French Cassoulet with Butifarra Sausages
By Saskia Poulos, Chef and Organic Farm Assistant at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation
(Serves 4-5)
This was originally a peasant’s dish. Cassoulet was composed of the flavor-packed meaty odds and ends that were available. These were cooked slowly with white beans that became increasingly creamy until the whole pot reached a certain level of decadence. Our Butifarra sausages take on an amazing texture over a six hour cook time, golden brown on top with an outrageously soft interior. Serve with a bright lemon and Dijon mustard dressed salad.
Ingredients
1# Tarbais or cannellini beans, soaked at least 8 hours or overnight, then drained (Rancho Gordo carries a great Tarbais bean)
2 quarts chicken stock*
8 oz Salt Pork, cut into large ½” lardons
2 duck legs, cut into 2 thighs and 2 drumettes
12 oz Chapel Hill Butifarra Sausage
1 onion, small dice
2 carrots, small dice
2 stalks celery, small dice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 head of garlic, peeled and cloves smashed with the side of a knife
6 sprigs of fresh parsley, or 1 teaspoon dried
6 sprigs of fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
2 bay leaves
Salt and Black Pepper
*It is important to use a homemade/ store bought stock that contains a good amount of collagen for this dish. If you do not have access to this kind of stock (the kind that gets jelly- like when cold), Kenji Alt-Lopez suggests adding three sheets of gelatin to warm stock to recreate the same mouthfeel, and assist in the development of the iconic ‘crust.’
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 300 F. In a big heavy pot like a Dutch oven, render the salt pork until it turns golden brown and loses about half its fat to the render over medium heat, about 5-8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a dish. Leave all the fat in the pan.
Lightly season the duck on both sides with salt and pepper, then place skin side down in the Dutch oven for about 5-8 minutes. Check the skin every few minutes to make sure each piece is cooking evenly. When the skin is crispy and golden brown, flip to the other side and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer to a dish (you can put them in the same dish as the salt pork lardons). Again, leave all the fat in the pan.
Brown the sausages in your pan on medium heat until they are golden on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Add the carrots, celery, onions, and garlic cloves to the pork and duck fat you have created in the pan. Stir to coat with the fat, then stir in the chopped tomato and tomato paste. Cook for two minutes, then add the beans, herbs, and rendered salt pork. Add a pinch of salt and stir.
Arrange the sausage and duck (skin side up so it gets nice and crispy) on top of the beans. Add enough stock to go three quarters of the way up the meat. Bring to a boil, then place in the middle of the preheated oven.
Cook for two hours, then push the beans down with a spoon and add more stock if the beans are poking out too much and going dry. For the next 3 hours, break the ‘crust’ that forms on the surface with the back of a spoon every 30 minutes. This is both to baste the top of the beans, and also to push the caramelized top back into the stew. Let the cassoulet go untouched in the oven for the last hour.
Remove from the oven, and let rest fifteen minutes before serving.