What do you think of this cassoulet recipe?

[Johnny L.A.]

Cassoulet in 10 Easy Steps (http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2008/03/cassoulet_in_10.html)

Some people commented that 'It's not cassoulet! :mad: ' But as someone else posted, you get arguments over chili or gumbo. So let's be liberal with the definition.

[Fried Dough Ho]

I have been making cassoulet for my holiday party every year for 17 years.

This is my 2007 report (http://feast-blog.com/the-joy-that-is-cassoulet/).

I'm a purist. After all these years, I am steadfastly in the Paula Wolfert camp of ONLY cooking cassoulet in an authentic cassole, the clay pot that makes the beans that much creamier and richer.

Yes, I am a cassoulet snob...

[Johnny L.A.]

I don't have a cassole. Only a cast-iron dutch oven, or this 12" non-stick pan (http://www.amazon.com/Calphalon-Contemporary-Nonstick-12-Inch-Everyday/dp/B0000936K0/ref=sr_1_3?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1284790858&sr=8-3).

[aruvqan]

It is nowhere near how I make a cassoulet, and the idea of the original cassoulet was using many different leftover meats in small amounts of each, not huge amounts of each [I prefer to use leftover pork loin, leftover lamb roast, leftover roast beef, and then a small finger sized garlic sausage and a confitted duck leg per person. The meats are cut into half inch dice and the 3 meats combined are about equal to the weight of the sausage and duck legs. I do the classic thing and line the casserole with a thick cut bacon I get from my butcher store.

[samclem]

When I asked in a previous thread if anyone had a recipe for cassoulet, aruvqan wrote it all out (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12486126&postcount=12). Soon as it gets a bit cooler some Sunday, I know what I'm doing.

[Chefguy]

I make a very quick and easy "sorta" cassoulet, but am not ready for ridicule this early in the day, so won't be posting it in a thread full of 'purists'. :)

[Johnny L.A.]

When I asked in a previous thread if anyone had a recipe for cassoulet, aruvqan wrote it all out (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12486126&postcount=12). Soon as it gets a bit cooler some Sunday, I know what I'm doing.

That sounds pretty good. Fried Dough Ho will probably disagree with me, but I think that many 'classic' dishes don't have a definitive recipe. Sure, I'll argue that proper chili doesn't have beans; but that doesn't mean I won't eat chili with beans or even make it myself. A 'cassoulet snob' might say, 'No, this is how it is to be made, and any variation will not be cassoulet!' I tend toward the idea that traditionally dishes were made with what's available, and the 'proper and correct' versions are regional refinements. So I like the concept that it's 'meat infused beans'. (Not that I'd call my ham hocks and black-eyed peas a cassoulet, of course!)

Duck is not common in most grocery stores here. I can get it at Pike Place Market though. I've never seen confit duck available anywhere, nor containers of duck fat. It would be logistically difficult, and time-consuming, but I could handle it. I like lamb, and have bought legs from the same place needscoffee says the duck is available. (Joe & Don's has nice lamb legs, BTW.) Given that, as aruvqan said, leftover meat is often used, would leftover rare roast leg of lamb be good? Or would it be better to buy fresh lamb shoulder and cook it from raw? The link in the OP suggests sweet Italian sausage. I have no problem with that, but Uli's Famous Sausage has one or two varieties of French sausage that might be more appropriate. I've never seen 'pork skin' for sale (aside from chicharrónes -- which are already cooked), but bacon, smoked ham hocks, smoked ham shanks, and salt pork are readily available. I'll have to search for the beans. The ones at the supermarkets around here are geared toward the traditional American recipes.

[Annie]

My way of making puritans weep is to get a BBQ duck from the Chinese butcher, separate the meat from the bone, use the bones to make a killer stock, and use that stock as the cooking liquid (and the meat for the ducky bits). Duck sausage from this place (http://events.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/travel/13foraging.html); plus a nice smoky Ukrainian sausage, beans, etc. No special pots- no space for unitaskers in my kitchen, and as it is I store the cast iron pots in the linen closet.:D

[samclem]

My way of making puritans weep is to get a BBQ duck from the Chinese butcher....
See, that's the problem. We just don't have a Chinese butcher in Akron. All I have is a Chinese laundry. Can I used some pressed shirts instead of pressed duck? :)

[Johnny L.A.]

Ohio? Doesn't everyone there have a shotgun? Just get your own damned ducks! :p

[Annie]

Hey, getting the duck is easy. Quality BBQ is not! Speaking of which, I brought home leftover duck (leftovers? for shame, I know) and his partial remains are now bubbling away, and tomorrow I'll try them out with the flageolet beans I finally found at the bulk food store

[TriPolar]

It looks like a pretty good cassoulet to me. I'm not a cooking purist at all. Substituting ingredients is fun, and produces a better dish sometimes. I haven't been to France to see how its done there, but it conforms to the theme of the various recipes I've seen. For me, cassoulet is just another excuse to eat duck. And ducks are getting harder to find at the grocery. The butcher will order them, but that doesn't help when you wake up one morning and think 'wouldn't this be a great day to make cassoulet'. And it's a lot like Paella, Jambalaya, and a dish I just call Seafood, a mix of great flavors allowed to cook together.

