Cassoulet-Style French Bean Stew

5 from 9 votes

This cassoulet-style French bean stew is packed with creamy beans, aromatic vegetables, herbs, and richly savory meats simmered in a thick, comforting broth. Prepared over three days but with an easy method, it's perfect for making ahead and enjoying for a cozy dinner on a cold evening.

Prep Time2 30

Cook Time6

Total Time8 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: servings

Author: Jenny DeRemer

Cost: $3.79 per serving

Equipment

medium saucepan
kitchen twine
5- to 6-quart earthenware casserole dish

Ingredients

1 pound pork stew meat or lamb stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 smoked ham hocks or 2 leftover ham bones
2 ounces salt pork skin removed
6 ounces fat back trimmed, leaving ¼-inch fat cap intact
Kosher salt
black pepper
2 pounds dried cannellini beans, white navy beans, tarbais beans, pinto beans or kidney beans or a combination thereof rinsed and picked through
⅓ cup duck fat may also use goose fat; I purchase mine from D'Artagnan
3 medium carrots thinly sliced
2 medium onions diced
5 ounce chunk pancetta
5 ounce chunk prosciutto
1 head + 4 cloves garlic
1 large plum tomato chopped
9 cups homemade chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1 fresh bouquet garni 4 parsley sprigs, 3 small celery ribs, 2 thyme sprigs and 1 bay leaf, tied with string
1 single whole clove
6 confit duck legs I purchase these from D'Artagnan
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound pork sausages I purchase these from D'Artagnan
¼ cup breadcrumbs

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Day 1

Season the meat. Grab a large baking dish and place the smoked ham hocks, pork or lamb stew meat cubes, and fat back inside; season lightly with Kosher salt and black pepper before covering to refrigerate overnight.
Soak the beans. For a long soak, place the beans in a large stockpot, cover with water by 3 inches, cover, and soak for at least 6 hours or overnight, but no longer than 10 hours. For a quick soak, add the beans to a deep saucepan, cover with water by 3 inches, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and soak for 1 hour. The beans should be swollen and tender, with skins that slip easily when pressed.

Day 2

Cook the salt pork and fat back. The following day, cover the salt pork and fat back with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over moderate heat, about 30 minutes. Drain and cool slightly before cutting the fat back into 5 long pieces. Roll each piece as you’d roll up a rug and tie/secure with kitchen twine. Refrigerate the salt pork for now.
Cook the ham and stew meat. Dry the ham hocks and stew meat cubes with a paper towel. In your largest Dutch oven, heat the duck fat. Add half the stew meat and cook over moderately high heat until lightly browned all over. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon and repeat with the remaining stew meat. Add the smoked ham hocks to the Dutch oven and brown them lightly.
Sauté the aromatics. Add the carrots and onions and the single whole clove and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden, and the clove is fragrant, about 7 minutes. Use a spoon to remove the clove. Add the hunk of pancetta and brown it lightly. Add the hunk of prosciutto, the head of garlic and the tomato and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Simmer. Remove the Dutch oven from the heat and add the white wine. Return to the heat and add 2 quarts of the homemade chicken stock, the bouquet garni, the fat back rolls, and all the seared stew meat and any collected juices and bring to a boil. Cover the casserole and gently simmer the ragout over low heat for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally.
Cook beans briefly. Drain the beans. In a large saucepan, cover the beans with fresh water and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Do not use the water that the beans soaked in. Simmer the beans for 3 minutes, then drain again. Spoon the beans into the ragout and simmer until the beans are just tender, about 2 hours.
Refrigerate. Let the ragout cool, then refrigerate overnight to allow the fat to rise to the surface and solidify.

Day 3

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Prep. The following day, remove as much of the solidified fat as you can from the surface of the ragout, reserving about ¼ cup. Let the ragout return to room temperature, about 1 hour. Pick out the ham hocks, pancetta, and prosciutto. Cut the meats into bite-size pieces; discard the bones, skin, and gristle. Pick out the pork skin bundles and the head of garlic and reserve. Discard the bouquet garni.
Make the paste. Bring the ragout to a simmer on the stove top. Cut the refrigerated, boiled salt pork into small pieces. Squeeze the cooked garlic cloves into a food processor. Add the salt pork and the raw garlic cloves and process to a smooth paste. Stir this paste into the ragout and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in all the cooked meats.
Roast the duck legs. Arrange the duck confit legs in a baking dish and roast just until heated through, about 15 minutes. Remove the meat from the bones in large pieces. Cut the skin into strips. Discard the bones.
Turn the oven down to 325°F.
Layer the cassoulet. Untie and unroll the fat back rolls. Line the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart earthenware casserole with the fat back. Using a large, slotted spoon, transfer half of the ragout to the earthenware casserole. Top with the torn pieces of duck confit in an even layer, then cover with the remaining ragout. Add the remaining 2 cups of broth to the cooking liquid in the cast-iron casserole and season lightly with salt and pepper.
Bake. Pour the liquid over the ragout and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the reserved skimmed fat. Bake the cassoulet for 1½ hours.
Cook the sausages. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet. Add the sausages and cook over moderately high heat until browned all over. Let cool, then cut the sausages into 3-inch chunks.
Add sausage and topping. Reduce the oven temperature to 275°F. Gently stir in the skin that has formed on the cassoulet. Nestle in the sausage chunks and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of reserved fat. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs.
Bake, rest, and serve. Bake the cassoulet for 1 hour longer, until it is bubbling around the edges and richly browned on the surface. Transfer to a wooden board or towel-lined cooling rack and allow to rest for at least 25 minutes before serving.

Notes

If you are like me and save ham bones from Christmas and Easter, this recipe is the perfect time to use them!
Soak and cook the beans gently to ensure creamy interiors without split skins or mushy texture.
Build flavor in layers. Browning the meats and aromatics before adding the beans creates a deep, savory foundation that defines a proper cassoulet-style stew.
Don't try to rush the process. Slow cooking allows the beans to absorb the broth and rendered fat, developing the dish’s signature richness.
To make ahead, prepare the bean stew through adding the garlic/salt pork paste up to 3 days ahead. Let cool, then refrigerate. Bring the ragout and beans to room temperature before proceeding.

Nutrition