, and the sausage, sliced the 1 cm thick, into the pan with the duck, the braise article's own lardons, in this dish the sausage instead of the lardons, and the fat, rendered, is the one the bake does its work in. The onion, and the garlic, and the tomato, into the pan with the duck, the stock article's own mirepoix, in this dish the pot instead of the stock, and the onion, the outside just set, and the center, the faintest give, is the one that does the half the duck does not do on its own.
3. The layer. The duck, and the sausage, and the onion, and the garlic, and the tomato, into the deep pot, and the beans, over the duck, and the stock, over the beans, and the thyme, and the bay, over the stock, and the 250 g of the breadcrumbs, over the beans, the sourdough article's own crumb, in this dish the crust over the beans instead of the crumb, and the pot, covered, into the oven, the 160 °C hold, the braising article's own hold, in this dish the bake instead of the pot.
4. The bake. The pot, covered, into the oven, the 160 °C hold, and the 2–3 hrs until the 1 kg of the beans, and the duck, and the sausage, are at their window — the beans, the outside just set, and the center, the faintest give, and the duck, the meat temperature article's slow world, pulls from the bone with the faintest twist, and the breadcrumbs, the outside, the sourdough article's own crust, is the one that does the crust over the beans. The lid, off, for the 15 min of the braise article's own crust, and the pot, off the heat, and the rest, the 15 min, before the plate is set, is the one that does the half the bake does not do on its own.
5. The plate. The beans, and the duck, and the sausage, out of the pot, into the wide bowl, and the breadcrumbs, over the beans, and the thyme, and the bay, out, before the plate is set. The baguette, as the half of the restaurant section that does the bread, and the braised short rib, as the neighbor on the bone, are the two that the cassoulet sits beside on the table, and the onion soup the half of the section that does the onion, on the same register of the braise article.

Common failures

• The beans, split, with the pot read as porridge. The parboil, the 15 min, too long, or the boil, too hard, and the beans, the outside, the one that splits, is the one the braise article does not do on its own. The gentle 15 min, and the beans, the outside just set, and the center, the faintest give, are the two marks that keep the bean on the correct side of the line, and the one that is split when the plate is down is the one that ran the parboil too long or the boil too hard.
• The duck, dry, with the bone still red. The time, too short, or the heat, too hard — the collagen, the one the meat temperature article is about, not yet in its window, and the pull, the faintest twist, is the one that missed. The 160 °C hold, and the 2–3 hrs, and the pull, on the meat temperature article's own slow world, are the three marks that keep the bone in its window, and the one that is red at the bone when the plate is down is the one that ran the time too short or the heat too hard.
• The crust, pale, with the bread not read as crust. The breadcrumbs, the 250 g, baked too short, or the 160 °C, the sourdough article's own hold, not at its window, and the one that is pale is the one that missed the crust. The lid, off, and the 15 min of the sourdough article's own crust, and the breadcrumbs, the outside, the faintest brown, are the two marks that do the crust over the beans.
• The liquid, gone, with the pot read as dry. The 400 ml of the stock article's own stock, not enough, or the 160 °C hold, too hard, and the liquid, the one the beans are supposed to take in, is the one that has gone, and the pot, the dry one, is the one that missed the braise article's register. The lid, on, for the 2–3 hrs, and the liquid, the one the beans take in, is the one that keeps the pot on the correct side of the line.

Variations

• The goose: the duck, the goose instead, and the meat temperature article's slow world, on the same register of the braise article, with the beans, and the sausage, and the bread, on the same braise article's own register.
• The sausage, the small one: the saucisson sec, the 150 g, and the andouille, the 100 g, on the same braise article's own register, with the beans, and the duck, and the bread, on the same braise article's register.
• The beans, the plain one: the haricot, the 1 kg, and the lingot, the 1 kg, on the same rice article's own register, in this dish the beans instead of the grain, with the duck, and the sausage, and the bread, on the same braise article's own register.

What to serve with it

The baguette, as the half of the restaurant section that does the bread, and the braised short rib, as the neighbor on the bone, on the same register of the braise article. The onion soup, as the half of the section that does the onion, and the bechamel the half of the section that does the braise article's register, are the two that the cassoulet sits beside on the table. The tea, hot and unsweetened, is the one the beans do their work against, and the plate, with the crust and the duck, is the dish as it is.

Braising · Stock · Meat temperature