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Sous Vide Cassoulet Recipe

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According to local wisdom, a last-minute cassoulet is "catastrophic." Cassoulet should be cooked, then cooled, preferably overnight, then cooked and cooled again -- at least three times. Multiple slow simmering's allow the beans to absorb the rich flavors of the sausage and duck confit until they become velvety and plush while still maintaining their shape and integrity. This recipe is ideally made over the course of three to four days, so you'll need to plan ahead.

A Note About Salt Pork

Often, salt pork and bacon are confused. Salt pork is simply salted pork belly; it looks like side or slab bacon, but it's not smoked. Salt pork used to be readily available, but it isn't today, as I discovered when I went to buy some. Frustrated, I decided to make my own.

It is extremely easy: just rub a piece of belly with a spiced salt and leave it for several days in the refrigerator. The salt rub flavors the belly and draws out some of the moisture, making it firmer. The longer you leave it in the salt the saltier it becomes, so, by making your own, you can control the saltiness. As with making any cured meat, however, this recipe takes time, so plan to make the salt pork ahead. It can be kept, refrigerated, for up to two weeks. Since weighing the salt is necessary for an accurate measurement, you'll need a scale to make this recipe.

Salt pork is an essential ingredient in chowders and Boston-style baked beans. It's also great to have on hand because, just like bacon and pancetta, it adds nice flavour and fat to a dish.


Want more like this? Our comprehensive book Champions of Sous Vide is a great collection of more than 70 sous vide recipes from two dozen top sous vide cooks.


Sous Vide Cassoulet Recipe

  • Published: March 17, 2023
  • By Dale Prentice
  • Prep Time: 48 Hours
  • Total Time: 2.5 Dayes
  • Cooks: 176°F (80°C) for 6 hours + chilling and reheating in the oven
  • Serves: 4

Ingredients for Sous Vide Cassoulet

  • For the Salt Pork

  • sea salt / 300 g
  • firmly packed brown sugar / 60 g
  • 8 juniper berries, crushed
  • 2 teaspoons black peppercorns, crushed
  • 2 fresh bay leaves, torn
  • 1/2 teaspoon quatre épices
  • boneless pork belly, with skin / 1.2 Kg
  • For the Duck Confit

  • Click for the Duck Confit Recipe
  • For the Garlic Confit

  • Click for the Garlic Confit Recipe
  • For the Toulouse Sausage

  • 2 Toulouse sausages
  • For the Great Northern Beans

  • Click for the Great Northern Beans Recipe
  • For the Cassoulet

  • 250gm dried great northern beans cooked
  • 250ml unsalted chicken broth
  • 100gm salt pork, cut into cubes and browned
  • 2 duck confit legs, roasted till crisp
  • 120gm Toulouse sausage, cut into cubes and browned
  • 120gm boneless pork shoulder, minced
  • 5 cloves garlic confit
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Thyme and 2 bay leaves
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Cooking Instructions for Sous Vide Cassoulet

For the Salt Pork

1. In a small bowl, mix the salt, sugar, juniper berries, peppercorns, bay leaves, and quatre épices. Rub all the surfaces of the pork belly with the mixture. Sprinkle a thin layer of the salt mixture in a glass dish, and place the pork belly on top, skin side up. Sprinkle the pork with a little more of the salt mixture, setting aside any that remains. Cover the pork with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 days.

2. Rinse all the salt mixture off the pork and dry well with paper towels. Wrap the pork in cheesecloth and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

For the Duck Confit

Click for the Duck Confit Recipe

For the Garlic Confit

Click for the Garlic Confit Recipe

For the Toulouse Sausage

Vacuum seal and cook sous vide for 1 hour @ 72C, then cut into 2cm pieces and brown in a pan with a little oil until golden brown. Set aside.

For the Great Northern Beans

Click for the Great Northern Beans Recipe

For the Cassoulet

Mix the mince with any jelly from the confit duck, garlic, salt, and pepper. Carefully use the chicken stock to loosen the mince into a slurry. Set aside.

Mix the beans with any stock in the vacuum bag with the salt pork, Toulouse sausage, duck, thyme, and bay leaves. Then stir in the mince slurry. Vacuum seal everything in a large vacuum bag and then cook sous vide for 6 hours @ 80C. Remove from the sous vide and cool down then refrigerate for up to two weeks until needed.

Transfer entire contents of the vacuum bag into a baking dish, grate on fresh nutmeg the bake at 180C in the oven.

Serve with a glass of Burgandy and crust bread.


Want more like this? Our comprehensive book Champions of Sous Vide is a great collection of more than 70 sous vide recipes from two dozen top sous vide cooks.


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Related Amazing Food Made Easy Articles

All tags for this article: Beans, Duck, Garlic, ISVA Sous Vide Recipe Collection, Sausage, Sous Vide, Sous Vide Duck , Sous Vide Duck Legs, Sous Vide Garlic, Sous Vide Pork Sausage, Sous Vide Recipes, Sous Vide Sausage

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