Cook-off 1: Cassoulet

[Eden]

Did any of you guys from NYC get to swing by Williams Sonoma when Mr. Bourdain was "demo"-ing the cassoulet? (The demo was as good as one could expect for a dish that implies a multi-day prep)

Here's some pics, for those interested:

<snip>

I really liked the haricot tarbais, thought they really fit well. Will have to get some from D'Artagnan. Sorry I don't have any close-ups, this was one of those eating and standing things.

Cheers. -J

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cool pics!

Do you remember what was in the bowl that's on the cutting board for the mise en place? From the photo I'd have said onions, carrots & maybe toms, but his recipe only calls for sliced onions...

It's actually amazing how much you CAN demo in one day of a multi-day dish. When I learned to make it the class took 3-4 hours, and covered every single step in detail, but since it was in the chef's kitchen he could just put the new batch of brined pork into his fridge to soak for the next day's class and pull out one that was ready to go, whereas Bourdain's next demo would have been in a different kitchen, probably in a different city...

[Abra]

Gorgeous, Eden! You can get a bean that looks just like your haricots de Soisson at PFI, called there Corona beans. I use them a lot now, since first having them at Salumi in a tuna salad.

[Eden]

Here are the pictures of the final assembly & the finished product(s):

Overall it turned out beautifully. Saturday night I noticed the pork chops were a bit dry sunday night I carefully broke them up into smaller pieces before cooking which seemed to help...

These are a mix of photos from Saturday & sunday night so you are seeing two different bean pots...

layering ingreadients - it's awfully hard to fit everything into the pot (good thing those "emu" legs shrank down in cooking!)

adding the sausages

final product saturday. Menu: Pepper gournay cheese, olives, bread: fremont sour, Cassoulet, my friend David made salad with prosciutto roses & parmiggiano, David's Lavender/pear sorbet , chocolate truffle tart garnished with brandy soaked cherries dipped in chocolate . Plus of course, much wine, prosecco & port at various stages of the evening.

Final product sunday. Menu: St Agur & pepper brie cheese, olives, bread: 3 sisters' rustic baguette, Cassoulet, baby greens salad with vinaigrette, more of David's Lavender/pear sorbet, miniature chocolate bundt cakes, again garnished with brandy soaked cherries dipped in chocolate (because they were SO good!). And possibly even more wine, prosecco & port

round 3 tomorrow (with great white northern beans instead of soisson)

[offcentre]

that looks fantastic Eden and puts mine to shame last night.

I have always wanted to make this dish but have never got round to it. This thread finally got me going, although I decided to make one from what I had around. I had a bit of time on my hands yesterday as I was at home looking after a poorly wife

I made a quick, cheats version last night. Boiled the dried beans for 1 1/2 hours in chicken stock. Bought some toulouse sausages from a speciality sausage shop at the end of my road. Fried these in the fat from rillons I made a couple of days ago. Fried onions and garlic and browned rillons. Beans, meat, beans, topped up with chicken stock and a covering of breadcrumbs and baked for a couple of hours.

Unfortunately my confit duck doesn't get to sit around very long in my house, so I had no duck to put in. Next time.

I was very happy with the results and am sitting here at work dreaming about getting home, opening a nice bottle of red wine, and getting stuck in again.

[Daddy-A]

Okay, I know I'm really late coming to the table on this one, but I did it, and dammit, I'm gonna document it!

I used the Cassoulet recipe from Les Halles ... it was simple enough for a rookie like me, and it was the only one I had (besides Martha Stewart's recipe for Cassoulet for 100 my wife founf tonight ). I made a couple of ingredient substitutions of note: the beans were Great Nothern white beans (not the Tarbais) and I had several murgez in the freezer which I used instead of the pork sausage. I hope Tony would approve

eGullet member peppyre & I made confit a few weeks back ... I believe she has uplaoded the pictures ... I'll provide the links if I find them.

Beans, pork belly, onions, etc. getting ready to simmer.

Clockwise from left: Pork belly after cooking with beans, onions, pork rind & duck confit ... ready to assemble!

