Simplified Cassoulet With Lamb And Andouille Sausage Recipes

SIMPLIFIED CASSOULET WITH LAMB AND ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE

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 lamb 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 lamb are fully tender, 20 to 30 minutes more.
• Gently stir the andouille sausage, 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.

CASSOULET WITH SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Make the beans: Put the beans in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches; bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand 1 hour, then drain. Stick the whole cloves into the onion halves; add to the pot along with the carrots, celery and pancetta. Wrap the thyme, parsley and bay leaves in a piece of cheesecloth, tie with kitchen twine and add to the pot; cover with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer 1 hour. Add 1 teaspoon salt.
• Nestle the sausage in the beans; add water to cover, if necessary. Add the garlic heads, cut-side down. Cover and cook until the beans are just tender but still hold their shape, turning the sausage halfway through, 20 to 30 minutes. Uncover and let cool to room temperature; cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Meanwhile, make the meat: Toss the lamb in a bowl with the sugar, oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, cayenne, 1 tablespoon each olive oil and salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook the lamb until browned, about 3 minutes per side; transfer to a plate. Add the pancetta to the pot; cook, stirring, until the fat renders, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until lightly golden, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine, tomato paste, porcinis and orange zest, then return the lamb to the pot. Cut out a round of parchment paper and put directly on the surface of the meat. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover with the lid and cook until the lamb is tender, about 2 hours. (Adjust the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer.) Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature; cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Skim off any fat from the bean and lamb mixtures. Remove the sausage and garlic heads from the beans. Slice the sausage into pieces and squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins; set aside. Discard the herb sachet, carrots, celery and onion halves from the beans. Discard the orange zest from the lamb.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer about half of the beans to a large Dutch oven and top with the lamb (just the beans and lamb, not the liquid). Add the sliced sausage and garlic cloves, then the remaining beans. Pour in all the liquid from the lamb mixture. Add enough of the bean cooking liquid to cover, if necessary.
• Put the Dutch oven over medium-low heat and bring the mixture to a simmer, uncovered, about 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Pulse the bread in a food processor to make coarse crumbs. Toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle on the cassoulet, transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown, about 1 hour, 30 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

EASY CASSOULET

Steps:

• Prep the chicken and sausages: Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and season both sides with salt and black pepper. Prick each sausage with the tip of a paring knife in a couple of places. This will prevent them from bursting as they cook.
• Cook the onions and garlic: Pour off and discard all but a thin layer of fat from the skillet. Return the skillet to the stove over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the onions soften.
• Turn on the broiler: Set a rack about 8 inches from the broiler element and turn on the broiler.

LAMB CASSOULET

Steps:

• Rinse beans under running water. Place in large pot with salt pork and bacon; add cold water to cover. Bring to boil and cook 3 minutes. Strain through colander and rinse.
• Return beans, salt pork and bacon to clean pot. Add 6 cups cold water. Stud whole onion with cloves and add to beans. Add carrot, bay leaf, thyme and 2 cloves peeled garlic. Cover and simmer very gently until beans are tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove carrot, onion and garlic from beans and discard. Set pot aside.
• Season shanks with salt. Heat duck fat in casserole or Dutch oven and brown meat on all sides. Remove from pan with slotted spoon; set aside. Add chopped onions, chopped garlic and tomato paste to pan, mixing well. Return shanks to pan and fit saucisson, salt pork and bacon around them. Pour beans and their liquid over. Cover partway and cook over low heat for 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove meats from beans. Discard salt pork. Cut lamb and bacon into chunks and slice saucisson into 6 thick pieces. Season well with pepper. Season beans with salt as needed.
• Using slotted spoon, remove half the beans from the casserole. Arrange meats over beans remaining in pan. Spread remaining beans over the meats.
• Cover casserole and bake 1 1/2 hours. Uncover casserole, raise oven setting to 450 degrees and cook until a crust forms on top of the beans, about 20 minutes.

CROCK POT LAMB AND SAUSAGE CASSOULET LOW CARB

Steps:

• Rinse beans; place in a large saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet brown lamb in hot oil. Drain off fat. In a 3 ½ to 5 quart slow cooker combine the beans, lamb, broth, kielbasa, fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme (if using), garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaf.
• Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.
• If using low heat setting, turn to high heat setting. Stir in the eggplant, sweet pepper, and tomato paste. Cover and cook for 30 minutes more. Discard bay leaf. If using, stir in fresh thyme. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. If desired, serve over hot cooked rice.
• Prep: 25 minutes.
• Stand: 1 hour.
• Cook: LOW 8 to 10 hours, HIGH 4 to 5 hours plus 30 minutes.
• Makes: 6 servings.
• Slow Cooker: 3 ½ to 5 quart.
• BHG Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes.