Rillettes De Porc

Method

As an alternative to a home-made pate, rillettes, which might be described as a kind of potted pork, are quite easy to make at home, and as they keep well, can be made in a fair quantity and stored.

Get the butcher to remove the rind and the bones of approximately 2 lb of belly or neck of pork and 1 lb of back pork fat. Rub the meat well with salt and leave to stand for 4 to 6 hours in summer, overnight in winter. Cut it in thick strips along the grooves from where the bones were taken out, then again into little strips rather shorter than a match and about twice as thick. Put all these into an earthernware or other oven dish, with the pork fat also cut into small pieces; bury a crushed clove of garlic and a bouquet of herbs in the centre, season with a little pepper, add a soup ladle of water, put on the lid of the pan, and cook in a very low oven, Gas No. 1, 290 degrees F., for about four hours.

By this time the meat should be very soft and swimming in its own limpid fat. Taste to see if more salt or pepper are needed. Rillettes are insipid if not properly seasoned. Turn the contents of the pan into a wire sieve standing over a big bowl, so that the fat drips through. When well drained, partly pound and then with two forks pull the rillettes until they are in fine shreds rather than a paste. Pile lightly into a glazed earthernware or china jar or two or three little ones. Pour the fat over the top of the rillettes, leaving behind any sediment and juices, and completely filling the jars. Cover with foil. Rillettes should be of a soft texture, so if they have to be stored in a refrigerator, the jars should be removed serveral hours before serving time.

Remarks
Appeared on menu: Rilletes with Home Made Wholemeal Bread $1.70 (potted pork meat)