Cassoulet (a traditional French Stew)

thebtls

Cassoulet (traditional French Stew) on the BGE




Cassoulet II
(On the Big Green Egg)
Cassoulet is a traditional stew from Southwest France, is a slow cooked meal packed with sausage, duck and white beans; in this variation we will substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts (organic) (allows for a little less fat and is much preferred by the family over duck). This recipe makes 6 to 8 servings.
Note: Since fresh thyme twigs/sprigs and fresh parsley are not always readily available (or affordable) I often substitute ground spices. It won’t win us any cooking competitions but the full flavor will not be lost.
Ingredients
•1 lb dried white beans (preferably Great Northern)
•2 Cups Low Sodium Beef Broth
•8 1/4 cups cold water
•1 Tbls. Tomato Paste
•1 (14-oz) Can Stewed Tomatoes, finely chopped w/ juice
•2 Bay leaf
•4-5 Chicken Thighs (boneless, skinless-approx 1.5 Lbs.
•8 Whole Cloves
•2 cups Sweet Onion, chopped ( approx.3/4 lb)
•EVOO
•1 Lb. Garlic Pork Sausage
•1 ½ Tsp. Sea Salt
•6 Large Cloves of Fresh Garlic, finely chopped
•½ Tsp. Garlic Pepper
•1 Celery Stocks cut into slices for garni bag
•2 Tbls. & 1 Tsp. Ground Parsley
•1 Tbls. Ground Thyme (substitute fresh twigs)
•1 Tsp. Black Peppercorns
•2 Cups coarse fresh baguette crumbs (substitute Panko)
•Garlic Powder (just a pinch)
•Paul Prudhommes Poultry Magic
•Special equipment: 1 8-10” piece of cheesecloth; kitchen string; and a large Cassoulet pan (the traditional vessel for this cook) or a Stew Pot or Dutch oven 6 Quart. I substituted my 12” 3.4 Qt. Emile Henry Flame Top Brazier to finish this cook.

Preparation and Cooking
1.Soak beans - Cover beans with cold water by 2 inches in a large bowl and soak 8 to 12 hours. Drain in a colander and set aside.
2.Prepare Bouquet Garni - Put celery, thyme, bay leaf, cloves, ground parsley and peppercorns in cheesecloth and tie into a bundle with string to make the garni.
3.Prepare and cook Chicken and Sausage - Settle temperature on BGE to 375 degrees. Cut chicken thighs into to 1/2-3/4 inch pieces and transfer meat to a bowl, season with a pinch of Paul Prudhommes Poultry Magic. Add olive oil to cassoulet pan and brown sausage and chicken in batches in EVOO then transfer to Braiser and cover then set aside.
4.Make bread crumb topping – Pour a touch of EVOO into the Cassoulet (leaving the grease from chicken and sausage as a base and cook over medium heat, stirring for 1 minute. Stir in bread crumbs with a touch of garlic powder, 1 Tsp. chopped parsley, 1/2 Tsp. Sea salt, ¼ Tsp. Pepper and stir continuously until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
5.Cook beans – Cooking direct on the grid boil the beans in a Cast Iron Dutch oven using 6 cups of cold water, broth, tomato paste, onion, and 2 Tbls. of garlic.
a.Add bouquet garni to beans, and then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until beans are almost tender; 45 minutes to 1 hour.
b.Stir in tomatoes with juice and simmer until beans are just tender, about 15 minutes more. Remove bouquet garni from beans and discard.
c.Stir in chicken, sausage ladle the cassoulet (bean mixture) into the Dutch oven distributing meat and beans evenly. (Meat and beans should be level with liquid; if they are submerged, boil until reduced, then.
6.Assemble and cook the casserole – Pour all contents into the Braiser and reduce heat to 325 degrees. Spread bread crumb topping evenly over cassoulet and place directly on grid and bake uncovered until bubbling and crust is golden, about 20 minutes.

elzbth

Very good looking dish. Thanks for posting pics and recipe! I'll bet it was delicious...

fire egger

That looks very good, on my list of "to do soon" thanks!!

thebtls

It was fablous, it took too long and was too much work for me personally. I would do it again, but with precooked beans maybe...it was a long day of preparation. It was different than anything I had done in the past and good however.

bobbyb

Unfortunately, the print is so small I can't read it.

thebtls

Your pc doesn't allow you to change the screen size? Or you can click on the jpeg and open and resize or save and print...lots of options. Or go to my blog and it will open as an even larger view. Sorry if it isn't working for you.

Kew_el_steve

Please re-post in Word format so that we can change the font size and edit to change things like to precooked beans. Thanks!

thebtls wrote:

It was fablous, it took too long and was too much work for me personally. I would do it again, but with precooked beans maybe...it was a long day of preparation.