Layer 1 ... murgez and that yummy pork rind, onion puree!

Layer 2 ... pork belly!

Layer 3 ... duck confit!

At the end of Day #2 ... cooked and ready for the fridge. The plan was to have it for an early Valentine's dinner with my wife, J ...

Plated and ready for dinner. Thanks to Carolyn Tille et al for helping me with the veggie decision. The salad was dressed with a Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette. Our wine was a 2000 Hester Creek Cab-Merlot (sorry Carolyn! ... no pinot!).

Observations:

• The murgez gave off a lot of fat, so if I were to use it again I'd cut back on some of the duck fat.
  
• Les Halles says this recipe serves 4. Tony, please tell me this was a typo! Dear God! I'm going to be eating this for a week!
  
• I used my new Le Creuset (6.9 litres / 7.25 quarts). This was the only dish I had that was close to appropriate ... would an earthenware dish have yielded different/better results?
  

All in all it was excellent if I do say so myself. A different sort of meal for me ... long range planning and all, which works well for my lifestyle. I'm already planning braised lamb shanks for Friday night!

A.

[fou de Bassan]

Very nice cassoulet! And don't worry about leftovers, they have a way of disappearing faster than you'd think possible.

[Eden]

It's never too late for cassoulet

great photos. I have a question. with the duck confit it looks like you just pull it from the pot fat & all?

I have always brought mine up to a melting point for the fat so I could shake of the majority of the duck fat before adding the duck bits to the cassoulet.

[NulloModo]

So when is the next round going to be announced? Gumbo, though wonderful, has been going on for over a week. Come on now, give us something new to cook!

[Chris Amirault]

So when is the next round going to be announced?  Gumbo, though wonderful, has been going on for over a week.  Come on now, give us something new to cook!

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Why, it's being considered at this moment over at the gumbo cook-off!

[Chris Amirault]

Just a note to those of you who are coming to this cook-off later than others. Thanks to the internet, remember that you're never too late for an eGullet cook-off. While all have a specific starting time, none have a end time, and there are many of us eager to see what you will do with the cook-off recipes. So don't hesitate to contribute if you're finding this thread weeks or months after its start: your posting your own ideas, questions, or results can bump activity back up on this thread in no time!

Edited March 19, 2005 by chrisamirault (log)

[Della]

I just made my first cassoulet last night. This thread has been helpful and inspiring and I am happy to say that I am VERY pleased with my dish. However, I do have one question.

The recipe I followed serves 12 (and I added a little extra duck just cause I had it and love it) so I currently have a 5 1/2 quart Le Crueset full of Cassoulet. There are just the two of us at home and while we will soldier on and eat it for the next few days - as it will only get better as the flavors meld - can I freeze some of it? Will it thaw and reheat well? Or will the beans get mushy and the dish lose some of its "deliciousness"?

Thoughts and opinions are most welcome.

~cheers~

Della

[Carolyn Tillie]

Della -- I never thought cassoulet froze well because the beans became mealy. However, I was shocked when I went to Wolfert's house and saw that she had several quarts of frozen cassoulet in her freezer. Her explanation is that by using tarbais beans, you don't get the mealy texture that I was accostomed to.

So, I guess it is a-okay to freeze, but depending on the bean you used, it might have a different consistency when you thaw it out.

[Eden]

Della -- I never thought cassoulet froze well because the beans became mealy. However, I was shocked when I went to Wolfert's house and saw that she had several quarts of frozen cassoulet in her freezer. Her explanation is that by using tarbais beans, you don't get the mealy texture that I was accostomed to.

So, I guess it is a-okay to freeze, but depending on the bean you used, it might have a different consistency when you thaw it out.

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My second cassoulet batch this year was a mix of soissons & great white northerns and the soissons freeze beautifully, but the GWNs did indeed do a mealy disintigrating thing that made the whole dish less appetizing. I will remember next year to use only the big hardy beans like soissons & tarbais.

[Della]

I used only Great Northerns in this cassoulet so I won't freeze any of it - we will just have to enjoy it all now. But in the future - I will know to use a more hardy bean!

