goose fat

This foolproof recipe will ensure even first timers get crispy skins and fluffy insides. Make sure your potatoes are perfect for Sunday lunch or even Christmas dinner

Ultimate roast potatoes

1kg Maris Piper potatoes

duck

tsp flour

Maldon salt,to serve

Put a <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/review/test-five-best-roasting-tins">roasting tin</a> in the oven (one big enough to take the potatoes in a single layer) and heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.

<a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/test-five-best-peelers">Peel</a> 1kg potatoes and cut each into 4 even-sized pieces if they are medium size, 2-3 if smaller (5cm pieces).

Drop the potatoes into a large <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/five-best-saucepans">pan</a> and pour in enough water to barely cover them.

Add salt, then wait for the water to boil. As soon as the water reaches a full rolling boil, lower the heat, put your timer on and simmer the potatoes uncovered, reasonably vigorously, for 2 mins.

Meanwhile, put 100g duck or goose fat or 100ml olive oil into the hot roasting tin and heat it in the oven for a few mins, so it’s really hot.

Drain the potatoes in a colander then shake the <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/test-five-best-colanders">colander</a> back and forth a few times to fluff up the outsides.

Sprinkle with 2 tsp flour and give another shake or two so they are evenly and thinly coated.

Carefully put the potatoes into the hot fat – they will sizzle as they go in – then turn and roll them around so they are coated all over.

Spread them in a single layer making sure they have plenty of room.

Roast the potatoes for 15 mins, then take them out of the oven and turn them over.

Roast for another 15 mins and turn them over again. Put them back in the oven for another 10-20 mins, or however long it takes to get them really golden and crisp. The colouring will be uneven, which is what you want.

Scatter with Maldon salt and serve straight away.

A foolproof recipe for roasties that come out perfect every time.

Perfect roast potatoes

tbsp plain flour

goose fator duck fat

tbsp sunflower oil oil

Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Peel the potatoes and cut in half; if very large, cut into quarters, or leave whole if they are small. Tip into a saucepan, cover with cold water, then bring to the boil. Set the timer and boil for exactly 2 mins. Drain the potatoes well, then toss in the colander to fluff up their surfaces, sprinkling over the flour as you go.

Place a large, sturdy roasting tray over a fairly high heat, then tip in the fat and oil. When sizzling, lower in the potatoes carefully, then gently brown in the hot fat for about 5 mins so all the sides are covered with oil.

Roast undisturbed for 20 mins, then remove from the oven and gently turn them over with a fish slice. Place the tray on the hob to heat the oil, then return to the oven and cook for another 20 mins. Turn again, putting the tray back on the hob to heat the oil. Give them a final 20 mins in the oven, by which time you should have perfect roast potatoes.

Goose fat, vegetable oil and polenta - the secrets to the perfect roast potatoes every time

Right-every-time roasties

2kg King Edward potato

polenta flour

tbsp goose fat

vegetable oil

Cut the potatoes into quarters, or eighths if really large – you want to end up with even-size 5cm pieces. Put the potatoes in a large pan of salted water and boil for 5 mins, just until the outside of the potato starts to soften. To check, try scraping a potato with a fork – it should be easy to make a mark but you shouldn’t be able to slide it into the flesh. Drain really well.

Return to the pan and scatter over the flour and polenta (if using) and a little salt. Place a lid on top of the pan and give it a couple of good shakes, coating the potatoes in the flour and polenta and lightly crushing the sides.

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Place the goose fat and oil in a roasting tin large enough to hold all the potatoes in one layer and heat in the oven for 5 mins. Quickly tip the potatoes in and return to the oven. Cook for 30 mins, turning once, then increase the heat to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Cook for 20 mins more or until crisp all over. Sprinkle with a little more salt, then serve.

