pork rillettes ... (the long overdue)

Picking up where we left off about 2 months ago (life gets busy, you understand) ...

Let's relive some Thanksgiving deliciousness all over again, shall we?

Let me jog your memory a little. It was mid-November, slightly cool here in New England, and a certain TTK cook had secured a 10lb block of pork belly leaving her as giddy as a school girl with a crush. She had chopped the meat, adding it with some garlic cloves and water to the stove, and rendered all the fat out. Then into the refrigerator it went. And then ... we wait.





And wait.

Well, if you're me, you slept.

After 8-12 hours in the fridge, the fat will have gelled a bit at the top. Poke a hole through the fat and strain the rest of the water out of the mixture. I found pressing down on it with wax paper really did the trick. Note - this is a sticky mess of pork fat ... wear gloves, and really ... use the wax paper :)

Once all the water is out, the fun begins. Start creaming the meat with your glove-covered fingers (this isn't just sticky, but cold - 12 hours in the fridge remember? Make sure you don't lose feeling in your fingers). There will be some grizzly pieces of pork back, considering how you're not crisping that up to make crackle (mmm CRACKLE. ::drool::) Anywho. Use your judgement. You want this to be toothsome, but not chewy. Once you've hand shredded the meat, mix with that beautiful fat. (For those health nuts, you may not want to be a part of this process. Ignorance is bliss sometimes.)

You'll want to season it with a heckuva lot of salt and a bit of pepper. The taste will settle over you chill it for another 8 hours, but don't be shy.

After it chills, I recommend serving it with either crusts of bread or water crackers, with some chunky whole grain mustard, reduced balsamic (both to cut the fat), and gherkins on the side (or cornichons. I have a soft spot for gherkins though.) I also served with some thin slices of sweet honeydew. Once it was taste tested by the ever so lovely, open science enthusiast and foodie friend CP who happened to be in town, I knew it was set to go.

Voila. You just got all french with yer bad self.

pork rillettes ... the beginning

And it begins... It's time to start the 2 day process of making Jaques Pepin's Pork Rillettes, a delicious spread that my colleague jtw first introduced to me (and charceuterie. gasp, i know) in 2006. John's recipe is slightly different than Pepin's but tried and true, so while paying homage to the master chef (Pepin), I'm going to follow jtw's.

First things first, acquire a boatload of pork belly (4 lbs for jtw's recipe). Done (and oh what a marvelous sight it is. Gush gush gush).



Then chop into 2" cubes, and toss into a pot or Dutch oven with half a head of garlic, and enough water to cover the meat by about 1-2". Add a few TB of salt, but not too much, and a few shakes of pepper. You'll season this later. Now, put on a very, very, low simmer and cook for 6-8 hours until fat has rendered. There may be some skimming involved if you'd care to, but it's not vitally important (so says jtw).

Once the fat, refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

And that, my friends, is what I'm waiting for currently. Still with 2 hours to go of simmering, I'll be back tomorrow with more on Operation Pork Rillettes.

Do stay tuned. I highly recommend it. ;)

Coming soon ...

Look at that beauty. I mean really now, 4.4 lbs of pork belly deliciousness, just calling out "rilletes! rilletes!" Or just calling out to me. Ya never know. Let me dream.

OK, maybe not, and maybe just maybe I should be focusing on buying my turkey for Thanksgiving (yes, I'm hosting/cooking this year), but really, let's just pause for a moment to appreciate the finer things in life.

Like this.

Take a moment with me now.

Oooo and ahhh. Get giddy (I sure am). Imagine the creaminess of the pork rillettes on fresh honeydew. Or the tang when served with reduced balsamic and whole grain mustard. Forget about the turkey and stuffing for a moment and just imagine with me.

Pork belly is one of the things in life that make me melt. Boys, take notes. This here is one of the few things that if done properly can woo me. Take that as a freebie. Who needs anything else, really?

THIS, my friends, is the life. Stay tuned for Operation Pork Rillette (ala Jacques Pepin, as modified by Wilbanks).