Cassoulet- slow cooker style,no duck

The cooks illustrated on line service has four versions of this classic french dish. They missed the slow cooker version that I am making tonight.

First off the onions in the microwave were enough to freak our my dear wife. But.. after a few hours we all seemed to get used to them.

I am sure that anything pork can have a lamb equivalent (for the non pork eaters of the family. As point of fact in one cooks illustrated version the main ingredient was lamb. This one looks good.

The cook must remember to soak the beans overnight the night before. Cook's always soaks them with a ton of salt that gets rinsed off before use.

There is also an interesting practice in this recipe where the chicken thighs are wrapped in aluminum foil and imbedded on top so that the chicken doesn't fall apart in the long (6 to 8 hour) cooking process. We shall see if it does the trick.

2 onions, minced (I sliced them)
2 tablespoons of veg oil
6 garlic cloves (minced)
1 Tablespoon of fresh thyme (this sent me to the grocery store)or one teaspoon of dried
1 Tablespoon of tomato paste
3 1/2 cups of low sodium chicken stock
(All of the above gets microwaved for 5 minutes and stirred in that amount of time a couple of times)

1 pound of dried great Northern beans (2 1/2 cups picked over soaked overnight and rinsed)
8 oz of kielbasa sausage (a little more than half of a hilshire farms selection) I picked the beef version, although there were other choices too,) cut in 1 inch sections)
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained (14.5 oz)
1/2 cup of dry wine (I had a tiny bottle of sutter home pinot grigio that was added in total)

2 bay leaves
2 pounds of country style pork ribs bone in trimmed
2 pounds of bone in chicken thighs (I used boneless skinless) with the skin removed and packaged like a hobo dinner in a packet somewhat sealed.

This a group goes in in on top of the microwaved group and cooked in the slow cooker for 6-8 hours on low until the beans are cooked

The food processor is used to pulse the bread and butter (ingredients to follow)
about 5 pulses. transfer these ingredients to a skillet and toast over medium high heat until golden brown and dry (about 5 minutes) set aside

3 slices high quality white sandwich bread torn into pieces
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted

Transfer foil packet to plate, open it carefully (watch for steam) and transfer chicken to cutting board. Let chicken cool slightly, then shred into bite sized pieces, discarding bone and skin. let braising liquid settle for 5 minutes, (off the heat) then remove fat from surface using large spoon. Discard bay leaves stir in shredded chicken and parsley (2 tablespoons minced fresh) season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with bread crumbs.

So are you up for the challenge. It feeds 5 to 8 so you may need to get the left over contains ready..

Love
Pat