Pork Rillettes Recipe Thomas Keller Recipes

FIVE SPICE PORK RILLETTES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F with rack in lower third.
• Mince and mash garlic with five-spice powder, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Rub onto pork and fatback in a 5-quart heavy pot. Wrap parsley, bay leaf, and halved scallions in cheesecloth and tie with string. Add to pot with pork, water, and 1/3 cup Sherry and bring to a boil. Cover and braise in oven until meat is very tender, about 3 hours.
• Boil carrot until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in chopped scallion and cook 1 minute. Drain and cool slightly.
• Drain pork mixture in a large sieve set over a bowl, reserving liquid. Finely shred meat and lightly mash fatback with tines, transferring both to a bowl. Skim and reserve fat from liquid. Stir 1/2 cup liquid into meat with vegetables, remaining tablespoon Sherry and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Cool.
• Transfer to terrine, pressing lightly. Top with 1/4 inch of fat. Cool, then chill 8 hours. Serve at room temperature.

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.

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.

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.

PORK RILLETTES

Steps:

• Coarsely dice pork and place in a heavy 4-quart pot. Add mustard seeds, pepper, salt, garlic and two of the bay leaves. Mix well. Add wine. Bring to a boil, reduce to a very slow simmer and cook, skimming any foam, for 30 minutes. Add 1 cup water, return to a very slow simmer, cover and cook for 2 1/2 hours, stirring once or twice during this time.
• Uncover and increase heat to medium. Cook 20 to 30 minutes more until any liquid is pure fat, not water. You can tell if you look at a spoonful of the liquid and there are no little water bubbles. Taste the fat and adjust the seasonings if needed; do not under-season because the rillettes will be served fairly cold. Set aside to cool 1 hour. Remove bay leaves.
• Mash and shred the mixture, using your fingers, 2 forks, or (what I think works really well) a pastry cutter. Transfer to a crock or glass jar with a lid that clamps tight, pressing down so there are no air bubbles. Top with the remaining bay leaf, cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.