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For 4 people
- The day before: Soak the dried beans overnight in cold water.
- The next day : Drain this water, put the beans in a saucepan with three liters of cold water and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, drain the water and reserve the beans.
- Proceed to preparation of broth with again 3 liters of water (non-limestone and from Castelnaudary if possible), the rinds cut into wide strips, a poultry carcass if you have it or a few pork bones and, according to your taste, a little onion and carrots. Season with salt and pepper (generously). Cook this broth for 1 hour then filter the broth and collect the rinds.
- In this filtered broth put the beans to cook until they are soft but remain intact. For this you need about 1 hour of boiling.
While the beans cook – Preparing the meats:
- In a large sauté pan, make degrease the pieces of confit over low heat then set aside.
- In the remaining fat brown the sausages from Toulouse then reserve them.
Brown the pieces of pork which should be golden brown and reserve them with the other meats. - Drain the beans and keep the broth warm. Add to the beans a few cloves of garlic and double the weight of salted bacon crushed together.
Assembly of the Cassoulet:
- For this we will use the hollow terracotta dish which was called “cassolo” (today “cassole”) and which gave its name to cassoulet, or failing that a fairly hollow terracotta dish suitable for the oven.
- Line the bottom of the saucepan with pieces of rind,
- Add about a third of the beans,
- Arrange the meats and pour the rest of the beans on top,
- Arrange the sausages by pushing them into the beans, the tops of the sausages must remain visible,
- Complete the casserole pouring the hot broth which should just cover the beans,
- Pepper at the mill on the surface and add a tablespoon of duck fat used to brown meats.
Cuisson:
- Place in the oven 150 ° / 160 ° (Thermostat 5 or 6) and cook for 2 to 3 hours.
During cooking, a golden brown crust will form on top of the pan, which will have to be pushed in several times (the ancients said 7 times).
When the tops of the beans begin to dry, add a few spoons of broth. - If you prepare this cassoulet the day before, it will need to be reheated in the oven at 150° for an hour and a half before serving. Don't forget to add a little broth or, failing that, a few spoonfuls of water.
Very important ! The cassoulet is served bubbling in its saucepan. Serve it delicately without stirring it, it will only be better and don't hesitate to add more. It's a dish that will take you to the paradise of popular gastronomy!!