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Cassoulet
Nb persons: 8
Yield:
Preparation time: 4 hours
Total time: 5 hours
Source: Julia Child, The French Chef
This amount barely fits into a 3 1/2 qt Dutch Oven. Prep time is about 4 hours. It can be refrigerated for 1-2 days after preparation. Final cooking time is about 1 hour. The Beans | |
4 qt kettle | w/ 2 1/2 qt boiling water |
2 1/2 c. | dry great northern beans, (1 lb) |
1/4 lb | fresh or salt pork rind |
1/2 lb | lean salt pork, simmered for 10 minutes in 2 qt water |
1/2 c. | sliced onion |
Herb bouquet tied in washed cheesecloth | |
2 cloves | garlic, unpeeled |
1 | whole clove |
1/4 tsp | thyme |
1 | bay leaf |
4 sprigs | parsley |
The Pork | |
1 lbs | bone ham steak, or pork roast |
The Lamb | |
3 lb | bone-in shoulder roast, 1 1/2 lb bone, 1 1/2 lb meat |
2 Tbs | olive oil |
1 c. | onion, minced |
1 1/2 c. | lamb stock, (or beef) |
1 c. | vermouth |
3 Tbs | tomato paste |
2 cloves | garlic, minced |
1/4 tsp | thyme |
1 | bay leaf |
The Sausage | |
1 lb | sausage |
salt | |
pepper | |
1/2 clove | garlic, minced |
1/4 c. | cognac |
Final Assembly | |
1 c. | dry white bread crumbs |
1/4 c. | parsley, minced |
3 Tbs | butter |
The Beans
Use an 8 qt stock pot for the beans. Use a 3 qt. saucepan for the pork rind. Drop beans into the boiling water. Bring rapidly back to boil & boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat & let beans soak for 1 hour. Meanwhile, place pork rind in a saucepan with 1 quart water, bring to boil & boil for 1 minute. Drain, rinse in cold water & repeat process. Then, with shears, cut rind into strips 1/4 inch wide; cut strips into small triangles. Place again into saucepan, add 1 quart water & simmer very slowly for 30 minutes; set saucepan aside.
As soon as beans have soaked for 1 hour, add the salt pork, onions, herb packet & pork rind with its cooking liquid to the kettle. Bring to simmer, skim off scum & simmer slowly, uncovered for about 1 1/2 hours or until beans are just tender. Add boiling water, if necessary during cooking, to keep beans covered. Season to taste with salt near end of cooking. Leave beans in cooking liquid until ready to use.
The Pork
Roast the pork to an internal temperature of 175 degrees. Set aside, reserving cooking juices.
The Lamb
Use the 4 1/2 quart french oven for the lamb. Cut lamb into 1-inch chunks, dry thoroughly, and brown a few pieces at a time in very hot cooking oil in a flameproof casserole or large skillet. Remove meat to a side dish, brown the bones, remove them, and brown the onions lightly. Drain out browning fat, return meat & bones & stir in the garlic, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaves, wine & bouillon. Bring to simmer, season lihtly, coer & simmer slowly for 1 1/2 hours. Discard bones & bay leaves, skim off fat & season cooking juices to taste with salt & pepper.
The Sausage
Mash (with hands) all ingredients together; form into cakes 2 inches in diameter & 1/2 inch thick. Brown lightly in a skillet & drain on paper towels.
Final Assembly
Drain the beans (reserve bean-cooking liquid), discard herb packet & cut the salt pork into 1/4-inch serving slices. Cut the roast pork into 1 1/2 to 2-inch serving chunks. Arrange a layer of beans in the bottom of the casserole or baking dish. Cover with a layer of lamb, pork, salt pork & sausage cakes. Repeat with layers of beans & meat, ending with a layer of sausage cakes. Pour in the lamb cooking juices, pork roasting juices & sufficient bean cooking liquid, barely to cover the top layer of beans. Mix bread crumbs & parsley together, spread over the beans & sausage cakes & dribble on the butter. Set aside or refrigerate until ready for final cooking. (Save extra bean-cooking liquid for baking and reheating).
Baking
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring casserole to a simmer on top of the stove, then set in upper third of preheated oven. When top has crusted lightly, in about 20 minutes, turn oven down to 350 degrees. Break the crust into the beans with the back of a spoon, and baste with the liquid in the casserole. Repeat several times as the crust forms again, but leave a final crust intact for serving. If liquid becomes too thick, add a few spoonsful of bean-cooking juice. Cassoulet should bake for about an hour.
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