French Pork Rillettes
Learn how to make traditional French rillettes with tender pork shoulder, rendered fat, herbs and spices. Perfect for spreading on baguette.
Servings: 12
Calories: 428kcal
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- French knife
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- mixing bowl
- Potato Masher
Ingredients
- 1 kg Pork Shoulder cut into chunks
- 300 g Pork Belly sliced
- 1/4 cup Brandy
- 6 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 Spanish Onion diced
- 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 2.5 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 10 Allspice Berries
- 2 Dried Bay Leaf
- 10 sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 1/2 cup Dry White Wine
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine brandy, garlic, onion, nutmeg, salt, pepper, allspice, and bay leaf with the pork shoulder and pork belly. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 250ºF.
- Add marinated pork mixture to a Dutch Oven. Over medium heat cook, stirring frequently, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the pieces of pork are cooked on the outside. Stir in the thyme sprigs, cover with a lid and place in the oven.
- Lift the lid after 90 minutes of cooking. Press on the chunks of fat with a fork to release more of their fat and encourage them to break down. Add the wine, replace the lid, and bake the pork for another 1 to 2 hours, until the pork is very soft.
- Remove pork from the oven. Pick out the thyme, bay leaf and all spice berries, to discard. Press on any visible chunks of fat to get the fat out of them, then remove them from the pan and discard.
- Pour most of the fat out of the pan into a small bowl and reserve. Using a potato masher, mash the meat chunks into the juices and liquid fat until it resembles a tuna salad.
- Add enough of the reserved pork fat to make it juicy and moist. The more fat you add, the richer and creamier the finished product will be.
- Spoon the mixture into small clean jars or ramekins and press down firmly to eliminate air pockets. Smooth the surface with the back of a small spoon.
- Optional: Pour a thin layer of reserved melted pork fat over the top. This creates the classic white fat cap.
- Refrigerate for at least 12 hours, preferably 24 hours. The flavour improves as it rests.
- Serve at room temperature. Rillettes will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks and in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 428kcal | Carbohydrates: 2.3g | Protein: 17.9g | Fat: 36.2g | Saturated Fat: 12.9g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 553mg | Potassium: 34mg | Fiber: 0.6g | Sugar: 0.4g | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 2mg
