Toulouse Sausages

I will be making a cassoulet soon and the recipe I have calls for Toulouse Sausages. I have never had said sausage. Where do I buy such things?

Might be hard to find here, I can't think of a place that would carry it, (maybe Fox & Obel would have packages). I'm sure you can find it online.

But, I'm not sure it's 100% necessary for your recipe. The meat portion in cassoulet is often open to many different interpretations and variations. My understanding is that it is a dish where you add what you have available in the area you're in, or what you have preserved.

In my experience, many chefs who make cassoulet don't really bother with being so authentic as to use Toulouse but rather something similar and more available (like Polish kielbasa) or even skipping sausage altogether and going with hunks of smoked pork. Toulouse is basically a garlicky,slightly smoky pork sausage. I think a good kielbasa is an acceptable substitute as is any other hunk of cooked or smoked pork you might enjoy.

You won't lose any authenticity points with me

Best,
Michael

I'm with Michael: a really good Kielbassa works just fine. I can get Toulouse sausages here in Montréal, but they're really too mild to do the job I want them to do.

What recipe will you use? I've settled on an interpolation of New York Times Cookbook and Julia, which uses pork, lamb, and sausage. Love it!
(Altho' it's cold here today, isn't it a bit late in the season for cassoulet?? )

Geo

Fabrique Delices in California makes excellent Saucisse de Toulouse. Here is a link:
http://www.fabriquedelices.com/snatural.htm

I am not sure where to buy retail in Chicago, but Artisan Specialty Foods carries it wholesale. We have used it in the past for Cassoulet with very happy results. Also, they have a cured sausage called "Garlic Sausage"
http://www.fabriquedelices.com/snatural.htm that is fabulous that adds a nice bit of salt and garlic to Cassoulet (and makes for a nice snack on the side).

Enjoy!

I bought Fabrique Delices Toulouse sausages a few months back at Provenence in Lincoln Square.

Dunno if they're still in stock.

2312 W. Leland Avenue
(773) 784-2314
http://www.provenancefoodandwine.com/

I'm from the South of France and I've been addicted to cassoulet for the last 45 years.
So believe me when I second Geo's and Michael's opinion: A good quality kielbassa will do the job.
Check Paulina's Market on Lincoln Avenue, they used to make a decent one.
But I agree that the Saucisse de Toulouse from Fabrique Delices in Hayward, CA is as close to the French original that you will find in the U.S.
May I suggest that you follow Ann Willan's recipe from her marvelous book French Regional Cooking.
But it is for a Cassoulet Toulousain, not for the Caassoulet de Castelnaudary that I prefer.
But they also have several good recipes on Epicurious.com
Good luck
Alain

One of the things I like about Toulouse sausages (I use a Paula Wolfert recipe) is the flavor of the nutmeg it contains. So when I use kielbasa for a Cassoulet de Toulouse, I toss in a few gratings of nutmeg.

Coming back to this again in light of the recent cold snap....so I walk into Hot Doug's today for lunch. One of the featured sausages is Toulouse sausage. I place my order and ask Doug:

AS: Where do you source the Toulouse sausage?

HD: France!

So, looks like kielbasa for me.

Last year, I was able to purchase sausages that were labeled "French Christmas Sausage" from the meat counter at Fox & Obel. Just called there and found out they are no longer making these. Any suggestions for where I can find Toulouse sausage or ideas for what would be a suitable replacement?

Thanks-
Tracey

I've made Toulouse sausages several times using the recipe in Paula Wolfert's The Cooking of Southwest France. If you have any experience making sausage at all, they're fairly easy to make and the recipe is excellent. The smokiness mentioned above is imparted via the addition into the grind of meat that is already cured and smoked, like bacon, for example.

=R=

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I'm not quite that talented! I'm intimidated enough by the cassoulet I'm about to undertake, much less making my own sausage!

The good news though is that I was able to find Toulouse sausages at Provenance. And they were nice enough to bring the package down to Logan Square from the Lincoln Square store, saving me a bit of travel.

Tracey

House made Toulouse Sausages from Butcher and Larder today! I am not sure if they plan to have them all the time, so call ahead. No doubt, they could put you together with nearly everything you need to make a cassoulet if you call and let them know! (I didn't see tarbais beans, or duck confit).

Who knows if it will be a seasonal or regular thing (I would assume the former), but Publican Quality Meats has Toulouse sausages. I picked up some Morteau instead, so cannot vouch for the Toulouse, but the ones I have had at the restaurant have been good.

B&L has them pretty regularly.

My brother and I (in the rôle of sous-chef) made cassoulet for New Year's with the sausages and confit from Jersey's own D'Artagnan...
Both the Toulouse sausages and the French garlic sausages from D'Artagnan were excellent, so too the ventrèche... we also got the Tarbais beans from them and, as a (self-proclaimed) bean-connoisseur, I must say that real Tarbais are among the very best beans known to man...

D'Artagnan products are not cheap but the quality is high.
http://www.dartagnan.com/

On this first day of Lent, one of the strictest of fast days, it's something akin to torture to look at pictures of cassoulet...

Antonius