Talk:Duck and sausage cassoulet
Oven temperature and cooking times
We always test recipes that are added to Cookipedia to ensure the quantities and cooking times are correct. This recipe has certainly benefited from our testing. Following the recipe on Channel 4, you would end up with an expensive tomato soup!
From the picture shown, if covered and cooked for 1 hour at 180° C, its highly unlikely to reduce at all and even after 1.5 hours (with the last 30 minutes uncovered, it would never look like the picture at the top of their recipe.
I think the main reason behind the error is that in the TV program, the cassoulet is cooked in an huge wood-burning open pizza oven that is plainly hotter than 180° C. Or they cooked it for far longer than they said!
To correct this, I have adjusted the recipe by reducing 1 can of tomatoes (from the Channel 4 published recipe) and increasing the heat to 200° C, cooking uncovered and increasing the cooking time.
On reflection, I would now recommend slicing the onions quite thinly because at this temperature and cooking time, they don't really get properly cooked if they are left as big rustic chunks. Big lumps of partly cooked onions are to be avoided! recipe amended.
Even so, a fabulous recipe that is worth making. The bread works really well, crispy and crunchy when out of the liquid, almost like dumplings when submerged in the sauce. Yum!
Check it whilst it is cooking
It's an expensive meal to make so even more reason to keep you eye on it whilst it is cooking. If it looks like it will dry out cover with foil and even reduce the heat. If the reverse is happening, uncover and increase the heat.