Cassoulet

Years ago I made a cassoulet following Julia Child's detailed instructions. As I remember it was a great success; the only drawback was that my  partner and I were eating the leftovers for what seemed an eternity. Still, I love this dish and for many it represents rustic French cuisine as no other preparation can. It is, to use that over-used word,iconic.

When a member of our French class announced that she would be leaving to live in Switzerland, I thought it time to make cassoulet again. I wanted to give Sandra a going-away party and  could think of no better French food that could feed so many with such ease. This time I chose Paula Wolfert as my guide and she proved to be every bit as involved and reliable as Julia had been.

 CASSOULET

1. 1 pound boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 12 chunks
2. 1 1/2 pounds fresh ham hock
3. 3/4 pound fresh pork skin with 1/4-inch layer of hard fat attached
4. Salt and freshly ground pepper
5. 2 pounds white beans, such as Tarbais, Lingots, cocos or cannelini
6. 1/3 cup rendered duck fat
7. 2 medium onions, chopped
8. 3 small carrots, peeled and cut into thin rounds
9. 1/2 pound pancetta or ventreche, or blanched lean salt pork, about 1- 1/4-inches thick
10. 1 whole head of garlic, unpeeled and 4 small cloves garlic, peeled
11. 1 large plum tomato, peeled or 1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste
12. 2 quarts unsalted chicken stock*
13. Herb bouquet: 4 sprigs parsley, 2 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf and 3 small ribs celery, tied together
14. 6 confit or duck legs 
15. 1/4 pound blanched fat salt pork with rink removed
16. 1 pound Toulouse sausages
17. 4 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs
18. 2 tablespoons walnut oil

Two Days in Advance

Season the pork shoulder, fresh ham hock and pork skin moderately with salt and pepper. Place in a glass dish, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Wash the beans in cold water. Put them in a large bowl with three times their volume of cold water and let soak overnight, or for at least 12 hours.

One Day Before

Simmer the pork skin in water to cover until the skin is soft, 10 to 20 minutes. Drain, roll up the skin into bundles and tie with with string. Cover and set aside in a cool place until needed.

Dry the chunks of pork shoulder with paper towels. In an 8 or 9-quart flameproof casserole, heat the duck fat over moderately high heat. Add the pork shoulder and lightly brown on all sides. Add the onions and carrots and saute, stirring, until the onions are soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the ham hock and the whole piece of ventreche or pancetta. Cook these meats until they are brown around the edges, turning occasionally. Add the whole head of garlic and the tomato, stirring for 1 minute. Add the stock, bundles of pork skin, and herb bouquet. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer the ragout for 1  hour.

When the ragout has cooked for 1 hour, drain the beans and put them into a large saucepan. Cover them with fresh water and slowly bring to a boil. Skim and simmer for a few minutes, then drain and immediately add the beans to the simmering ragout. Continue simmering for up to 2 hours or until the beans are tender. Let cool, then skim off all the fat that has risen to the top;reserve 2 tablespoons of this fat for finishing the cassoulet. Cover the ragout and beans; refrigerate overnight.

On the Day

Steam the duck confit for 10 minutes to soften. As soon as the meat is cool enough to handle, pull it off the bones in large chunks.

Remove the ragout and beans from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Pick out the ham hock,ventreche, garlic head and herb bouquet.  Cut the meat from the ham hock, discarding bones and fatty parts. Cut the ventreche into bite-size pieces, discarding the fat. Set all the meats aside, Press on the garlic to extract the pulp and set aside. Discard the garlic skins and herb bouquet.

In a food processor electric blender, puree the salt pork with the cooked and raw garlic and one cup of water. Add this garlic puree to the ragout and beans; simmer for minutes. Remove from the heat. Fold reserved meats into the ragout and beans.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

To assemble the cassoulet, remove the roll of pork skin from the ragout. Untie, cut the skin into 2-inch pieces, and use to line your Cassole fat side down. Using a large slotted spoon, add one half of the beans and pork shoulder. Scatter the duck confit on top of the pork and beans. Cover with the remaining beans pork ragout. Taste the ragout cooking liquid and adjust the seasoning. Pour just enough of the ragout liquid over the beans to cover them. Be sure there is at least on inch of space between the beans and the rim of the dish. Drizzle with the 2 tablespoons of reserved fat. Place the cassole in the oven and let cook from 1 1/2 hours. 

Prick the sausages and brown them in a skillet. Drain; cut large sausages into 3 or 4-inch pieces.

Reduce the oven to 275 degrees. Gently, stir up the skin that has formed on the beans. Place the sausages on top. Dust the bread crumbs on top of the beans and sausages. Bake the cassoulet for 1 more hour. The top should be golden brown. Transfer the cassoulet from the oven to a cloth-lined counter. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Drizzle with walnut oil just before serving.

* I used duck stock which I like to think gave an even deeper flavor to the finished dish.

Definitions

Cassole: the clay pot used to cook the cassoulet and the source of it's name

Confit:This speciality of Gascony, France, is derived from an ancient method of preserving meat (usually goose, duck or pork) whereby it is salted and slowly cooked in its own fat. The cooked meat is then packed into a crock or pot and covered with its cooking fat, which acs as a seal and preservative. Confit can be refrigerated up to 6 months.

Ventreche: French bacon; similar to Pancetta.

If you want a cassole similar to the ones found in Toulouse, you may order one from The Clay Coyote Pottery. 

If you want to make this dish, but don't want to work so hard, order a Cassoulet Kit from D'targnan.