THANKS

[Wolfert]

Do you have access to a food saver? If so, you can vacuum pack portions in individual boilable pouches, then simmer the pouches for about 10 minutes before iciing them down for 30 minutes.

This allows you to store the bags in the fridge for about a week or so. If, for any reason, a pouch begins to swell in the fridge, dump it.

B'TW: The avatar shows my cassoulet straight from the freezer to the cassole to the oven and finally in front of the fireplace for a 'photo op.'

Edited March 28, 2005 by Wolfert (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Paula, two questions. For those of us without a food saver, do you think that freezer ziplocks with all of the air pressed out of them might work decently? Also, how do you reheat your leftovers (presuming that there are any, of course!)?

[Wolfert]

I think just taking the air out of a ziploc would help keep the cassoulet OK for 2 or 3 days without the sterilizing, icing down, etc.

This season was the first time I ever froze a gallon of cassoulet . I was amazed how good it turned out.I simply reheated the defrosted beans with just a sprinkle of broth in a 225 F oven for an extra two hours.

I did use tarbais beans :frenchselections.com and chefshop.com have fresh stock right not. Mind you, these beans are not cheap.

Rancho Gordo was over the other day to taste the Tarbais beans. He said the Jacob's ladder beans came closest in flavor. .

Edited March 28, 2005 by Wolfert (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Thanks, Paula. Can I just say that, with Rancho Gordo and Caroline Tillie coming over to your house to visit, I must say that I wish we lived in wine country! :sniff:

[rancho_gordo]

He said the Jacob's ladder beans came closest in flavor. .

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Just a slight correction, the bean is Jacob's Cattle, not Ladder. Some places back east insist on this bean for baked beans. It doesn't fall apart and has a new potato taste (mild) and texture. It's not my favorite on its own but I'm not so sure I'd want a big, simple bowl of Tarbais, either. Jacob's Cattle is also much bigger than Tarbais that I have seen.

Thanks, Paula. Can I just say that, with Rancho Gordo and Caroline Tillie coming over to your house to visit, I must say that I wish we lived in wine country! :sniff:

I'm trying to think of a witty reply to this but I'm too tired!

[Busboy]

Just a note to those of you who are coming to this cook-off later than others. Thanks to the internet, remember that you're never too late for an eGullet cook-off. While all have a specific starting time, none have a end time, and there are many of us eager to see what you will do with the cook-off recipes. So don't hesitate to contribute if you're finding this thread weeks or months after its start: your posting your own ideas, questions, or results can bump activity back up on this thread in no time!

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Glad I'm not too late. I did my confit last weekend and stuffed some saucisse de Toulouse (merci, Mme. Wolfert) today.

My dumb question of the day is: rind, what do they mean? The Bourdain recipe calls for lining the pot with rind as well as cooking and pureeing it. To me, rind is the inedible stuff on the outside of a pork shoulder or a slab of fatback. I can see lining the pot with it -- and saved all the rind I accumulated during sausage making -- but I'm not seeing it dissolve into luscious lipids no matter how long it cooks, and I'n not keen on biting into a sheet of desiccated pigskin during dinner. Is this a definition problem? Or am I missing something.

PS, If I can find them, I'm going with flagelots. Will I be condemned for this by purists?

Edited to spell Paula's name correctly.

Edited April 4, 2005 by Busboy (log)

[Wolfert]

undefinedJust a slight correction, the bean is Jacob's Cattle, not Ladder. Some places back east insist on this bean for baked beans. It doesn't fall apart and has a new potato taste (mild) and texture. It's not my favorite on its own but I'm not so sure I'd want a big, simple bowl of Tarbais, either. Jacob's Cattle is also much bigger than Tarbais that I have seen

Rancho Gordo: Sorry, I got the name wrong.

One of the great things about cassoulet is that employs ingredients that have traditionally complemented one another and that, when combined, create a flavor different and more pleasing then when served on their own.

I think the Tarbais bean is the bean of choice for a great cassoulet.

