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Originally Posted by Meggen
oak - what exactly is a rillette for those of us who are NOT gourmet cooks? And what is the recipe?
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Meggen, Rillettes are pork (or duck or goose, or even rabbit) cooked slowly in fat and then shredded and packed in ramekins with the rendered fat poured over to seal them. They look sort of like a chunky pate. It's not dissimilar to confit (duck is the best known...duck legs cooked in slowly in their own fat), but it's country French charcuterie (i.e., preserved meat) at it's finest. Not fancy at all. And it's almost embarrassingly simple to make.
It's kind of *gourmet* here in the States because it's not a particularly well known method of preparation.
I used fatty pork shoulder plus an additional pound of pork fat, salt, herbes de provence (an herb mixture with lavendar), peppercorns, bay leaves, white wine. You want lots of fat, because that makes the meat meltingly tender.
Chop the pork and the fat into 1-inch chunks. Salt liberally (I probably used about 5-7 tbsp of salt for 5 lbs of meat). Sprinkle with the herbes de Provence and mix well. Put the seasoned meat and fat into a giant ziplock baggie and stick in the fridge for at least 12 hours, and up to a day or two. Take meat out and put it in a roasting pan and roast at 375 for about an hour. Take out of the oven and scrape the meat, fat and juices into a slow cooker. Add peppercorns and bay leaf. Pour about 1/2 cup of white wine in. Cook on LOW for about 6-10 hours. Skim out the meat with one of those big Asian skimmers and put in a bowl. Shred using two forks. Discard any huge chunks of fat (you can put those back in the oven to render further). Pack the shredded meat into ramekins, and then pour enough rendered fat over the meat to dampen and seal it. Cover and refrigerate.
Food of the Gods, I'm telling you. I spread it on Boston lettuce leaves, roll 'em up and eat. Serve some cornichons (mini pickles) on the side. A hunk of Brie is a nice accompaniment.
I had some of mine today and it was a butt wigglin' dancin' sort of meal.
Still MOMD.
Master of My Domain...The Third
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