Traditional Cassoulet
• Prep Time: 14 hours • Yields: 8 -10 servings
Ingredients:
Equipment:
Method:
1. In a large pot, add the beans and add cold water until the beans are just covered. Soak overnight.
2. Pat the duck legs with paper towels until dry. Season all sides of duck legs with salt and black pepper.
3. In a large Dutch oven, over medium-high heat, add 1 tbsp. oil and sear duck legs on all sides, until golden brown. Then, transfer duck legs to a large bowl.
4. Add the bacon to Dutch oven and render. Then, add the duck legs back to pot and add red wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until tender, about 1½ hours. Add water as needed if the wine begins to evaporate. Transfer meat and juices to a bowl to cool; reserve all juices.
5. Meanwhile, add onion stuck with cloves and bouquet garni to the beans. Cover
and simmer over medium heat until the beans are about half cooked, about 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 325°F.
7. Return Dutch oven to medium-high heat. Add all sausages to the pot and brown. Then, remove from pot. After slightly cooled, cut sausage into large pieces.
8. In the same Dutch oven, over medium heat, sauté chopped onions and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes. Season with 1 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. black pepper.
9. Add carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Transfer vegetable mixture to the pot with beans and mix in tomato paste.
10. In the Dutch oven, arrange a layer of the bean mixture at the bottom of the pot. Then, add the variety of meat that has already been prepared, as well as broth and red wine.
11. Top layered ingredients with remaining beans. Cover the top with breadcrumbs and dot with duck fat. Bake in the oven until beautifully browned and bubbly and most of the liquid has cooked away, about 1½ hours.
12. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with a good salad and crusty bread. To drink, a heavy red wine should accompany the cassoulet.
13. Enjoy!