Rilletes de porc

Ingredient	Grams	Percentage %
pork belly	1180	91.51
lard	75	5.82
salt	10	0.78
black pepper	5	0.39
fresh thyme	1.3	0.47
garlic	12	0.93
mace	1.5	0.12
bayleaf	2 leaves	-
water	200ml	-

Rillettes are so easy to make. And so very, very delicious.

My good friends in Lyon introduced me to this French dish of shredded pork in lard. What could be simpler than pork slowly cooked in its own fat, cooled and spread on fresh bread. I think that part of the joy of this dish comes from the texture that the pork gets from being shredded rather than blended like a regular pate. And the pork fat that gives whole thing its richness and a creaminess. It makes a great starter, snack, breakfast, appetizer etc. Essentially it's a confit and designed for preservation of the meat, but it tastes so good it doesn't last for long. There's always an excuse to go back for just one more taste.

Rillettes are made with or without the spice. I love both, but tend to favour the spiced version as shown here. The spices added are varying mixtures of nutmeg/mace/clove. I didn't add any clove to this batch and I think that just a hint would have good.

The method is easy - remove the skin and dice the belly into approximately 1cm cubes. Add all ingredients to a pan and simmer slowly for 3 hours. When finished, separate liquid from meat and shred the meat well with a couple of forks. Stuff into a container and pour over the sieved fat to just cover the meat. Allow to cool and store in the fridge.

The meat should be just covered throughout the cooking. If it looks like it needs some more liquid, add a little boiling water or some more lard. As it cooks, the fat in the pork belly renders and the water evaporates. With careful control of the lid of the pan, you can end up with all the water evaporated and just the fat remaining. This is ideal for pouring over the meat after shredding. If there is water left in the liquid, allow the liquid to stand and cool a little to separate off the fat.

Some recipes add the thyme (or other herbs) chopped in with meat. I prefer to cook the thyme in a muslin bag so they can be discarded. Sometimes I like green herb flecks in meat, but not in rillettes. Maybe because it is served cold.

Once the pork has been cooked, shredded and packed in a pot, the fat is poured over. This fills the spaces between the meat and forms a seal over the top. If the pork belly used is particularly fatty, you can get away without adding extra lard. I have been caught short before without sufficient fat to form the cover. They just don't breed pigs with as much fat as they used to. The fat is definitely part of the dish - it helps preserve the meat and gives it the rich creaminess.