Cassoulet

A completely worthwhile dish. This is great for gatherings or special events. Gathering the ingredients can be a chore, but subsequent preparations are much easier once sourced. I was able to get all the meats needed from St Paul Meat Shop. They have Tarbais beans there, but are less at Rancho Gordo.

Active time is not egregious, perhaps 2.5 hours total all in. I started this for Thanksgiving at 8:30 am (having soaked the beans overnight) and it was ready around 1:00 pm. 

Ingredients

For the Beans and Liquid

1 pound Tarbais beans
3 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
4 oz pancetta (SPMS) 1/4 inch dice
2 bay leaves
6 sprigs thyme tied into a bundle
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence 
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
6 unpeeled garlic cloves cut in half
bones from duck confit

Meats

12 oz fatty pork chop (SPMS) cut into 1.5  inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1.5 pound Toulouse Sausage (Polish from SPMS)
2 duck leg confit

Vegetables

1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup tomato paste
3/4 cup white wine

Bread Crumb Topping

2 cups plain bread crumbs (I used Panko)
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 tablespoons fat from the cooked meat pan 
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup bean cooking liquid 

Step 1

Rinse and soak beans overnight. I started mine about 9 or 10 pm. Drain them after soaking about 5 hours before you want the dish to be ready. So for 1 pm dine time, drain at 8 am. 

Step 2

To a large pot or Dutch oven add the broth, diced pancetta, bones from duck confit, and the drained beans. Tie garlic and peppercorns in cheese cloth for bouquet garni and add to pot. Add bay leaves and thyme bundle. Stir and bring to a simmer over high heat (watch not to boil) Skim the foam as it forms and reduce heat to maintain gentle simmer, 30-45 minutes. Taste beans for almost doneness. 

Step 3

While beans are cooking, sprinkle pork pieces with salt and pepper. Heat oil in skillet or fry pan over medium-high heat. Brown the pork until fat is rendered, 3-5 minutes. Transfer pork to large bowl.

Add sausages to the pan and brown well on all sides, 4-5 minutes. Transfer sausages to same large bowl.

Step 4

Lower pan heat to medium. Remove fat and skin (cut into small pieces) from duck confit and add to pan. Cook till rendered and pieces are browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer all of rendered fat, crisped duck skin, and melted butter to a mixing bowl. Stir in the bread crumbs and chopped parsley till well combined. Mix in 1/4 to 1/2 of the bean cooking liquid until crumbs are moist but not wet. 

Step 5

Preheat oven to 350° F. 

Step 6

Add onions, carrots, and celery to skillet used for browning meats. Add a pinch of salt. Cook and stir over medium heat till onions are softened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook until paste starts to caramelize and stick to bottom of pan, 3-4 minutes. Pour in white wine and and stir until most of the wine evaporates, 5-6 min. 

Step 7

Drain beans over large bowl to reserve the cooking liquid. Remove bouquet garni, bay leaves, and thyme bundle. 

Step 8

Place drained beans in shallow baking dish or 12" cast iron skillet. Stir in cooked vegetables and 1 cup reserved cooking liquid. Add pork pieces and sausages pushing down into beans. Top with shredded duck confit. 

Step 9

Ladle reserved cooking liquid into beans until beans are nearly submerged. Spread crumbs over the top. Do not press down. Make indentations with your four fingers to aid in browning. 

Step 10

Bake in preheated oven for about 2 hours (most of the liquid will have been absorbed). Remove from oven and make a small hole in the center through the crumbs. Use a funnel to direct about 1/2 cup of reserved cooking liquid into the beans.  Gently tilt the pan until you see some liquid approach the edge in four directions: N, S, E, W. 

Step 11

Return pan to oven and continue baking for 30-45 minutes. Test beans through hole made in crust. 

Step 12

Serve in bowls with a some of the cooking liquid and make sure to have the crumb pieces on top. Ensure one of the 1/2 sausages is in each serving. 

  

 

 

 

Sausage and Herb Stuffing

Standard fare sausage stuffing. This can be prepared in advance and reheated. Just thaw it in the fridge for 24 hours, then reheat it covered at 325 until hot. 

Ingredients

400 g of unseasoned stuffing cubes (sorry, but that's 1 + 60 g from a 2nd package)

1 stick or ½ cup unsalted butter

1 ½ cups diced yellow onion

1 cup diced celery

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed

1 lb bulk sweet Italian sausage

2 ¾ cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 large egg, beaten

1 tbsp. fresh chopped rosemary (or ½ tbsp. dried)

1 tbsp. fresh chopped sage (or ½ tbsp dried)

¼ cup fresh chopped Italian (flat leaf) parsely

½ tsp. Kosher salt

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish with unsalted butter.

Dump stuffing cubes into a large mixing bowl.

Sauté onions and celery in butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add vegetable mixture to stuffing cubes in bowl making sure to get all of it. 

In the same pan, brown the sausage till cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Break it up as you cook it. 

Add browned sausage to bowl with cubes and vegetables. 

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix until bread is well moistened. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish and bake for about an 65-70 minutes, uncovered. You should have a nice crispy top. 

Smoked Turkey Breast

Loved how this turned out. Perfect for smaller gathering or for those who prefer white meat. I got my boneless turkey breast from Whole Foods. I used this video but used a salting technique from Cooks Illustrated. Start the day before you need it since you'll be salting it overnight. I use an electric CookShack smoker, so if you are using something else plan accordingly to prepare your smoker. 

Ingredients

1 or 2 turkey breast halves (usually 2-3 pounders are available)

Kosher Salt

Coarse black pepper - I used Sam's Choice . Reasonably priced at Walmart. 

Dried thyme (optional)

Unsalted Butter

Instructions

1. Remove skin from the breast and salt all over with ¾ tsp per pound. 
2. Wrap with plastic wrap, put on something to catch any leaking liquid and refrigerate about 12 to  hours. 
3. Unwrap turkey breasts and sprinkle black pepper VERY LIBERALLY all over turkey. I used prepared coarse black pepper. You could grind fresh, but it's a lot of pepper. 
4. I added some thyme but that's up to you. You are after all 
5. Smoke the breast at about 250 to 275 for  2 hours.  Double wrap in foil, breast side down with the butter. I think I used about 1/2 stick per breast. 
6. You can return these to the smoker or to a 275 degree oven. Insert a meat probe and cook till internal temp is about 160-162 degrees F. I think this was about another hour. 
7. Remove from oven or smoker and let rest in foil for about 30 minutes. 
8. Remove from foil and slice. Reserve liquid for drizzling over turkey once sliced.