Lola
- Dec 8, 2021
- 4 min read

Gastronomy of Toulouse : Savory Specialities

Updated: Nov 18, 2022

In Toulouse, gastronomy is sacred and we understand why. The city and its region are plenty of exceptional culinary specialities. For this time, we will focus ourself on salty products.

No, it’s not just cassoulet, even if we couldn’t do without it. This article lists the presentation and recipe based on these products that we love so much. Discover the wealth of Toulouse’s gastronomic heritage.

I’m sure you’re going to get a mouthful of it.

The Cassoulet

It is famous, it is unavoidable, it is no longer presented, it is the Cassoulet!

Its name comes from the dish in which it is concocted, the cassole, made in Issel near Castelnaudary where this delicious dish originated.

It consists of melting tarbais beans, duck confit and Toulouse sausage. However, in the Toulouse variant, lamb or sheep meat is often added and it is made gratin.

Le Cassoulet is a monument of Toulouse gastronomy, you will not (and must) escape it during your stay, a guaranteed treat!

For the more adventurous, here is the complete recipe for this tasty dish.

For the others, go to Emile, one of the best places to taste it:

Address : 13 Place Saint-Georges, 31000 Toulouse
Timetable : From monday to saturday, from 12am to 2pm and from 7:30pm to 10pm
Website

Picture credit : Saveurs Magazine

Toulouse Sausage

We don’t need to present it to you anymore, the Toulouse sausage is eaten with all the sauces. In a simmered dish, grilled on the barbecue or simply in the stove, it is a regular of the kitchen of the southwest.

This large sausage made with pork meat is a real delight for our taste buds.

Even if you find it easily in the supermarket, nothing better than to go and find it at a local producer or in the markets.

Where to buy the best sausages in Toulouse? Well, that’s it, the verdict fell last September at the annual contest dedicated to this product. The big winner is Pierre Pinel, Toulouse’s artisan charcutier.

Name : Les Petits Charcutiers, Maison Pinel
Address : Loge 9 et 11, Marché Saint-Cyprien, 31300 Toulouse
Timetable : From tuesday to friday, from 7am to 1pm ; saturday and sunday until 2pm
Website

Picture credit : Place du Marché

The Alicuit of Duck

In Gascon, alicuit is called "alycot" meaning stew. It is a typical dish of the gersoise cuisine of the farm. At the time, the peasants liked to make this rich and comforting dish at the end of a long day’s work.

But what does it consist of? In gascon dialect, alycot also decomposes into "ale y cot" which means the wings and the neck. We understand that this dish gathers all the pieces of duck less used, some even added the head and legs to give taste to the broth. This is complemented by a few vegetables such as carrots and potatoes, then flavoured with white wine and olives.

Alicuit is a stewed dish that certainly does not pay a lot but that yet delights us with its delicious taste and conviviality. Discover the recipe without further delay!

Picture credit : Julie Andrieu

The Toulouse Chicken

Culinary speaking, the Toulouse Chicken is nothing exceptional. It is considered by the locals as a quite banal dish, part of the gastronomic terroir. However, that does not take away from the fact that it is delicious.

This is actually a chicken stuffed with sausage meat from Toulouse of course!

To give even more aromas, we add garlic and olives, a few potatoes as an accompaniment and the trick is done! The fat of the sausage meat makes the skin of the chicken crispy and melting, just as we like it.

More than a treat.

The recipe? It’s just here.

Picture credit : Cookidoo

The Goose Foie gras

Beware no contempt, duck foie gras is native to the Landes, everyone knows it and it is found almost systematically on our New Year’s Eve tables.

However, Toulouse is not to be outdone, of much less notoriety certainly, the goose foie gras, deserves that you pay attention to it.

And unlike its famous cousin, this one can be enjoyed throughout the year, a real pleasure for the gourmets that we are!

You can find it under different variants specific to each producer in the region.

Don’t miss this discovery!

Visit the Maison Samaran, a specialist in foie gras in Toulouse:

Address : Marché Victor Hugo, Place Victor Hugo, 31000 Toulouse
Timetable : From tuesday to saturday, from 7am to 7pm and sunday until 3pm
Website

Picture credit : Rougié

The Ham of Lacaune (or from the Black Mountain)

Last on our list of specialities but not least, Ham of Lacaune is an exceptional charcuterie. Here also called Black Mountain Ham, it has its origins in the Monts de Lacaune, located a few kilometres east of Toulouse.

Its peculiarity is that the pigs are raised at a relatively low altitude of 800 meters, allowing the ham to be particularly melting. In 2015, he obtained the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication).

Cured ham from Lacaune can be enjoyed raw as an aperitif or in a salad as well as cooked. It is also found in the Albigensian version of Gras Double, a simmered dish with saffron.

You are dying to taste it right now? I understand you. So if you go to your regular Toulouse charcutier, I’m willing to bet he’ll have some for you.