French Cassoulet 2020

Ingredients

White beans 2-3 lbs
Meats
- Pork hock (I did Petit Salé a week ago)
- Pork ribs
- Pork rinds
- sausage
- Duck confit
- any meat (ham, chorizo, etc)
Chicken or Duck stock (I made from deboned duck and wings)
Aromatic vegetables and herbs
- 5 small tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- Garlic (lots of garlic)
- Thyme
- 2 tablespoons Tomato paste
- Black Pepper
- Clove
- Bay leaves
- Bouquet Garni (various French herb mix)
Duck Fat (Rendered from duck skin)
1 cup of Red wine
Red wine vinegar

1: Put pork rinds on the bottom of the pot and add all aromatics(save some duck fat, garlic, thyme and bay leaves for separated meat cooking). Then, add stock, duck fat, vinegar and wine. If liquid is not enough to cover all ingredients, add water to cover them all. The beans have to be cooked on a medium heat between 1h and 1h.30mn depending on which beans you use.

soaked cannellini beans — Soaked for 24 hours (at least overnight)

2 : Spread duck fat on the surface of meats (Hock, ribs, sausages, and other kinds) and salt them, and then place them in a cooking tray with garlic, thyme and bay leaves.

3: Bake meats in a cooking tray in an oven at 400 for 20 minutes.

Pork meat with Aromatic herbs and vegetables

4: While cooking meats separately, remove the scum from the pot boiling beans. After 20 minutes of baking meats, took meat away and degraze a cooking tray (don’t lose any umami!) and put the juice to the pot.

5: Roughly cut cooked meats, ribs, sausages and any other meats cooked in the tray from the oven.

6: By the time beans are cooked (roughly about 90 mins), cut meats in the pot, such as hock, rinds, and any other meats cooked with beans.

7: Replacing all ingredients: Remove all vegetables and herbs from the pot(beans, tomatoes and soup should be left). Place all meats on the bottom of a cassoulet first, and then add beans to cover the cassoulet. Finally add soup all the way to the top.

8: Cooking times in the oven for the cassoulet may vary depending on the type and size of a cassoulet you use. I cooked it in an oven at 400 for 60-90 minutes until the juice evaporates and a crust forms at the top of the beans.

9: Once the beans in the cassoulet start to dry out and develop a crust, remove the cassoulet from the oven and add some soup from cooking beans on top before placing it back in the oven. Repeat this topping-up process untill use up all stock from meats and beans to ensure the beans are properly cooked and gets crispy, which can take between 1 to 2 hours.

10: The duck confit is added toward the end of the cooking process, just before serving, and only needs to be heated in the oven for no more than 15 minutes. The goal is to warm them up nicely before serving the dish.

French Cassoulet is an incredibly delicious and hearty dish that is perfect for the colder months. This traditional French recipe has been around for hundreds of years and is loved by people all over the world. The combination of tender, melt-in-your-mouth meats with the creamy texture of the beans and the perfectly seasoned tomato sauce makes this dish an absolute delight for the taste buds. The flavors of the herbs and spices are perfectly balanced, and the aroma that wafts from the pot as it cooks is nothing short of divine.

The beauty of French Cassoulet is that it is incredibly versatile and can be customized to suit individual tastes. It's the perfect dish to feed a crowd, and is always sure to impress with its rich flavors and comforting aroma. Le Creuset does all jobs for busy dad lol.

I am Japanese, but why not? Having French Cassoulet for holidays is now Matsuda family’s tradition. French Cassoulet is a classic dish that has stood the test of time for a reason. Its hearty and delicious nature makes it the perfect comfort food, and the combination of flavors and textures is nothing short of delightful.

Bon appétit♪

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