Castelnaudary cassoulet is a French pork and beans dish, baked in a pottery vessel called a “cassole”: thus the name “cassoulet.”
It hails from South West France and is perhaps one of the most famous of French cassoulets.
It is made from lingot beans, pork feet and rind, a ham bone, bacon, pork knuckle, pork shoulder, sausage, confit of duck or goose, garlic, salt, pepper.
You boil the beans in water for 5 minutes, then drain, then cover with fresh water in a pot, adding rind, garlic and the bacon. Simmer the beans for 2 hours on top of stove.
Sauté all the meats in the fat from the confit.
In a casserole, make a layer of the cooked beans with the liquid, then a middle layer of the meat except the sausage, then top with remainder of the beans. Put the sausage on top. Pour in all remaining liquid from bean pot to cover.
Bake in slow oven for 3 to 4 hours, stirring the top crusts that will form back in from time to time. Top with hot water as needed. Serve hot.