Soup Season: A Southern Cassoulet

{You may all the time rely on beans}

When the climate cools down, Alabama cooking is all concerning the bean. A staple harvested throughout the lengthy sizzling summer season turns into winter’s go to dinner. Whether or not dried or canned, there are countless methods to serve this wholesome legume when the temperatures dip. One of many humblest of Southern meals, pinto beans and cornbread additionally ranks among the many most beloved dishes on the desk. A protracted custom right here, simmered slowly in a crockpot with ham hock, beans and pork are arguably essentially the most well-known energy couple within the southern delicacies universe. This beloved meals custom additionally has a storied historical past in France, however in that language, beans and ham takes on a extra lyrical identify: cassoulet.  A cassoulet is a dish made with beans and stewed meats, and that’s the foundation of the method for the following recipe in our Soup Season Sequence. Surprisingly, Southerners haven’t invented an equal phrase, so cassoulet is a pleasant place to begin if you wish to study extra about numerous cooking methods and expanded recipes that characteristic our beloved beans and pork.

(Christy Williams/Contributed)

{Pig in Sunshine}

The inspiration for our southern model of cassoulet lies not removed from the busy vacationers passing alongside Interstate 65 because it cuts a pointy path via thickets of lofty Alabama pines. A brand new roadside attraction in Evergreen, Alabama beckons passersbys with a well-known emblem that includes a pig in sunshine. It’s on this tiny city, positioned in Conecuh County, that the Periods household has quietly produced a few of the greatest hickory smoked pork sausage since 1947. With the motto of “true Southern taste”, the Conecuh Sausage model has grown past smoked sausage, and now consists of bacon, spice blends, sizzling canine, and smoked turkeys and ham. Most cooks can discover the smoked sausage within the neighborhood grocery retailer, however you’ll need to look a bit of tougher to seek out the coveted bacon. All merchandise are actually offered on the flagship retailer just lately constructed in Evergreen that’s quick turning into a should go to cease for vacationers headed to the Gulf Coast. You’ll find all of the tasty sausage associated info by visiting Conecuh Sausage on-line at https://conecuhsausage.com/.

{A matter of timing}

The recipe under, named in honor of the Periods household creation, will be made as easy or advanced as time permits. Chances are you’ll need to slowly simmer your individual pot of beans for hours, laden with a ham hock, bay leaves and aromatics till every bean transforms right into a tiny little bit of creamy perfection. Or you’ll be able to go for the short and the straightforward, with beans straight from a can. In case you’re choosing ease, be sure you drain and rinse the canned beans earlier than continuing with the recipe. As with all cassoulets, a key level is cooking the dish in a delicate and sluggish trend, coaxing all of the fats and taste from the meat. Right here, the longer you simmer this dish, the extra the smoky, advanced taste of the sausage develops. Conecuh County Cassoulet is a perfect meal for chilly days spent feeding a crowd. We hope you get pleasure from and share your cassoulet creation with us on social media #soulgrownsoupszn!

(Christy Williams/Contributed)

Conecuh County Cassoulet with Cornbread Croutons

INGREDIENTS

Conecuh Sausage Firm model bacon, diced

One white onion, diced

½ tsp purple pepper flakes

One-pound authentic Conecuh County Sausage hyperlink sausage, thinly sliced

2 cup hen inventory

2 cans Rotel model diced tomatoes with chilis

1 can stewed tomatoes

One pound dried Nice Northern Beans, sluggish cooked with ham hock or

3 cans canned Nice Northern Beans, drained and rinsed

Small pan of cornbread, minimize into one-inch cubes

2 tbsp butter

Conecuh Sausage model Pork, Poultry, Wild Sport seasoning

Salt to style, recent floor pepper

Flat leaf parsley, chopped

{The Cassoulet}

• Gradual prepare dinner a one-pound bag of dried Nice Northern beans in accordance with directions, utilizing a ham hock for flavoring if out there. Don’t overcook the beans. Shortcut: use canned beans as an alternative
• Place diced bacon into a big dutch oven and fry till crispy. Take away and put aside.
• Into the bacon drippings, add the diced onion and prepare dinner on medium excessive warmth till clear and golden in colour. Cut back warmth to medium and add the purple pepper flakes. Enable flakes to toast a couple of minutes. Season to style.
• Add sliced sausage to the onion/purple pepper combination and prepare dinner till browned. There needs to be a pleasant coating of brown bits collected on the underside of the dutch oven. Observe: These brown bits are known as fond. The place there’s fond, there’s taste. Attempt to create fond every time you’ll be able to in cooking.
• Pour the hen inventory into the dutch oven, utilizing a wood spoon to scrape up the browned bits. Flip warmth again to medium excessive and prepare dinner till the liquid reduces by half.
• Add the canned, diced tomatoes, the canned stewed tomatoes and the reserved bacon to the dutch oven and canopy. Flip warmth to low and simmer for at the very least a half hour, longer you probably have time. In case you should not have time, it’s possible you’ll proceed instantly to the following steps, however the flavors will develop into extra advanced in case you can simmer it longer.
• Gently stir within the cooked or canned Nice Northern beans into the Dutch oven and warmth via. Don’t overcook the beans. Regulate seasoning to style. Chances are you’ll use further hen inventory to regulate the consistency.

{The Croutons}

Warmth 2 tbsp butter in a forged iron skillet on medium warmth. Rigorously add the cornbread cubes to the butter and gently toss them to coat. Sprinkle cornbread cubes with Conecuh Sausage model Pork, Poultry, Wild Sport seasoning mix and proceed to prepare dinner till all sides are golden. You have to to maintain a detailed eye throughout the cooking course of, because the croutons can burn shortly if left too lengthy.

{Serving}

Spoon cassoulet right into a heat bowl and garnish with cornbread croutons. Chopped parsley provides a little bit of colour and vibrancy to the dish. Bonus factors: a little bit of mayonnaise sounds unusual, however brings a wealthy factor to the general taste, or a little bit of sizzling chow chow is a pleasant approach so as to add a contact of acid.