I was kindly gifted a cassoulet kit from a very generous friend, sourced from
D'Artagnan. And good gravy! This is the
small cassoulet kit, and it's going to feed the two of us until XMas.
Cover sheet / cooking instructions
Tarbais beans, pre- and post-soak - more than trebled in size

Beans set to cook - Added some diced baby carrots, I happened to have fresh parsley in the fridge and thyme growing in the south window. I've got another half a ventreche for another dish, likely to be a couple rounds of pasta carbonara.
The rest of the meatThe only raw, uncured meat is the duck and armagnac sausage, which got browned. It's still very soft and rich (there's liver in there). The confit has been disjointed, I've got an equivalent amount of garlic sausage, which tastes like a very young kosher salami (but porkier).
Assembly - Half the beans, all the meat, then the rest of the beans on top, with a mixture of demi-glace, water and tomato paste, and drizzled duck fat then into the oven.

Finished - I ran it in the 325 oven a little longer than I needed, but it wasn't really browned, so I turned on the broiler (at a good distance), then forgot about it for about 15-20 minutes, meaning for it to only go about 5. About a half-cup of beans at the very top turned into seashells, but the rest is fine.


The meats certainly blend in flavorwise, but have different textures: The duck sausage, greatly diminished in size, is still very soft; the garlic sausage more like andouille/kielbasa at this point, and the diced ventreche just little chewier bits. Absolutely delicious -- the very best way to use up what would otherwise be rendered-out pork and duck fat. The beans (that didn't dry out) are tender and melt in your mouth.
I can't imagine spending the kit price on this, I'm sure I can assemble it -- even with duck -- for much less.
Last edited by
JoelF on December 18th, 2020, 7:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
-- Lin Yutang