Slow-Cooker Cassoulet

What a delicious dish! Highly rated by my family and friends!
To me, it is crucial to brown the meats before you add the beans and liquid. Otherwise you just have stewed meat, which I find rather bland. My slow cooker has a browning feature, which makes it easier. I had a lot of chicken thighs in the freezer, so I used them instead of duck. I browned them in duck fat and, gosh! They tasted pretty ducky! I also added red wine, because I had an open bottle. I think that deepened the flavor a lot.

The first time I made this, it was truly a culinary treat. The next time I made it, I swapped the duck legs for chicken thighs (which are easier to find in rural Maine), and the result was slightly different, but equally delicious.

This is a company-worthy dish! My observations:
1. The two "optional" steps -- browning the meat before putting into slow cooker, and decanting the concoction into a pan to roast with breadcrumbs for 15 minutes -- are both well worth doing. They add a LOT to the flavor.
2. This recipe, as written, generates quite a bit of liquid. That's another advantage of the final step: one can remove meat, beans, and vegetables with a slotted spoon, leaving that extra liquid for delicious soup the next day.

I echo Brenda's comments: dried beans, without presoaking, are the way to go. I cooked for 8 hours on low and the beans came out perfectly.

At the end, I pulled out the meat/beans and strained an ENTIRE CUP of fat from the remaining broth. When I put the meat/beans back in the casserole dish w the breadcrumbs, I only added back ~3 c of the broth. The rest will make a nice soup.

Also, the garlic at the very end tasted raw. I might add the last Tbsp 30 minutes prior to being done to soften it.

I also came up with a slow cooker recipe that more closely approximates an authentic cassoulet, if anyone is interested. It is divine and takes me back to a visit to Carcassonne. I use a Tarbais like bean available from Rancho Gordo website and duck confit.

I asked a simple question 21 days ago--whether to leave the sausages and pork intact or to cut them up--and no one has deigned to answer; well, one person, sort of. Everyone is too intent on crowing about his or her own tweaks--most of which make Bittman's point, about how easy this is, irrelevant--or on talking about that legendary meal in France, or about having labored through Julia Child's five-day cassoulet recipe. So much for Sifton's imagined cooking community.

Do you put the sausages and pork shoulder--after browning--into the slow cooker in one piece? Or do you slice the sausages and cube the pork? Thanks.

Yes, cut up the sausages, the pork will acquire a pulled-pork type consistency, so you should plan on shredding it up after the cooking is complete. Cut the pork into larger chunks to ensure more even cooking.

I used 1/4 pound of diced pancetta, and used chicken Italian sausages, pork boneless country-style spareribs, and chicken thighs. I browned the sausages, pork and chicken thighs first, (from which I removed the skin), which really helps. I also used chicken stock, which makes a big difference. I also recommend the final step of putting the cassoulet into a casserole, covering it with breadcrumbs, and roasting until the breadcrumbs brown. The parlsey garnish is also important. A winner!

Very flexible recipe, & very good. Read a lot of the comments and then went my own way--used boneless chicken thighs (no duck), pancetta (no bacon), & a pork loin roast cut into four chunks (no shoulder). Browned each meat in a skillet that I deglazed with some red wine. Used a whole pound of beans, dry right into the crock pot. It's more work this way than one would usually expend on a crock pot recipe, but worth the result. Thank you, NYT for another wonderful meal!

Pls share!

This dish does release a lot of liquid. You can serve with a slotted spoon. Alternately, feel free to reduce the water or stock to cover 1-inch above (instead of 2). Just keep an eye on it. You'll want to add more liquid if it gets too dry.

Browning the meat is a must to reduce the fat content of the cassoulet. I also made the meal in its entirety and refrigerated it for a day. That allowed the congealed fat to be easily removed from the top before being reheated. Definitely use more beans.
Consider substituting a smoked sausage (possibly kielbasa) in lieu of the sweet italian sausage.
I used chicken legs instead of duck (apparently everyone was making cassoulet last week and the butchers were all out) and it worked out fine.

This was very tasty. The beans were done without a presoak in 6 1/2 hours on low. I browned all of the meats and used turkey drums instead of duck. I also sauteed the onions and garlic before adding to the pot. I cut the sausages in 3 pieces to brown and then sliced them later into smaller pieces. The pork does indeed just shred easily when it is done. It was a little bit of work to do but the browning made a big difference and it was delicious.

I cook dried beans in my slow cooker all the time without soaking them beforehand. Navy bean soup, 15 bean soup, pinto beans -- never had a problem. I haven't made this recipe yet, but I wouldn't hesitate to try it with dried beans based on my experience