Cassoulet

kind of stupid to get on a cassoulet kick now that it is summer, but Kate Hill’s book about cassoulet, Ranch Gordo “Tarbais” beans, and a handmade cassole from Kathy Kearns have inspired me. Made my own confit de canard–easy to do. Am using pancetta and pork sausage, cooked the beans w a ham bone, bouquet garni, leeks, pancetta, carrot, celery, all assembled now. Will do the 3 hr slow cook tonight.

Hi Alan,

Whatcha gonna drink with it?

on call so nothing for me. Likely a Chinon for the fam.

Those Rancho Gordo Tarbais beans are perfect for cassoulet. Enjoy!

the d’Artagnan real deal Tarbais beans are three times the cost. These from R. Gordo were fine but I overcooked them before assembling the cassoulet. All in all, it was tasty and there are leftovers! Opened 2012 Baudry Grezeaux.

Kenji uses cannellini, and that’s good enough for me: Traditional French Cassoulet Recipe

I have also had success with haricots blancs a/k/a lingots, and with flageolets.

I did pony up for tarbais one time, but didn’t find them worth the cost. Moreover, high-priced beans violate the spirit of cassoulet; it’s a peasant dish, for goodness sake. If you worry about departing from tradition, read this: Bean Cuisine | Saveur

I don’t think flageolets are a good bean for cassoulet. They have a distinctive flavor that changes the dish.

The Rancho Gordo beans aren’t that expensive. They were good, but cannellini are just fine. I’ve even made a pretty tasty quick cassoulet with canned cannellini.

Looks good Alan. There are many different preps of Cassuolet. Most recent one that I had included grilled breadcrumbs on top, which added texture.

Had so much duck skin leftover, I started to top mine with ground cracklings, seasoned with green salt. I figured it makes it less carb heavy

Out of the oven, here it is. Pretty tasty.

My wife makes cassoulet for the last 30 years or so and says the confit has to be aged 4 to 6 months before using.

doesn she age it in the fridge, wine cellar, or where? I tried that once and got mold on the duck fat. I used store bought confit for the cassoulet though I made my own at the same time–which is currently aging in the fridge at day 6. I have read that 2 weeks is a sweet spot for aging confit.

She ages it in the fridge three to five months it’s basically the Paula Wolfert recipe that she has tweeked some over the years. Janet Fletcher, Hugh Carpenter, some of the people who show up like clock for many years.