There’s a lot to like about what Kenji explains. Also, I never use chicken but he is on to something.
There’s an awesome recipe for braised duck legs, Bittman had a version in the Times long ago, recently updated, as impressive to guests as it is simple and it’s really simple: Brown the legs & remove, sweat the aromatics, add back the legs, a good stock to a level that exposes the skin, slow oven roast until skin is crispy & legs confit-level tender. (Superfluous pic below)
So for cassoulet I use fresh duck legs and nestle them in on top amongst the beans. You can’t use too many because you need the real estate for the crust.
Add a few medallions of sausage in the nestling and you have a super impressive visual.
That said, you don’t really need a One True Cassoulet Recipe, to follow exactly, once you break down the concept - what I do changes every time based on what ingredients I’m using.
Here’s a version of the duck legs where we experimented by including Japanese turnips, potatoes, and mushrooms.
