Five Spice Pork Rillettes Recipes

PORK RILLETTES

Steps:

• Mix together the brandy or whiskey with the garlic, salt, pepper, juniper, and allspice berries with the pork cubes in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• In a large saucepan (that has a lid) or a medium-sized casserole, heat the pork belly pieces with 1/3 cup (80ml) water over low heat. Cook gently for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, encouraging the pork pieces to give up their fat. If the water evaporates, add a little more to help the fat render.
• Preheat the oven to 250ºF (120ºC).
• Add the macerated pork and any liquid to the pan along with the thyme. Cook, stirring frequently, for another 15 minutes, until the pieces of pork are cooked on the outside. Cover the pan and put it in the oven.
• Lift the lid after 1 1/2 hours 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 the pork from the oven. Pick out the thyme branches and discard. (The original recipe said at this point to drain the pork through a sieve, over a bowl, to collect the juices, but mine didn't have enough to warrant that. If yours does, see headnote for more information on that.) Press on any visible chunks of fat to get the fat out of them, then remove them from the pan and discard them.
• Pour most of the fat out of the pan into a small bowl and reserve. Scrape the meat chunks, and any pan fat, juices and brown bits, into the bowl of a stand mixer. The spices should all be very soft and dissolved, so it's not a problem to include them.
• Mix the meat on low-to-medium speed with the paddle attachment until well-mashed. (You can also make this by hand, mashing the meat with a fork.) The mixture should resemble dry tuna salad. Add enough of the reserved liquefied fat to make it juicy and moist. I ended up adding about 3 tablespoons, but it'll probably need between 2 and 4 tablespoons. The more fat you add, the richer and creamier it'll be.

CLASSIC FRENCH PORK RILLETTES

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat oven to 325 F. In a large ovenproof baking dish, mix all the ingredients.
• Tightly cover the dish with foil or a well-fitting lid.
• Cook in the center of the oven for 3 hours, until the meat is falling apart. It is imperative to keep checking the dish to make sure the meat is not drying out as it cooks; add more water if needed. Once cooked, remove the dish from the heat, leave the foil or lid in place and allow the meat to cool in the dish for 30 to 45 minutes until it is warm.
• Remove the lid and discard the bay leaf and duck bones and any little pieces of meat which may have dried too far.
• Shred and stir the meat and fat with a large fork until it resembles a chunky, creamy spread, if correctly cooked this will be very easy to do.
• Place the rillettes in a beautiful serving pot and level with the back of a spoon.
• Pour any remaining fat in the cooking dish over the surface to help keep the rillettes moist.
• Chill for at least 24 hours before serving.

VIETNAMESE PORK AND FIVE SPICE

Steps:

• Season pork with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook pork and garlic in hot oil until the pork is completely browned, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Stir brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and five-spice powder with the pork. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook mixture at a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pork is tender enough to easily pull apart with a fork, about 2 hours.

PORK RILLETTES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 275º. Put the peppercorns, allspice, cloves and coriander in a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder and process until finely ground. Put the pork in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven and sprinkle with salt and the spice mixture. Add the garlic, bay leaf, rosemary and stock and put the pot over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, cover and put the pot in the oven. Cook, checking every now and then, until the pork is falling apart and beginning to caramelize and the stock has almost entirely evaporated (remove the cover if necessary to get the liquid to evaporate; the bottom of the pot should be just about all melted fat when you're done), 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• Strain the mixture; reserve the fat and discard the garlic, bay leaf, rosemary and any gristle. Transfer the pork to a bowl and mash it into small shreds with the back of a fork. Add 1/4 cup of the reserved fat and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper if you like (keep in mind that the colder you serve the rillettes, the less salty they will taste). Pack the rillettes into a mason jar or another container and refrigerate (covered tightly, they will keep for at least a week). Serve cold or at room temperature.

CHINESE FIVE SPICE PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• Arrange the pork chops in a single layer in a non-metallic baking dish.
• Sprinkle on the five spice powder, then drizzle over the soy sauce and garlic oil.
• Using clean hands rub the mixture into the meat.
• Cover the dish with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 325°C/160°F.
• Uncover the dish and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and tender.
• Serve immediately with a green leafy vegetable or broccoli and plain boiled or steamed rice.

PORK RILLETTES

Steps:

• 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 isn't essential.
• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Tip the meat and all the juices into a flameproof casserole dish with a lid. 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 2½-3 hrs, removing it once to give it a good stir.
• 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 don't 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. 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.)
• Serve with sourdough toast, cornichons and a few bitter leaves (such as curly endive, rocket and radicchio), in a sharp mustardy dressing.