Authentic Cassoulet de Castelnaudary Recipe Castelnaudary, France

Place the beans in a large pot of water to soak overnight. The following day, drain the beans, then place them in a large saucepan with three liters of water. Boil for five minutes, then remove from the stove and drain.

In a large saucepan combine three liters of water, pork rind that's cut up in wide strips, a chicken carcass or a few pork bones, and a few onions and carrots to taste. Cook for an hour, then strain.

Keep the pork rind for later. Boil the beans in the resulting stock for an hour until they turn soft, but are not falling apart.

As the beans are cooking, start preparing the meat. Place a large frying pan over low heat and first sear the confit, then set aside. In the leftover fat, fry the Toulouse sausages, then remove them from the pan and set aside. Next, fry the pork pieces until golden then set aside.

Drain the beans and place the stock in a large saucepan and keep warm. Add garlic, and salted lard, double the amount in weight as the garlic, to the beans.

To assemble the cassoulet, you will need a deep earthenware dish. First, spread a layer of pork rinds, then add a third of the beans. The next layer is the meat, which is then topped with the remaining beans. Push the sausages into the beans so that their tops are only peaking through the beans. Pour the stock into the earthenware until the beans are covered, season with pepper and add a tablespoon of duck fat in which you’ve previously fried the meat.

Cook in an oven preheated at 150-160°C/300-320°F for two to three hours. As the cassoulet cooks, the top can dry out, so if necessary, add a couple of tablespoons of stock. Also, during cooking, a golden crust that forms on top of the dish will need to be pushed down precisely seven times.