was in Paris 2 weeks ago and had the best cassoulet of my life (took the advice from the Paris restaurant thread). decided I want to give it a go and see what I can do at home. So, whats your go to recipe?
john
I made a variation of this a few weeks ago. My daughter suggested the recipe to me.
https://www.williams-sonoma.com/m/recipe/thomas-kellers-slow-cooker-cassoulet.html
I waited to add the beans. Started adding them at about hour nine, of ten+ hours in the slow cooker.
I used only a 3 lb. pork shoulder, but added four chicken thighs and some additional sausage (I used half Andouille and half Chorizo).
When I reheated for a couple of hours on the stovetop the next evening (needed it to thicken up a little), I added the last two cans of white beans and some Herbs d’Provence. Was perfect.
The dinner guests loved it.
Reheating:
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Where did you go in Paris for the cassoulet?
I do a mashup of the Kenji recipe (which is great, even with the chicken instead of duck) and the d’Artagnan recipe. Key is to get good beans - I love rancho gordo.
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I made the cassoulet from New York’s King restaurant’s new book and it required bits and pieces of prep over three days but was well worth it.
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I’m not John, but L’Assiette remains our favorite, despite the service quirks. We are used to them and they are used to us, so we don’t encounter the problems that others have reported.
Benoit also has great cassoulet, but do not go there unless you are guaranteed a seat in the main dining room. Upstairs is exclusively for tourists.
For decades, I have been making the D’Artagnan recipe.
In recent years, I have substituted Rancho Gordo beans (like Brad Kaplan above) which are much better.
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I usually do similar to @bradkaplan
But Bourdain’s from Les Halles is the worth the effort. I do it once every couple years.
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yep, thats where I went, L’Assiette. The food was great and the service wasn’t that bad, at least that night
wonderful place!
June was maybe not the best time
of the year to have Cassoulet but what are you gonna do…
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One of my favorite things to eat, yet I’ve never made it myself.
The wine pairings seem to be many: what are your favorites?
There’s an excellent cassoulet recipe ln the Rancho Gordo site:
Rancho Gordo published a cassoulet cookbook a while back. I made a couple of the recipes, which were good, but I can’t find an online recipe and don’t see it on the website. It’s still on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Cassoulet-French-Obsession-Kate-Hill/dp/B08NF32G7X/
And one more… In The Charcuterie from the folks at The Fatted Calf. Use the search in Look Inside The Book. It’s on page 57:
I prefer French.
I went on a cassoulet quest across Paris over 2 years and L’Assiette was my favorite, hands down, after 20+ restaurants.
I use the Serious Eats recipe, despite the recommendation to use chicken instead of duck (@Sarah_Kirschbaum would not approve). That said, the key to the dish is homemade chicken stock, full stop. If you can find chicken feet, you don’t need to use gelatin. Seven cracks for the win, and don’t even think of using bread crumbs 
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Kenji’s recipe is a fun read too, and puts me in the mood. Much appreciated guys.
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You and your Chicken and Bean Stew are dead to me.
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I always make my own chicken stock. easy and gives me much less salt in it. for the first try, I am going to use chicken thighs first. but that’s mainly because I am going to make duck confit and don’t have whats needed yet. As well as the proper white beans. they are on order, so first try is going with great northern beans. this way i don’t feel bad if it gets messed up and waste the good beans.
one good thing about cooking. many times the mistakes, while the meal might not look good, it usually taste fine.
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Hands down, Paula Wolfort’s Toulouse Style Cassoulet is the one I reference every year. It’s time consuming, but that’s what makes a cassoulet. It has a richness that I don’t get in other recipes.
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