Rillettes - Tips, Recipes, and Sob Stories Welcome

I am endeavoring to make rillettes this weekend to share at a gathering next week. While I have these romantic visions of flipping off the lid of the attractive jar as we all communally dig in, I've never made them before. I'm having a hard time finding a tried-and-true recipe. Believe it or not, my Julia Child cookbook does not have a recipe, Keller's Bouchon only has a recipe for rabbit rillettes (I'm aiming for the more economical pork), and epicurious.com's recipe was issued last month or so, and has no reader comments (which always makes me nervous as Gourmet's recipes are inconsistent). Tony Bourdain's classic recipe in the Les Halles cookbook seems a little slapdash and a lot fatty -- 2 lbs. pork belly + 1 lb. pork fatback: 1 lb. pork shoulder -- but that could be the right ratio for all I know. Also, it seems a tad bland (flavor from salt, pepper and bouquet garni).

I'm aiming for something flavorful and extremely moist, like the cochinita rillettes at Mexique (but it doesn't necessarily have to have Mexican-fused flavors).

Anyhow, has anyone made these before? And do you have a recipe, any tips or "lessons learned?" Any feedback is appreciated!

I've made duck rillettes several times with much success on the flavor and moistness front - it's hard to screw up a bird that succulent. Duck is also one of those things you can pay as much or as little as you want for - compare $18 for a three-pounder when Wettstein's delivers to Oak Park (admittedly local, flavorful, wonderful) to $4 for a raw bird in pieces from Chinatown with some haggling, and Peoria in the middle.

I originally used a Gourmet recipe, omitting the gelatin (no need), but really like the flavor profile and fresh ingredients in this one, which I like to dose with Calvados (the Gourmet recipe called for armagnac):

http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wed ... es-du.html

A good quality mustard, called for in this recipe, could also help a pork or rabbit rillette. I find you need at least some acidity (even just squeezing some lemon in while emulsifying with the rendered / warmed fat), and the vinegar in a great prepared mustard will get you there.

Let me encourage you thoroughly! It's hard to fail with rillettes. Even a failure tastes pretty good!

Use pork shoulder, and add another 10-15% fat. You *could* use butter, which I've done before, actually. But duck or goose fat is excellent as well. Also, I've found that if I brown the meat a bit first (indeed, quickly crisped over charcoal is marvelous!), it makes the end result a bit tastier.

As Santander suggests, a bit of acid helps--the mustard suggestion is a good one. And be sure that whatever flavoring you put in (I use a bit of garlic powder and, believe it or not, a tad of terragon), you use more than if you were going to serve the pork hot.

Don't fear—it's hard to mess up pork and fat!!

Geo

A rillette must brown in its fat. Without fat and the nutty flavor from browning, its not a rillette. Duck as Posted makes a very good rillette.-Dick

Thanks guys, for your input and support.

I just decided -- bear with me -- to adapt YourPalWill's cochinita pibil recipe, which I made for the LTH Potluck, into rillettes. I wanted something really punchy and so far, I'm pretty happy with the result. Basically, I used 2 lbs. extra-fatty pork shoulder: 2 lbs pork belly. After marinating the meat overnight, I roasted it at high heat (400 degrees) for the first hour to "brown it," and then at 325 degrees for the next two hours. I shredded/mashed the meat and it gave me the texture I liked. I agree with those above that a bit of acid is necessary at the end. Some splashes of sherry vinegar did the trick, although I suspect it will need more come serving time. I think I will attempt some type of habanero "coulis" to accompany it ... but really, this was a very fun endeavor.

Here's the final result, chilling in the fridge:

Somewhat tangential, but are Trader Joe's cornichons any good? I'm having trouble getting cornichons for a reasonable price -- the last few brands I tried have been fairly vile. TJ would be a great source if these are indeed worthy.

cilantro wrote:Somewhat tangential, but are Trader Joe's cornichons any good? I'm having trouble getting cornichons for a reasonable price -- the last few brands I tried have been fairly vile. TJ would be a great source if these are indeed worthy.

