📝 About This Recipe
Hailing from the heart of Southwestern France, this cassoulet is the ultimate expression of rustic luxury and culinary patience. Creamy Tarbais beans are slow-simmered with silky duck confit, savory pork belly, and garlic-flecked sausages until they form a rich, complex stew topped with a signature golden crust. It is a soul-warming masterpiece that captures the essence of French farmhouse cooking, designed to be shared slowly around a crowded table.
🥗 Ingredients
The Beans
- 1 pound Dried Tarbais or Cannellini beans (soaked overnight in cold water)
- 1/4 pound Fresh pork rind (blanched and sliced into strips)
- 1 Yellow onion (peeled and studded with 3 whole cloves)
- 1 Carrot (peeled and cut into large chunks)
- 1 Bouquet Garni (thyme, parsley stems, and 2 bay leaves tied together)
The Meats
- 4-6 pieces Duck Confit legs (preserved in duck fat)
- 1 pound Toulouse-style or Garlic Sausage (cut into 2-inch chunks)
- 1/2 pound Salt-cured Pork Belly (cut into 1-inch cubes)
- 3 tablespoons Duck fat (rendered from the confit container)
The Aromatics and Finish
- 6 Garlic cloves (finely minced)
- 2 tablespoons Tomato paste
- 4 cups Chicken stock (low sodium, high quality)
- 1 cup Fresh breadcrumbs (coarsely ground from sourdough or baguette)
- Salt and Black Pepper (to taste)
👨🍳 Instructions
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1
Drain the soaked beans and place them in a large pot. Cover with fresh cold water, bring to a boil for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse once more to ensure digestibility.
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2
Return the beans to the pot with the pork rind, clove-studded onion, carrot chunks, and the bouquet garni. Cover with water by 2 inches and simmer gently for 1 to 1.5 hours until the beans are tender but not falling apart.
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3
While the beans simmer, heat 1 tablespoon of duck fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the pork belly cubes until golden on all sides, then remove and set aside.
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4
In the same skillet, brown the sausage chunks until they have a nice crust. Remove them and set aside with the pork belly.
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5
Gently warm the duck confit legs in the skillet just to melt the fat and loosen them. Remove the legs; you may leave them whole or separate the drumstick from the thigh.
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6
Preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C). Once the beans are finished, drain them but reserve the cooking liquid. Discard the onion, carrot, and bouquet garni.
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7
In a small bowl, whisk the tomato paste and minced garlic into 2 cups of the reserved bean cooking liquid and 2 cups of chicken stock.
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8
In a heavy earthenware cassole or a large Dutch oven, place a layer of the cooked pork rinds at the bottom. Add one-third of the beans.
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9
Layer in the browned pork belly and sausages, then add another third of the beans. Nestle the duck confit legs on top of this layer.
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10
Cover with the remaining beans. Pour the stock and garlic mixture over the top until the liquid just reaches the top layer of beans.
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11
Bake uncovered for 2 hours. A thin crust will begin to form on the surface. Use a spoon to gently 'break' the crust and push it back into the beans every 30 minutes, adding more liquid if the beans look dry.
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12
After 2 hours, sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top and drizzle with a little extra duck fat. Bake for another 1 to 1.5 hours without breaking the crust, until the top is deeply bronzed and bubbling.
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13
Remove from the oven and let the cassoulet rest for at least 20 minutes before serving. This allows the liquids to thicken into a silky sauce.
💡 Chef's Tips
Always use dried beans; canned beans will turn to mush during the long bake and lack the necessary starch to thicken the sauce. The 'breaking of the crust' is the secret to a great cassoulet; tradition says it should be broken 7 times to incorporate the flavors. If you can't find Tarbais beans, Great Northern beans are a suitable substitute, though they are slightly less creamy. Make this a day in advance! Like many stews, the flavors deepen and improve significantly after a night in the refrigerator. Be cautious with salt; the duck confit, sausages, and pork belly are already salty, so taste the liquid before adding more.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
A crisp, acidic green salad with a sharp Dijon vinaigrette to cut through the richness. A robust red wine from the Southwest of France, such as a Madiran or a Cahors Malbec. Thick slices of crusty levain bread for mopping up every drop of the bean sauce. A simple dessert of poached pears or fresh fruit to cleanse the palate after the heavy meal.