A typical dish of the Ardennes, cacasse à cul nu (whose name literally means "bare-bottomed potato stew") was once seen as a pauper's dish. Created in the Meuse Valley, this recipe was linked to the subsistence economy of this part of France. The inhabitants used only their own meagre resources, with no access to products from other regions. The origins of the cacasse à cul nul are not known, but it is mentioned in cookery books from the late 18th century onwards.
Cacasse à cul nu consists of a potato fricassee cooked in a roux. Traditionally it doesn't contain meat, because that would have been too expensive. People contented themselves with rubbing a strip of bacon around the pot to add a little flavour. Today, it is cooked with smoked sausages and bacon slices, and is called "dressed-up cacasse" (cacasse rhabillée). It is part of the "Ardennes de France" range.
A cacasse brotherhood, founded in 2001 and located in Aiglemont, promotes this product all over France, parading with an enormous cauldron at brotherhood gatherings.