flipPotted Rillettes
Potted Rillettes
Why this dish? The pot of rillettes sealed under its fat layer sat on the bourgeois pantry shelf; it was spread on bread for the theater friends' aperitif or a late-night snack.
Pork cooked very slowly in its own fat until it shreds, salted and peppered, potted and sealed with a layer of lard that preserves it for weeks.
It's a matter of patience, and the theater had taught me that. You let the pork melt for hours in its own fat, over the smallest flame, until the meat falls apart under the fork. You salt, you pepper, and you pour it all into a pot under a beautiful lid of white fat—thus it keeps for weeks in the cool pantry. A pot always ready on the shelf, some country bread, and we received unceremoniously those coming off stage.
- •Pork shoulder and belly — a good piece (meat)
- •Lard — enough to cover (cooking and preservation)
- •Coarse salt — by hand (seasoning and preservation)
- •Pepper, bay leaf, thyme — to taste (flavoring)
Potted Rillettes
Pork cooked very slowly in its own fat until it shreds, salted and peppered, potted and sealed with a layer of lard that preserves it for weeks.
Why this dish? The pot of rillettes sealed under its fat layer sat on the bourgeois pantry shelf; it was spread on bread for the theater friends' aperitif or a late-night snack.
It's a matter of patience, and the theater had taught me that. You let the pork melt for hours in its own fat, over the smallest flame, until the meat falls apart under the fork. You salt, you pepper, and you pour it all into a pot under a beautiful lid of white fat—thus it keeps for weeks in the cool pantry. A pot always ready on the shelf, some country bread, and we received unceremoniously those coming off stage.
Ingredients (period version)
- Pork shoulder and belly — a good piece (meat)
- Lard — enough to cover (cooking and preservation)
- Coarse salt — by hand (seasoning and preservation)
- Pepper, bay leaf, thyme — to taste (flavoring)
Ingredients
- Pork shoulder — 600 g (meat)
- Pork belly — 400 g (fat and tenderness)
- Lard — 200 g (cooking and preservation)
- Coarse salt — 2 tsp (seasoning)
- Black pepper — 1 tsp (flavoring)
- Bay leaf and thyme — 2 leaves + 2 sprigs (flavoring)
- Dry white wine — 10 cl (deglazing)
Method
- Cut the meats into large cubes, salt and pepper them.
- Melt them covered in lard with bay leaf and thyme, over very low heat, for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Add a little white wine halfway through to deglaze the pan.
- Drain the meat, shred with a fork, adjust seasoning, and mix in a little cooking fat.
- Pack into pots, cover with a layer of cooled melted fat, and store in a cool place. Serve on country bread.
How it was made : A specialty of western France (Tours, Le Mans), rillettes arose from the need to preserve pork: long cooking in fat followed by sealing under lard made it a domestic preserve that keeps for weeks in a cool place.
The contemporary twist : A touch of grated lemon zest and a few cracked peppercorns when potting, to brighten the fat.
Sources : Curnonsky, La France gastronomique — Touraine/Maine · Larousse gastronomique, entry 'rillettes'
Jean Anouilh · Charactorium
