Smoked Ham Hock Cassoulet Recipes

CASSOULET

Steps:

• Bundle parsley, bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, celery, and leek to form a bouquet garni, wrapping kitchen twine around the aromatics several times to secure -- which ensures easy retrieval of the ingredients after they've infused the cooking liquid with flavor.
• Warm oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add fatback or pork belly, and cook until it is golden on all sides and has begun to render its fat, about 5 minutes. Add pork shoulder, and cook until golden on all sides, about 8 minutes total.
• Stick clove in half the onion, and add to pot along with bouquet garni, ham hock, carrot, tomatoes and juice, and beans. Add enough cold water to cover by 1 to 2 inches (about 8 cups). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer gently until beans are tender throughout but not falling apart, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Remove pot from heat. Discard carrot, onion, and bouquet garni. Transfer ham hock to a cutting board, reserving liquid, and let cool slightly. Trim meat and gelatin from the bone, dicing and returning them to the pot. Discard the bone.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Rub cut side of garlic clove over the entire inner surface of a small (5-quart) Dutch oven or other ovenproof vessel. This allows a subtle though distinct garlic flavor to infuse the resulting cassoulet.
• Using a wire skimmer or a slotted spoon, place half the bean mixture in the Dutch oven, spreading it evenly. Leave the cooking liquid in the pot.
• Arrange the duck confit and sausage on top of the beans in the Dutch oven to create a single, snug layer. Spoon the remaining beans over the meat, reserving the cooking liquid.
• Add enough cooking liquid so the beans are almost, but not quite, submerged. Reserve the remaining liquid. Transfer pot to oven and cook, uncovered, for 2 hours. Check the liquid every 30 minutes to make sure it is no more than 1/2 inch below the beans, and add liquid or water as necessary. Do not stir.
• After the cassoulet has cooked for 2 hours, toss bread and butter in a bowl. Sprinkle over cassoulet, and return to oven until beans are tender and bread is golden, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Before serving, let cassoulet stand at room temperature for 20 minutes to cool and to allow the beans to absorb some of the liquid. You can refrigerate cassoulet in an airtight container for up to 3 days; rewarm in an oven heated to 300 degrees.

SMOKED HAM HOCK CASSOULET

Steps:

• Place the beans and the water in a large pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover partly and simmer until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Drain and set aside. Heat the oil in a large, wide ovenproof pot over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute until golden, about 7 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Stir in the tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the beans, sage and wine. Add the ham hock bones, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the bones from the pan and stir in the meat. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top and dot with butter. Bake for 15 minutes. Divide among 6 plates and serve.

CROCK POT CASSOULET

Steps:

• FOR THE CASSOULET: In slow cooker stoneware, combine ham hock and beans.
• In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until softened. Add rosemary and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Transfer mixture to slow cooker stoneware. Add chicken stock to cover beans. Cover and cook on LOW for 10 to 12 hours, until beans are tender. It would be better to do this the night before.
• In a bowl, combine salt, garlic, peppercorns and thyme. Rub mixture into pork. Place pork in a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350°F On a plate, combine cinnamon, allspice and cloves. Roll lamb shanks in mixture and place, narrow end up, on a broiling pan. Scrape excess salt from the marinated pork shoulder and place on same broiling pan. Roast in preheated oven for 1 hour.
• Remove Ham hock from beans. Remove tough skin and shred meat. Discard skin and bone. Cover and refrigerate meat. Stir tomato paste and bay leaves into bean mixture.
• Cut roasted pork into 1 inch squares and add along with lamb shanks to bean mixture. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours. Remove lamb shanks from mixture and scrape meat from bones. Discard bones and return meat to beans. Stir in kielbasa and reserved meat from ham hock. (See Tips) Transfer mixture to baking dishes, if necessary.
• BREAD CRUMB TOPPING: Preheat oven to 350°F In a bowl, combine ingredients. Sprinkle over cassoulet and bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.
• TIPS: Using the slow cooker to make cassoulet makes it a manageable project. Cook the beans and marinate the pork overnight. The next morning, continue cooking as directed.
• This is a large quantity of cassoulet, and when the sausage and ham meat is added, it may not fit comfortably in the slow cooker stoneware. I have a gargantuan baking dish, Mexican in origin, that I use for the final assembly You may need to transfer the bean mixture to two large baking dishes before adding the bread crumb topping. If you are serving this as a dinner dish and have enough pottery, consider spooning the cassoulet into individual serving size ovenproof tureens. Add the topping and bake as directed.
• MAKE AHEAD: This dish can be partially prepared the night before it is cooked. Complete Steps 1 and 3, cooking beans overnight. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, continue cooking as directed. Serves 12.
• Delicious & Dependable Slow Cooker Recipes.