Cassoulet-Style French Bean Stew Recipe

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.

In a stockpot, cover the beans with enough water to exceed by 3 inches and soak overnight. NOTE: see my directions for both a long soak and a short soak in the article above.

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.

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.

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.

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 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

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 THE BEANS SOAKED IN OVERNIGHT. 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.

Let the ragout cool, then refrigerate overnight to allow the fat to rise to the surface and solidify.

The following day, remove as much of the solidified fat as you can from the surface of the ragout, reserving about 1/4 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.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

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.

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.

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.

Pour the liquid over the ragout and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the reserved skimmed fat. Bake the cassoulet for 1 1/2 hours.

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.

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 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.