I make Auvergne stew when I want a dish that keeps you warm and smells like grandmother's cooking, without any fuss.
What I love is the concept: everything simmers together, each ingredient contributing its flavor, and in the end you have a fragrant broth, tender vegetables, and delicious meat. It's simple, but it has real character!
I keep the Auvergne version classic: semi-salted pork (often shoulder or salted pork), sausages, cabbage, carrots and potatoes.
I just add one small detail that I find clever: I quickly rinse the semi-salted pork, then start with cold water and the herbs. This avoids excess salt and gives a clean, flavorful broth.
To stay true to the “potée” spirit, I don’t complicate the technique: a large pot, gentle cooking, and respecting the order of adding the vegetables so that everything reaches the right texture at the same time.
The cabbage should be tender without turning to mush, the potatoes should hold their shape, and the carrots should retain a little resistance to chewing.
As for the food, it's nourishing (it sticks to the body and it's meant to do so, because winter is often cold in Auvergne) and it's quite balanced: protein from pork and sausages, fiber from cabbage, vitamins from carrots, and energy from potatoes.
If you like, a touch of old-fashioned mustard when serving... It's exactly the kind of detail that will make the charcuterie sing!
Auvergne stew
4
people17
minutes41
minutes892
kcal58
minutesA Auvergne stew recipe : semi-salted pork, sausages, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes simmering together. A rustic, hearty dish, just what you need when you're craving real comfort food.
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Ingredients
600g semi -salted pork shoulder (or salted pork)
2 Montbéliard sausages (approx. 180g per sausage)
1/2 curly green cabbage (approx. 1kg per cabbage)
600g - fleshed potatoes
3 carrots (approx. 100g per piece)
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs of thyme
8 black peppercorns
1 clove
1.6 water
Pepper (to taste)
Old-fashioned mustard (optional, for serving)
Preparation steps
- Quickly rinse the salted pork shoulder under cold water (30 seconds) to remove excess surface salt. Peel the onion and stud it with the clove. Peel the garlic and lightly crush it.
- Place the shoulder in a large pot. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns. Pour in 1.6 liters of cold water.
- Bring to a simmer. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface after 2-3 minutes, then cover, leaving a small opening. Simmer for 22 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables: peel the carrots and cut them into large chunks. Peel the potatoes and leave them whole if they are small (otherwise cut them in half). Cut the cabbage into quarters, remove the tough ribs, then rinse it.
- Add the carrots to the pot. Continue cooking for 9 minutes at a gentle simmer.
- Next, add the cabbage. Cover and cook for 7 minutes.
- Finally, add the potatoes and the Montbéliard sausages (whole). Let it simmer for 3 minutes, just long enough for the potatoes to finish cooking and the sausages to warm through without bursting.
- Taste the broth: it's usually already salty enough with the salt. Add pepper if needed (go easy, there are already peppercorns).
- Serve piping hot: ideally, a little broth in the bowl, the vegetables around it, the sliced pork shoulder, and the sausages cut into large pieces. Add wholegrain mustard on the side if you like.
📊 Nutritional Information
1 portion (approx. 730g, with broth)
| Nutrient | Value |
|---|---|
| Calories | 892 kcal |
| Proteins | 44g |
| Carbohydrates | 59g |
| including sugars | 10g |
| Lipids | 52g |
| including saturated fatty acids | 19g |
| Fibers | 10g |
| Sodium | 1650mg |
| Vitamins | |
| Vitamin A | 120% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) |
| Vitamin C | 95% RDA |
| Vitamin B6 | 55% AJR |
| Minerals | |
| Potassium | 40% AJR |
| Phosphorus | 45% AJR |
| Iron | 18% AJR |
* RDA = Recommended Daily Allowance
📝 Notes
If you have any leftovers, keep the meat and vegetables in their broth: gently reheat them the next day, and they're even better! And yes, in Auvergne it gets quite cold in winter, and the tradition was to prepare it for several days.
Remember to avoid vigorous boiling to prevent breaking the potatoes.
💡 Chef's Tips
For a well-mastered Auvergne stew recipe in less than 1 hour, the secret is the order: meat first, then carrots, then cabbage, then potatoes + sausages at the end.
Keep it at a gentle simmer: if it boils vigorously, the potatoes will fall apart and the sausages may burst.
🔄 Variations
- For a more rustic stew: add 1 small piece of semi-salted bacon (approx. 150g) with the shoulder, then remove it and slice it when serving.
- Recipe with a more aromatic broth: add 1 small piece of celery stalk (or a little celeriac) at the same time as the onion, then remove it before serving.
