Pork rillettes

Name: Pork rillettes
Prep time: 4 h
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 4 bay leaves; 4 thyme sprigs; 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 10 juniper berries, roughly crushed, plush extra to decorate (optional); 0 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder; 1 large 1 tablespoon brandy or Calvados; 4 Tbsps duck or goose fat (optional); 1 serving sourdough toast; 1 serving cornichons or sliced gherkins; 1 leave dressed bitter; 1 kg rindless, boneless pork belly (it pays to use the best-quality pork you can find for this dish), cut into roughly walnut-sized cubes

Pork rillettes is a dairy free hor d'oeuvre. This recipe makes 8 servings with 63 calories, 0g of protein, and 6g of fat each. This recipe covers 1% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. A mixture of bay leaves, five-spice powder, 1 tablespoon brandy, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so tasty. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes roughly 4 hours. If you like this recipe, take a look at these similar recipes: Pork Rillettes, Five Spice Pork Rillettes, and Cook the Book: Pork Shoulder Rillettes.

Instructions

Reserve 1 bay leaf, then tip everything except the duck fat and serving suggestions into a bowl and season generously. If you have time, cover and leave the meat to marinate overnight in the fridge however, this isnt essential.

Ingredients you will need

Bay Leaves

Duck Fat

Meat

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas

Equipment you will use

Oven

Tip the meat and all the juices into a flameproof casserole dish with a lid.

Ingredients you will need

Meat

Equipment you will use

Casserole Dish

Pour over 250ml water, or enough to just cover the meat, and place the pan on a low heat. As soon as it starts to bubble, pop on the lid and put in the oven for 2-3 hrs, removing it once to give it a good stir.

Ingredients you will need

Water

Meat

Pop

Equipment you will use

Oven

Frying Pan

The meat should now be very tender. Leave it to cool slightly in the pan, then drain over a bowl to catch the fat and juices. Shred the pork by hand or put in a food processor and pulse a few times to shred, but dont overwork it into a paste. Taste, add extra seasoning if needed, then press meat into 2 small or 1 large serving dish, or pack into individual ramekins.

Ingredients you will need

Seasoning

Meat

Pork

Equipment you will use

Food Processor

Ramekin

Bowl

Frying Pan

Pour the juices and fat back over the meat, and put in the fridge for at least 2 hrs for the fat to harden. (To keep the rillettes for a week or so, cover with a layer of duck fat, and lay a bay leaf and a couple of juniper berries on top for decoration.)

Ingredients you will need

Juniper Berries

Rillettes

Bay Leaves

Duck Fat

Meat

Serve with sourdough toast, cornichons and a few bitter leaves (such as curly endive, rocket and radicchio), in a sharp mustardy dressing.

Ingredients you will need

Curly Endive

Gherkins

Radicchio

Arugula

Toast

Equipment

Ingredients

Servings:

bay leaves 4

thyme sprigs 5

garlic cloves, roughly chopped 10

juniper berries, roughly crushed, plush extra to decorate (optional)0teaspoons

Chinese five-spice powder 1large

1 tablespoon brandy or Calvados 4Tbsps

duck or goose fat (optional)1serving

sourdough toast 1serving

cornichons or sliced gherkins 1leave

dressed bitter 1kg

rindless, boneless pork belly (it pays to use the best-quality pork you can find for this dish), cut into roughly walnut-sized cubes

Recommended wine: Sparkling Rose, Sparkling Wine

Sparkling rosé and Sparkling Wine are my top picks for Rillettes. If you're serving a selection of appetizers, you can't go wrong with these. Both are very food friendly and complement a variety of flavors. One wine you could try is Markus Huber Sparkling rosé. It has 4.1 out of 5 stars and a bottle costs about 16 dollars.