Kitchen Diary

Fatty pork butt slow braised with a bouquet garni made from leek, celery and bay; then mixed with the paddle attachment of the food processor with some the braising liquid until the fibres start to break down. Pushed into a ramekin and sealed with duck fat.

What’s not to love? These classic pork rilettes are on the menu in pretty much every rural bistro in the south of France. I braised the pork with the bouquet shown above and a spice bag containing fennel and cracked black pepper corns. Strictly speaking it should have been covered with some of the pork fat, but it was late and I didn’t want to wait for the fat to cool down, so duck fat it was. Hardly a problem, if anything it’ll add to the flavour.

I’ll let these develop in the fridge for the next two weeks and will serve them on New Year’s Eve.