[MrDibble]

No confit or other preserved/left-over meat? Then it's not a great cassoulet. Otherwise it's good enough, although I've (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12487273&postcount=14)never had a problem with canned beans. I wouldn't put whole duck legs in, myself. My first thought was "Only two kinds of meat? Skimper!"

[Johnny L.A.]

My first thought was "Only two kinds of meat? Skimper!"

Three: Duck, sausage, bacon.

[samclem]

My first thought was "Only two kinds of meat? Skimper!"

Three: Duck, sausage, bacon.
It wouldn't hurt to add either some lamb, some pork, or some beef(although, beef would be my last choice). Pretty easy to get some of the first two.

[Johnny L.A.]

Gotta have lamb.

Leg OK, or should it be shoulder?

[samclem]

Johnny. After finally reading the original recipe that you posted, I don't think using Italian sausage is the best. Surely there must be somewhere in your neighborhood to get a garlic sausage other than Italian. If you must use an Italian sausage, make it one of the hard kind.

[samclem]

Gotta have lamb.

Leg OK, or should it be shoulder?Shoulder, if possible.

[Johnny L.A.]

Johnny. After finally reading the original recipe that you posted, I don't think using Italian sausage is the best. Surely there must be somewhere in your neighborhood to get a garlic sausage other than Italian. If you must use an Italian sausage, make it one of the hard kind.

Uli's Famous Sausage (http://www.ulisfamoussausage.com/index.asp) is half a mile south of the office. Uli makes D'Avignon sausage (French-style bratwurst with lots of onions), lamb sausage (garlic and herbs), and heavy garlic chicken. I'm thinking either the pork or the lamb.

[samclem]

Johnny. After finally reading the original recipe that you posted, I don't think using Italian sausage is the best. Surely there must be somewhere in your neighborhood to get a garlic sausage other than Italian. If you must use an Italian sausage, make it one of the hard kind.

Uli's Famous Sausage (http://www.ulisfamoussausage.com/index.asp) is half a mile south of the office. Uli makes D'Avignon sausage (French-style bratwurst with lots of onions), lamb sausage (garlic and herbs), and heavy garlic chicken. I'm thinking either the pork or the lamb.

I scanned the website. Sounds like you live close to some good stuff. If you go there, see if you can find a hard garlic sausage. Just my opinion.

You might wait for other posters to give an opinion.

[The Devil's Grandmother]

The link looked like an ok cassoulet recipe to me, but it's considerably different for the cassoulet I make. I use smoked duck, garlic sausage, and more veggies.

You can get rendered duck fat on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Fabrique-Delices-Rendered-Duck-Fat/dp/B000GD3SW8). I've used the Fabrique Delices (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_grocery?ie=UTF8&search-alias=grocery&field-brandtextbin=Fabrique%20Delices) brand and have been happy with it. There's a guy at my local farmer's market that sells their stuff, so I've never had to order it on line.

[Fried Dough Ho]

For those years when I haven't made my confit early enough in the eary, I mail order my confit and duck fat from French Selections (http://www.frenchselections.com/).

This is also the site where I get my Tarbais beans. One year the Tarbais harvest was destroyed and I had to use Great Northern and Flageolets. Amazing how much creamier the Tarbais are...

[MrDibble]

My first thought was "Only two kinds of meat? Skimper!"

Three: Duck, sausage, bacon.

The sausage and bacon are both pork. Two kinds of meat, I say again.

[Johnny L.A.]

Well, I bought some confit duck and lamb shoulder today. Forgot the sausages, but I can get them before the weekend.

[Peremensoe]

The sausage and bacon are both pork.

You think Swiss and Cheddar are one kind of cheese because they're both from cows' milk?

[MrDibble]

The sausage and bacon are both pork.

You think Swiss and Cheddar are one kind of cheese because they're both from cows' milk?

No, but if I made a C&H sandwich with both on, I'd still only call it a "Cheese and Ham" until more specificity was requested. They are both cheese, meat from a pig is all pork.

[Johnny L.A.]

So I decided to make the cassoulet today, in spite of the warm weather.

Dried cannellini beans? Check.
Really good lamb shoulder? Check.
Confit duck legs? Check.
d'Avignon sausages? Check.
Bacon? Check.

Now that it's getting close to time to put the bread crumbs on, I've just realised I FORGOT THE DAMNED GARLIC!!! :smack: :rolleyes:

Oh, well, I'll just pretend I'm a French peasant too poor to have garlic. I put four cloves into the breadcrumbs, and the sausages have garlic in them. Fingers crossed.

[samclem]

Johnny. If you have leftovers, my email is visible. :D

[Johnny L.A.]

Not all of it would fit in my Everyday Pan, so I put 1/4 into another pan. I've eaten one bowl full, and it's pretty tasty. Not bad for a first attempt. The bread topping had lots of garlic, so I'm not missing it (too much) in the rest of the stew. So now I have six of those short, square Glad containers full of leftovers, and a couple more's worth in the second pan.