Now that I'm experimenting with your beans, I'm enthusiastic about trying the Jacob's Cattle next time I make this great classic dish of SouthWest France

Busboy:You might want to try this method:

Simmer the sheet of skin or rind in water until supple, about 20 minutes. Then roll up the sheet into a bundle, fasten with string, and cook it along with the beans and pork ragout. You should end up with a very soft rind which you can cut into pieces and line the cassoule or final baking dish for the cassoulet.

Some of the rind, if it is very soft, can be set aside and finally pureed along with cooked and uncooked garlic, and other bits and pieces of seasoned pork to make an addition to the beans during the final baking.

Edited April 3, 2005 by Wolfert (log)

[thomasrodgers]

Glad I'm not too late. I did my confit last weekend and stuffed some saucisse de Toulouse (merci, Mme. Wolfert) today. 

My dumb question of the day is: rind, what do they mean?  The Bourdain recipe calls for lining the pot with rind as well as cooking and pureeing it.  To me, rind is the inedible stuff on the outside of a pork shoulder or a slab of fatback.  I can see lining the pot with it -- and saved all the rind I accumulated during sausage making -- but I'm not seeing it dissolve into luscious lipids no matter how long it cooks, and I'n not keen on biting into a sheet of desiccated pigskin during dinner.  Is this a definition problem? Or am I missing something.

PS, If I can find them, I'm going with flagelots.  Will I be condemned for this by purists?

Edited to spell Paula's name correctly.

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As Paula's reply above indicates, rind does very definitely mean what you have understood it to mean. That's right, the same as the tough stuff on bacon. but let me tell you, transformed by the long slow cooking in the cassole it's rind, but not as we know it...

The first time I tried cassoulet I was in a similar situation to you, doubtful as to how much I would enjoy chewing on a tough bit of pig-skin. Thankfully, my fears were allayed as soon as my teeth sank into my first hunk of rind (believe me I say 'sank' advisedly - you'll understand) - the most incredible texture I've ever encountered; tender and firm, velveteen and cloying, gelatinous and melting. Certainly unrecognisable either from any part of the beast I'd eaten before, or from bacon-rind. I am glad to say that rind now occupies a special place in my heart and my kitchen. Its inclusion give great depth of consistency (and - imho - flavour) to the liquid of slow-cooked stews and daubes (whose setting properties are largely due to the gelatin in rind/trotters/cow-heel). Best of all, thouhg, it is a pleasure to eat, a real treat on a fork of melting-tender beef and pork.

A suggestion to those not yet fully convinced: try the rind not on its own, but still on big chunky (1" squareish) lardons of belly (the fattier the better). As well as 'disguising' the rind for the squeamish - whom you can enlighten when they have finished complementing you - this provides the most wonderful progression of texture in one piece of meat that it is possible to obtain.

Happy rinding!

Edited April 28, 2005 by thomasrodgers (log)

[Kim D]

Pork belly? Last year when I asked at Paulina Market, the butcher didn't know what it was. I have never seen it at an American grocery store. Perhaps there something else I should be asking for?

I've decided to use the recipe from Les Halles and it calls for 2 pounds of pork belly and 1 pound of pork rind. I picked up three packages of salt pork (.75 pounds each = 2.25 pounds) thinking that I could use that.

Then I headed to a Mexican grocery store because I remember seeing pork rind the last time I was there. Unfortunately they were out.

I was pleasantly surprised (I never use salt pork) to find that the salt pork has the rind attached. I cut it off and started soaking both in water. I've got it in a sieve because I'm thinking I should treat it like I would salt cod. I know that with salt cod you don't want it sitting on the bottom of a bowl because it would end up soaking in the salt that falls to the bottom.

So, where am I going with this?

I remember reading somewhere that salt pork can be used as a substitute for pork belly. Will soaking it be enough to get rid of the salt? Or is there something else I should do? Should I go buy pork shoulder instead?

Thanks in advance for your help!

- kim

[Kim D]

I found my answer. Soaking overnight is the way to go.

- kim

Edited June 24, 2005 by Kim D (log)

[little ms foodie]

Kim, I find pork rind and pork belly at my Asian markets. Pork belly is just raw uncured bacon.