This sumptuous, step-by-step recipe for slow-cooked stew from Gordon Ramsay makes a great winter supper

Beef bourguignon with celeriac mash

shin beef,

smoked streaky bacon, sliced

shallot

chestnut mushrooms (about 20)

garlic cloves, sliced

bouquet garni (see know-how below)

tomato purée

red wine, Burgundy is good

(about 1) celeriac

tbsp olive oil,

rosemary and thyme sprigs

bay leaves

cardamom pods

Heat a large casserole pan and add 1 tbsp goose fat.

Season 600g large chunks of shin beef and fry until golden brown, about 3-5 mins, then turn over and fry the other side until the meat is browned all over, adding more fat if necessary. Do this in 2-3 batches, transferring the meat to a colander set over a bowl when browned.

In the same pan, fry 100g sliced smoked streaky bacon, 350g peeled shallots or pearl onions, 250g chestnut mushrooms, 2 sliced garlic cloves and 1 bouquet garni until lightly browned.

Mix in 1 tbsp tomato purée and cook for a few mins, stirring the mixture. This enriches the bourguignon and makes a great base for the stew. Then return the beef and any drained juices to the pan and stir through.

Pour over 750ml bottle red wine and about 100ml water so the meat bobs up from the liquid, but isn’t completely covered. Bring to the boil and use a spoon to scrape the caramelised cooking juices from the bottom of the pan – this will give the stew more flavour.

Heat oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. Make a cartouche: tear off a square of foil slightly larger than the casserole, arrange it in the pan so it covers the top of the stew and trim away any excess foil. Cook for 3 hrs.

If the sauce looks watery, remove the beef and veg with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Cook the sauce over a high heat for a few mins until the sauce has thickened a little, then return the beef and vegetables to the pan.

To make the celeriac mash, peel 600g celeriac and cut into cubes. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan. Tip in the celeriac and fry for 5 mins until it turns golden. Season well with salt and pepper.

Stir in 1 or 2 sprigs of rosemary and thyme, 2 bay leaves and 4 cardamom pods, then pour over 200ml water, enough to nearly cover the celeriac. Turn the heat to low, partially cover the pan and leave to simmer for 25-30 mins.

After 25-30 mins, the celeriac should be soft and most of the water will have evaporated. Drain away any remaining water, then remove the herb sprigs, bay and cardamom pods.

Lightly crush with a potato masher, then finish with a glug of olive oil and season to taste.

Spoon the beef bourguignon into serving bowls and place a large spoonful of the celeriac mash on top. Garnish with one of the bay leaves, if you like.

Don't spend Christmas morning peeling potatoes, make our freeze ahead roasties

Golden roast potatoes

½kg Desirée potato

tbsp flour

tbsp goose fat oil

Peel the potatoes, then cut into halves, or quarters if large. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add a little salt, then tip the potatoes into the pan. Bring back to the boil and cook for 7 mins. Drain really well, then return to the pan and sprinkle over the flour. Place a lid on top of the pan, then pick up the pan using oven gloves or a tea towel and give it a few really hard shakes so the potatoes get bashed around (this will make them nice and crisp).

Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Spoon the goose fat or sunflower oil onto a large, lipped baking tray and leave to heat on the top shelf of the oven for 5 mins. Carefully pull out the tray, make sure its surface is evenly coated with the fat, then tip on the potatoes. Roast for 20 mins, then turn up the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7 and roast for another 30 mins, turning the potatoes once, until golden and crisp. Sprinkle with a little salt and serve straight away.

This slow-cooked casserole of white beans and several kinds of meat has long been considered the pinnacle of regional French home cooking. It takes planning (you’ll need to find all the ingredients), time and a good deal of culinary stamina. But the voluptuous mix of aromatic beans surrounding rich chunks of duck confit, sausages, roasted pork and lamb and a crisp salt pork crust is well worth the effort. Serve this with a green salad. It doesn’t need any other accompaniment, and you wouldn’t have room for it, anyway. This recipe is part of The New Essentials of French Cooking, a guide to definitive dishes every modern cook should master.

