Main piece of the second service
Pieds de cochon à la Sainte-Menehould
FestiveDocumented🧂 🍄difficile7 h (including slow cooking)
Pig's trotters cooked for hours in a fragrant broth until the bones themselves soften, then breaded and roasted until crispy. A patient cuisine that transforms a humble cut into a festive treat.
Main piece of the second service
Pig's trotters cooked for hours in a fragrant broth until the bones themselves soften, then breaded and roasted until crispy. A patient cuisine that transforms a humble cut into a festive treat.
Citizen, pull up your chair and don't be afraid to use your fingers! Here's a dish from my home, my Champagne, that we let simmer all night by the fire until the bone melts under the tooth. The secret is patience: then you roll it in breadcrumbs and brown it properly, simply. I ate this as a child in Arcis, and believe me, no minister's banquet ever gave me that honesty. Eat, and may your stomach be as stout as your heart!
Ingredients
- •Pig's trotters — 4, split and tied (main piece)
- •Vegetable and herb broth — enough to cover (long cooking)
- •Onions studded with cloves — 2 (flavor)
- •Carrots and leeks — a few (aromatic base)
- •Stale breadcrumbs — as needed (bread coating)
- •Melted butter or lard — to taste (browning and roasting)
- •Salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaf — to taste (seasoning)
How it was made : In the 18th century, lacking a domestic oven, breaded trotters were often finished on a spit or grill before the hearth. The very long pot-au-feu cooking made the bones themselves edible and crumbly — a feat that made Sainte-Menehould famous.