Christmas Cassoulet Experiment

We didn't have anywhere to rush off to on Christmas Day this year, no family brunch to attend. This gave us more time to relax but presented a conundrum: what to have for Christmas dinner.

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I got off the waitlist for the Rancho Gordo bean club this fall. (I know, I know.) My first shipment came with Cassoulet beans. I only had a vague sense of what cassoulet was. I dutifully googled cassoulet recipes. 6 hours in the oven? Waaaaaaaaaaaaay more meat than I ever cook? I can use them in a vegetarian soup, thank you very much.

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I half jokingly, half seriously mentioned cassoulet while looking up recipes again. "What's that?" "A French casserole with duck, but we could use chicken, and sausage and ham hocks." "Okay." "Oh, and the beans I got." "Sure. Make a shopping list."

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After researching a dozen recipes, I tabulated the baking times and temps. Tried to balance slow cooked goodness and not running the oven all day long, deliciousness without too much fat. I followed Rancho Gordo and Serious Eats' recipes the most closely but was inspired by many others and my own instincts. Here's what I did. 

What I did

 

0.8 lb Rancho Gordo Cassoulet beans

0.5 lb  loose sausage

3 Chicken thighs with skin and bones

½ large onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1.5 Bay leaf

2 sprigs of parsley

1 stalk celery, diced, + some celery greens

5ish cloves garlic, divided

~1 tsp dried thyme

2 sprigs rosemary

5 peppercorns

6 cloves

3 Tbsp tomato paste

 

1. Soak beans overnight in salted water.

2. Drain beans and add new water. Cook beans with herbs (parsley, celery greens, rosemary; dried thyme, peppercorns, cloves in a tea bag) and garlic. 18 minutes in instant pot. Natural release for 20 minutes. [Next time cook less or on stovetop. Did not hold shape.] Remove herbs.

3. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken thighs in a bit of canola oil on medium high. 10 minutes first side, skin side down. 5ish minutes the second side.

4. Remove chicken. Divide sausage into 6 patties. Brown sausage on both sides. Remove sausage. Drain most of extra fat.

5. Saute onion, carrot, and celery. Add garlic when mirepoix begins to soften.  Add tomato paste. Puree veggies with a bit of the bean liquid.

6. Layer ingredients in ovenproof dish. Put ⅓ of beans on bottom. Mix in some of the vegetable puree. Place the sausage patties on top. Add a thin layer of beans and vegetable puree. Place the chicken on top, skin side up. Add the remainder of the beans and vegetable puree. Add enough bean liquid to submerge the top layer of beans.

7. Bake for 1.5 hours at 325F. Break skin on top and stir it back into the top layer. Bake 40 minutes at  335F. Debate if ready. Break skin and stir back in. Bake 20 more minutes at 335F. Serve.

    

    We served with rolls and a kale-apple-carrot-pecan salad with a balsamic vinaigrette. It was good, and I'd make it again, yet I wouldn't seek it out or make it a must-do tradition. Part of the enjoyment was in the experiment itself.