Melissa Clark's Cassoulet

pork

lamb

salt

garlic cloves, peeled, garlic

cloves

black pepper

bay leaf, torn into pieces

rosemary,

thyme,

duck fat, melted (or goose fat

beans

bouquet garni

celery,

carrot,

garlic cloves,

clove

white onion, cut stem to root end

French garlic sausage

salt pork

duck fat

onions,

carrots,

celery stalks, diced

tomato tomatoes

Kosher salt,

bread crumbs

NYT Cooking

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/01/13/dining/COOKING-CASSOULET2/COOKING-CASSOULET2-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600-v2.jpg

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/01/13/dining/COOKING-CASSOULET2/COOKING-CASSOULET2-googleFourByThree-v2.jpg

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/01/13/dining/COOKING-CASSOULET2/COOKING-CASSOULET2-mediumSquareAt3X-v2.jpg

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/01/13/dining/COOKING-CASSOULET2/COOKING-CASSOULET2-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg

The night before cooking, marinate the meat and soak the beans. For meat: In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except fat and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight. For beans: In a large bowl, combine beans, 1 teaspoon salt and enough cold water to cover by 4 inches. Cover and let sit overnight.

The next day, roast the meat: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pour fat over meat in the bowl and toss to coat. Spread meat in one even layer on a rimmed baking sheet, leaving space between each piece to encourage browning (use two pans if necessary). Top meat with any fat left in bowl. Roast until browned, about 1 hour, then turn pieces, cover with foil, and continue to roast until soft, another 1 1/2 hours. Remove meat from baking sheet, then scrape up all browned bits stuck to the pan. Reserve fat and browned bits.

Meanwhile, cook the beans: Drain beans, add them to a large stockpot and cover with 2 inches water. Add bouquet garni, celery, carrot, 2 garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons salt and the pepper. Stick whole clove into the folds of the onion half and add that as well. Bring to a boil and then simmer over medium heat, stirring often, until beans are cooked through, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, adding garlic sausage after 30 minutes. When beans are cooked, remove bouquet garni and aromatics, including vegetables. Reserving cooking liquid, drain the beans and sausage.

While beans are cooking, bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add salt pork. Simmer for 30 minutes, remove and let cool. Cut off skin, then slice pork into very thin pieces and reserve.

Heat a very large skillet (at least 12 inches) over medium heat and add a drizzle of duck or other fat. Add fresh pork sausages and cook until well browned on all sides, about 20 minutes. Remove to a plate and reserve, leaving any sausage fat in skillet.

In same skillet over medium-high heat, add 1/4 cup of the reserved fat and the browned bits from the roasted meat. Add diced onions, carrots and celery, and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add 9 whole garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, another 2 to 4 minutes. Add tomato purée, season with salt to taste, and simmer until thickened to a saucelike consistency, 5 to 10 minutes, if necessary. Add cooked beans and stir to combine. Remove from heat and reserve.

Assemble the cassoulet: Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, lay salt pork pieces in an even layer to cover the bottom of the pot. Add a scant third of the bean and garlic sausage mixture, spreading evenly. Top with half of the roasted meat pieces, 2 pork sausages and 2 duck legs. Add another scant third of the bean mixture, and top with remaining meat, sausages and duck legs. Top with remaining beans, spreading them to the edges and covering all meat. Pour reserved bean liquid along the edges of the pot, until liquid comes up to the top layer of beans but does not cover. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and drizzle with 1/4 cup duck fat.

Bake until crust is lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Use a large spoon to lightly crack the crust; the bean liquid will bubble up. Use the spoon to drizzle the bean liquid all over the top of the crust. Return to oven and bake 1 hour more, cracking the crust and drizzling with the bean liquid every 20 minutes, until the crust is well browned and liquid is bubbling. (The total baking time should be 1 1/2 hours.) Remove from oven and let cool slightly, then serve.

Prepared it following the directions to the letter with the exception of using a mild pork sausage that I smoked and had in the freezer.  It was delicious.

if I made this on Tuesday and Wednesday, would it still be good to actually serve a few days later?

I know this is nuts but I’m going to make this vegetarian, just once.