To answer your question, I went into the fridge, popped the lid, and tried a few. Definitely onion-y and tarragon-y, bit of a strange aftertaste (could be the lingering tarragon). . . really crispy, somewhat mild-flavored otherwise, not the hit of vinegar that you usually get. Not vile for the price (like $2.29), but not the best cornichons I've ever eaten.

aschie30 wrote:To answer your question, I went into the fridge, popped the lid, and tried a few. Definitely onion-y and tarragon-y, bit of a strange aftertaste (could be the lingering tarragon). . . really crispy, somewhat mild-flavored otherwise, not the hit of vinegar that you usually get. Not vile for the price (like $2.29), but not the best cornichons I've ever eaten.

Thanks, I think I might pick up a jar next time I'm at the store.

aschie30 wrote:I just decided -- bear with me -- to adapt YourPalWill's cochinita pibil recipe, which I made for the LTH Potluck, into rillettes.

Wendy,

Interesting, cochinita pibil rillettes sounds tasty.

Enjoy,
Gary

The very simple recipe in Michael Ruhlman's book, Charcuterie has treated me quite well over the last year.

http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Craft ... 170&sr=8-1

Wheattoast wrote:The very simple recipe in Michael Ruhlman's book, Charcuterie has treated me quite well over the last year.

http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Craft ... 170&sr=8-1

A great suggestion. This is an excellent recipe and the book is simply phenomenal. I've cooked my way through pretty much the entire tome. Of course, rillettes are a gateway meat, so it'll be nice to have these other recipes at your disposal.

=R=

I know it's a bit late, since the rillettes have already been made, but I thought I'd weigh in here anyway. When I was in culinary school the way we learned to make rillettes was to confit the meat, then shred it and mix in some of the fat from the confit and seasonings. (Depending on the seasoning, it could be added either at the confit step or after the meat is cooked - bay leaves and juniper might go in the confit, salt and mustard after it's cooked.) It's easy in that it doesn't require much hands on effort, but it does require a long cooking time and large quantities of animal fat.

cilantro wrote:Somewhat tangential, but are Trader Joe's cornichons any good? I'm having trouble getting cornichons for a reasonable price -- the last few brands I tried have been fairly vile. TJ would be a great source if these are indeed worthy.

Be advised that most brands that used to be sourced from France are now made elsewhere and you must look hard to find traditional cornichons.-Dick

ronnie_suburban wrote: Of course, rillettes are a gateway meat, so it'll be nice to have these other recipes at your disposal.

Hah!

Soon enough you'll be hitting the hard stuff, scrounging for change to meet your illicit Charcutier in a dark alley somewhere, buying a fix of thuringer or French andouille.

Joking aside, Ronnie's right... both about the book and rillettes.

-Dan

Don't have a clue about making rillettes, but absolutely love the COCHINITA RILLETTES at Mexique...
Achiote/Tequila Braised Pork Shoulder Rillettes, Crostini
Purple Pearl Pickle Onion, Rustic Celery Salad and Mango-Habanero Coulis

I made some accidental rillettes at Thanksgiving this year. My parents cooked their turkey in one of those stand-alone roasters and didn't do anything to keep the bird up off the bottom, so all the back and wing meat was cooked in what basically amounted to a half-braise, half-confit. As I was picking the meat off the carcass for soup, I noticed how tender and, well, soaked with fat that meat was and I thought I might as well give it a shot as rillettes, since we had plenty for soup without it. (And once I had that plan, I did the same with a second bird from my wife's mom.)

Between the wings and back of both birds I got maybe 4 cups of shredded meat. I tossed that, about half a cup of juices from the roasting pan and about a cup of fat into a bowl and mixed by hand until the fat and juices kinda disappeared into the meat. I added some salt and a few spices, but went lightly enough with them that it added some depth of flavor without making the spices really recognizable. IIRC it was nutmeg, cinnamon, black pepper and paprika.

We had some of the rillettes the next day at a post-Thanksgiving dinner with yet more relatives and they were quite good. Enough so that I'll likely make this a yearly tradition. I also have a little pot in my fridge that I'm planning to take to a new years eve gathering if they age well. (I know rillettes are supposed to last for months in the fridge if covered completely with fat, but I am a bit nervous about having what amounts to Thanksgiving leftovers at new years eve.)