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Chicken Cassoulet Cassoulet, a dish from the southwest of France, traditionally consists of duck or goose and roast pork or lamb, sausages, pork rind, beans and seasoning, all cooked and served in an ovenware tureen. This stew of chicken and beans is a simplified version, but nevertheless makes a very satisfying dish; flavorful, hearty, and inexpensive—ideal for a family meal. To enhance the taste and texture of the dish, it is sprinkled with cracklings made from the skin of the chicken. A tender Boston lettuce in a cream dressing studded with more cracklings is the accompaniment. Beans more than one or two years old need long soaking to soften them, reduce the cooking time, and restore moisture. When bought in the supermarket, the small white beans that we use in cassoulet, called navy beans or Great Northern beans, are never old enough to require soaking. If you decide to do so, however, 1 or 2 hours should be sufficient; overnight is often too long. Bubbles may show on top of the water, a sign of fermentation, which can cause digestive problems. Always start to cook beans in cold salted water. If started in hot water, they toughen and take much longer to cook. This dish is simple to make from chicken backs and necks, left over or bought especially for this purpose. In this case we bought two whole chickens and boned them, using the flesh for the delicate chicken sauté (Chicken in Mustard Sauce). 4 pounds of chicken bones and parts (see Note) 1 pound white navy beans 2 large onions (approximately 3/4 pound), peeled and studded with 6 cloves 3 medium to large carrots, peeled 1 rib celery 2 teaspoons salt 1/2-teaspoon thyme leaves 4 bay leaves 8 cups cold water 1 tomato cut in half, seeded, and coarsely chopped (3/4 cup) 3 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed, and chopped (2 teaspoons) 1/2 cup chopped parsley To bone a whole chicken Cut the leg of the chicken where the skin is loose all around. Lift the leg and break it at the joint of the hip. Cut through the hip joint. Hold the chicken with your knife flat and pull with the other hand to separate the leg from the rest of the carcass. Repeat with the other leg. Remove the skin from the legs, breasts, and necks (reserve for cracklings). Remove the wings at the shoulder joint and then remove the wishbone by cutting on each side of it with a knife and pulling it out with your fingers. Cut on each side of the sternum (the central breastbone). Cut the shoulder joint and pull out the breast on each side. You should have 2 single breasts and 2 legs with the end of the knuckles removed per chicken. Set the meat aside to make the Chicken with Mustard Sauce, or any other sautéed chicken dish. To prepare the cassoulet Place the bones in a large kettle. Rinse the navy beans in a sieve under cold water, discarding any stones or damaged beans. Add the beans to the bones with the onions, carrots, celery, salt, thyme, bay leaves, and 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Cover and boil very gently for 1 1/2 hours. Stir every 15 or 20 minutes to prevent the beans from sticking to the bottom. Pour the whole mixture into a large roasting pan. When it is cool enough, separate the bones and other vegetable solids from the beans. Put the beans back into the kettle. When the bones are cool enough to handle, pick off the meat. You should have at least 2 to 2 1/2 cups of meat. Remove the cloves from the onions, discard them, and chop the onions coarsely along with the carrots, celery, gizzards, and hearts. Add to the kettle along with the meat and mix with the beans. Add the tomato, garlic, and parsley and bring the whole dish back to a boil. Simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. Serve the cassoulet with cracklings on top. Serve the salad on the side. NOTE: We used the gizzards, hearts, wings, and carcasses of two boned chickens (total weight approximately 1 3/4 pounds), plus about 1 1/4 pounds of chicken necks bought separately. However, any combination of backs and necks or other bones or parts can be used. Choose what's least expensive. Remove the skin and use it to make cracklings. Cracklings Chicken skin from 2 whole chickens or the equivalent number of parts 1/2 teaspoon salt Lay the pieces of skin flat on a large cookie sheet. Sprinkle with the salt and place in a 350-degree oven; bake without turning for 30 minutes. Turn the skin over and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes. The skins will have reduced considerably, but should be crisp and browned. Let them cool off a bit. Then lift them from the fat, cut them into 1/2-inch pieces and set aside. The skin of two chickens should yield about 1 1/2 cups of cracklings. Reserve the chicken fat for future use. Boston Lettuce and Cracklings 1 large or 2 small heads Boston lettuce 3 tablespoons heavy cream 1 teaspoon wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 1/2 cup chicken skin cracklings Separate the leaves of the lettuce. Split the large outside leaves in the middle of the rib, and break each half leaf in half again. The smaller leaves need be cut only once. Wash carefully under cold water and drain well in a salad dryer. You should have 8 to 10 cups of loose, clean lettuce. Mix the cream, vinegar, salt, and pepper well with a whisk for 10 to 15 seconds until it starts to get foamy. Add the oil; it will thicken the mixture. Toss with the lettuce, and sprinkle with cracklings. Boston lettuce is quite tender and should not be seasoned ahead or it will wilt. Tureens of Cassoulet This is an alternate way of serving chicken cassoulet. The addition of sausage and breadcrumbs makes it more like the authentic dish; at the same time it extends it, so that it stretches even further. We used 2 1/2-cup tureens here, which served two people each. Use smaller onion-soup bowls if you prefer to serve one bowl per person. Figure on 1 cup of beans and 1 sausage per person, if using leftovers. Approximately 4 cups bean mixture 2 Italian sausages, sautéed in a skillet for 4 to 5 minutes 2 knockwurst, each cut into 3 pieces 1/2-cup fresh bread crumbs (approximately 1 slice) 1/3 cup chicken fat (use the fat rendered from the skin if you made cracklings) Add enough water to the bean mixture to make it very soupy, because the bread crumbs and the oven heat will draw out moisture. Place the mixture in individual bowls and push in large chunks of sausages or other meat. You can also use chunks of ham or pork roast as well as the type of sausages that we use in the Sausage and Potato Stew. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs on top of each bowl and moisten the crumbs with chicken fat. Place in a 400-degree oven for 3 5 to 40 minutes, and serve piping hot directly from the oven. Return to Top |
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