I made this for NYE. Despite substantial effort, there was no hope of getting Tarbais beans in Italy, so I used Corona, which were outstandingly creamy. Neither could I get lamb (too early). I used "spezzatino" of pork and veal. We had ten guests, so I upscaled to ten duck legs and ten sausages. It was a lot of work, spread out over several days, and my 41cm cocotte required two people to move. The process was relaxing and calming, especially in the tempest of 2025. The guests loved it.

I found the dish to be just okay. The texture was mushy . The flavor was muddled. None of my guests complimented the dish.

I usually confit a whole duck myself as the first step in making cassoulet. It is time consuming but I am able to control the process and I can get frozen duck at my local Asian market. They also, usually, have all the other ingredients listed. I don’t roast my meats as listed, I only roast them until they’re properly darkened and let the stewing do its job.

2 lbs pork and 2 lbs lamb was a good ratio. I roasted meat for 1 hour as recommended but then did not follow recipe re: continuing to roast covered. 1 hour was plenty. There is additional cooking time once cassoulet is assembled. Other than these two changes, I followed the recipe and it was a big hit. Delicious!

Background music is Cognac S'il Vous Plait by Martin Taylor and Jean-Pierre Fabien

Excellent recipe with standard grocery store ingredients. The comments pertaining to the roasted meats ending up tough. The second time making this recipe, I browned and then braised the pork and lamb in some water for 1.5 hours – fork tender and perfect for the final assembly!

Attempted to make as directed but needed more salt pork to cover bottom of pan. Also, the stew meat ended up being too dry and did not tenderize in baking process. Beans were delicious. I may have cooked them a bit long as they seemed to lose shape in the baking process.I used canned duck confit. Overall, the dish was good. Would try again to make, but only because so many rave about.  Not because mine came out all that great. Next time…larger meat pieces and watch more carefully.

I cooked duck breast and legs, both with skin, along with sausage and the marinade ingredients (no liquids) in a crockpot on high for 3 hours, then low for 2.5.  The meat browns and plenty of fat was rendered. Result was very tender, well-seasoned meat.

I followed Melissa's recipe, but also took ideas from Julia Child's and the results were excellent!!  I made the beans according to Melissa's instructions, adding garlic sausage 30 minutes in.  I cooked the meat with bones on the stove following Julia's recipe, as some commented that the meat dried out in the oven in Melissa's recipe.  I included lamb shoulder, bone-in pork, sausage, and duck.  Added white wine to the tomato pure (Julia's idea), and used bean liquid at the end-both recommended

Use less tomato puree and more bean liquid.  Do not get rid of liquid until fully cooked so you can add more liquid if it becomes dry.  Check cassoulet every 30 minutes.  Probably only needs 1 hour max to cook.

I appreciate everyone who shared their experience with the roasting time for the meat. I came up with a hybrid method - I pan seared it (cut up bone in lamb and pork chops) and then put it in a 350 degree oven for just twenty minutes. Came out perfect.

Since everything is cooked before assembly, I would love to hear if others have frozen this after assembling it but before baking it.  I’d like to freeze some of the duck fat as well as some of the bean liquid to add after defrosting before baking.  I’d also wait to add the topping until ready to bake.  Does this make sense or is it better to bake then freeze?

What size dutch oven would be needed for this dish?

NY Times staff:  can you share what that wonderful background music is in the cassoulet video?

Making cassoulet is a commitment! But the result is an inimitable mix of elegant flavors and textures. Thank goodness D'Artagnan products are so widely available! Their duck fat & garlic sausages are top notch. Ditto for Rancho Gordo's cassoulet (Tarbais) beans. I confess to using chicken thighs, not duck this time. Also bacon instead of salt pork. Added a cup of sauv blanc to the tomato purée. Fabulous result!! A seasonal Must Have in our home every winter!!

I've tried various cassoulet recipes  and while this one  is quite good, something was off.   I marinated and roasted the stew meat from a good butcher exactly  according to instructions but it came out of the oven really tough and dry, and it didn't get much more tender when stewing in the oven. Perhaps a lower roasting temperature and less time?? Also, 5 lbs of stew meat overwhelmed the pot and beans. I would use less stew meat the next time.

