Simplified Cassoulet With Pork And Kielbasa Food

CASSOULET FOR THE GANG

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray, saute pork and kielbasa in oil until lightly browned; drain. Add carrots and onion; saute 4 minutes longer. Add garlic; cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in the tomatoes, broth and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. , Place 1 can of beans in a food processor; add 1/4 cup wine. Cover and process until pureed. Stir into meat mixture. Stir in the remaining beans and wine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until meat and vegetables are tender. Freeze option: Freeze cooled cassoulet in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little broth or water if necessary.

TRADITIONAL FRENCH CASSOULET RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cover beans with 3 quarts water and add salt. Stir to combine and let sit at room temperature overnight. Drain and rinse beans and set aside.
• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Place stock in a large liquid measuring cup and sprinkle gelatin over the top. Set aside. Heat duck fat (if using) in a large Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add salt pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a large bowl, leaving rendered fat in Dutch oven, and set aside. (If not using duck fat, cook pork with no additional fat.)
• Season chicken pieces with pepper (do not add salt) and place skin side down in now-empty pan. Cook without moving until well-browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip chicken pieces and continue cooking until lightly browned on second side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to bowl with salt pork.
• Add sausages and cook, turning occasionally, until well-browned on both sides. Transfer to bowl with salt pork and chicken. Drain all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot.
• Add onions to pot and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook until onions are translucent but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add drained beans, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, cloves, and stock/gelatin mixture. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce to low, cover Dutch oven, and cook until beans are almost tender but retain a slight bite, about 45 minutes.
• Using tongs, remove carrots, celery, parsley, bay leaves, and cloves and discard. Add meats to pot and stir to incorporate, making sure that the chicken pieces end up on top of the beans with the skin facing upwards. Beans should be almost completely submerged. Transfer to oven and cook, uncovered, until a thin crust forms on top, about 2 hours, adding more water by pouring it carefully down the side of the pot, as necessary, to keep beans mostly covered.
• Break crust with a spoon and shake pot gently to redistribute. Return to oven and continue cooking, stopping to break and shake the crust every 30 minutes until you reach the 4 1/2 hour mark. Return to oven and continue cooking undisturbed until the crust is deep brown and thick, about 5 to 6 hours total. Serve immediately.

SIMPLIFIED CASSOULET WITH PORK AND KIELBASA

Steps:

• Brining the Chicken: In gallon-sized zipper-lock plastic bag, dissolve salt and sugar in 1 quart cold water. Add chicken, pressing out as much air as possible; seal and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 hour. Remove chicken from brine, rinse thoroughly under cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Preparing the Topping: While chicken is brining, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix bread crumbs and butter in small baking dish. Bake, tossing occasionally, until light golden brown and crisp, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool to room temperature; set aside.
• Bring the beans, whole onion, garlic head, salt, pepper and 8 cups water to a boil in a stockpot or Dutch oven over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the beans are almost fully tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Drain the beans and discard the onion and garlic.
• While the beans are cooking, fry the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until just beginning to crisp and most of the fat has rendered, 5 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, add half of the bacon to the pot with the beans; transfer the remaining bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
• Increase the heat to medium-high; when the bacon fat is shimmering, add half of the chicken thighs, fleshy-side down; cook until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned on second side, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to large plate; repeat with remaining thighs and set aside.
• Drain off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot. Return pot to medium heat; add pork pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add minced garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf, cloves, and pepper to taste; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in chicken broth and wine, scraping up browned bits off bottom of pot with wooden spoon. Submerge the chicken in the pot, adding any accumulated juices. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer about 40 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to simmer until the chicken and pork are fully tender, 20 to 30 minutes more.
• Gently stir the kielbasa, drained beans and reserved bacon into the pot with the chicken and pork; remove and discard the thyme and bay leaf and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the croutons evenly over the surface and bake at 425, uncovered, until the flavors have melded and the croutons are deep golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

PORK AND KIELBASA CASSOULET

Steps:

• In a large ovenproof pot or Dutch oven cook the chopped bacon until crisp; transfer the bacon to a large bowl and discard all but 3 tablespoons fat from the pot.
• Add in the pork shoulder cubes and kielbasa slices and brown (about 10-12 minutes, you might have to this in batches) transfer to a bowl with the bacon.
• Add in onions, garlic, celery, carrots, dryed thyme and dryed chili flakes; saute until tender (about 4 minutes).
• Add in the tomato paste and cook stirring for 1 minute.
• Add in chicken broth and tomatoes with juice; bring to a boil.
• Add in the meats from the pork, kielbasa and bacon; stir to combine (if you are using the dryed beans then add them in at this point with the meats).
• Cover pot and transfer to 325 degree oven for 1 hour.
• After 1 hour of cooking stir in the wine and canned beans, season with salt and pepper.
• In a bowl, mix together the fresh breadcrumbs, Parmesan and 1 tablespoon olive oil, then sprinkle over cassoulet.
• Return to the oven UNCOVERED and cook until the pork is tender and the dryed beans are tender (if using them) and the topping is golden and crisp (about 40-45 minutes).
• *NOTE* to prepare this recipe using dryed beans, place the beans in a large saucepan.
• Add enough cold water to cover by 3 inches.
• Bring to a boil; remove from heat, cover and soak for 1 hour.
• Drain and rinse under cold water.
• Return the beans to the pot, add in enough cold water to cover the beans by 3 inches; bring to a boil; cover and simmer over medium-low heat until beans are almost tender (about 30 minutes) drain, then add them into the cassoulet as directed.

QUICK PORK CASSOULET

Steps:

• Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chops; cook 2 min. on each side or until browned on both sides. Move to one side of skillet. Add kielbasa, carrots, onions and garlic; cook 2 min., stirring occasionally.
• Add broth, bay leaf and thyme; stir. Cover skillet with lid. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 25 min. or until chops are cooked through. Stir in beans.
• Mix flour and water. Add to ingredients in skillet; mix well. Cook 5 min. or until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove and discard bay leaf before serving.

CASSOULET WITH PORK AND KIELBASA

Steps:

• Dry the chicken with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper.
• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over med-high heat until just smoking.
• Brown half of the chicken, about 10 minutes, then transfer to a plate and remove the browned skin.
• Return the pot with any rendered fat to med-high heat and repeat with the remaining chicken.
• Pat the pork dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pot and place over medium heat until just smoking.
• Brown the pork, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds.
• Stir in the broth, wine, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and cloves, scraping up any browned bits.
• Return the chicken thighs with any accumulated juice to the pot and submerge them in the liquid.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 40 minutes.
• Remove the cover and continue to simmer until the chicken and pork are fully tender, 20-30 minutes.
• Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
• Gently stir in the beans and kielbasa and continue to simmer, uncovered, until they are heated through, about 15 minutes.