A note on ingredients: I got a "Cassoulet Kit" from d'Artagnan which included Tarbais beans, garlic sausage, duck and armagnac sausage, ventrèche (French pancetta), duck confit and duck fat.  I used 6 oz ventrèche instead of the salt pork (no boiling), and the duck sausage instead of the pork sausage.  I found that the fat left in the pan of roasted meat was all I needed to complete the recipe, so I only used 4 oz of duck fat.

If you put a pizza stone on the bottom of you oven or On the lowest rack, and bake your cassoulet on that you will get a great crust on the bottom.

Same experience as Terry (q.v.); the pork and lamb @ 325 for 2.5 hours produced something akin to jerky. I’d ignore the time advice and simply monitor for done-ness.  As for the duck confit, the drumsticks I found were far beyond the budget for most folks; instead I skinned bone-in chicken drumsticks and cooked them slowly in duck fat at 200 degrees in a covered saucepan on the stovetop, then later tucked them into the construction of the cassoulet. Great taste.

1. As requested by another reader, it would be helpful for recipes like this to note the size of dutch oven needed. 2. Altogether this was excellent. However, while the recipe description refers to a "crisp salt pork crust", the salt pork was the opposite of crisp. Given that its boiled, and then sits at the bottom of a pot filled with stock this isnt that surprising. But, I wonder if one might crisp the salt pork a bit before adding all the other layers?

I agree with the other comments regarding the bean to meat ratio.  I used the full amount of beans and half the meat - - and still found there to be plenty of meat.  I also agree the cooking time for the stew meat is too long.  I used lamb riblets and pork spareribs - about 2 lbs total, cooked about 1-1.25 hours.  Meat was perfectly tender.  I used frozen duck legs instead of confit, which is hard to find.  Cooked with the ribs - perfect.  Also used a spicy merguez sausage (lamb & pork) -yummy!

This was very good, and got raves from my guests.  I think it has too much tomato -- next time I'd use 1 1/2 or 2 cups of sauce.  I pressure cooked the beans and garlic sausage in an Instant Pot for 30 minutes, natural pressure release.  I roasted half of a bone-in lamb shoulder and a few bone-in pork country ribs, cooled and de-boned before adding to the beans.  The ratio of meat to beans was quite high and could be reduced.  It filled a Le Creuset #31 Dutch oven (6.75 qt).

I used the Shazam app on my phone and got this for the music: "Cognac S'll Vous Plait" by Martin Taylor and Jean-Pierre Fabien

One of the essential elements of provincial European cooking is that dishes like this are the end result of previous meals, not a venture in and of themselves. It's what you do with a leftover roast, so enjoy that roast lamb or pork dinner which is way too much for one meal, then use the rest in the cassoulet. It's amazing how much more affordable both meals become.

Very delicious! But not a small amount of work, particularly collecting all of the ingredients. I blended a 28 oz. can of Italian tomatoes for the tomato puree. The time roasting the meat was a little too long, and I should have saved the bean liquid after I assembled the cassoulet as the end result could have been a little saucier. Get a Cahors Malbec for the classic pairing. 12 servings is not an exaggeration - there was a ton of food and it's very filling.

https://vp.nyt.com/video/2017/01/11/70605_1_guides-french-cassoulet_wg_480p.mp4

A casserole of aromatic beans baked slowly alongside cured and roasted meats, topped with crisp bread crumbs.

Top 6 goose fat recipes from across the web

The most viewed goose fat recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Ultimate roast potatoes

Perfect roast potatoes

Right-every-time roasties

Beef bourguignon with celeriac mash

Golden roast potatoes

Melissa Clark's Cassoulet

Top 6 goose fat recipes from across the web

The most viewed goose fat recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Ultimate roast potatoes

Perfect roast potatoes

Right-every-time roasties

Beef bourguignon with celeriac mash

Golden roast potatoes

Melissa Clark's Cassoulet

The most viewed goose fat recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine