Pork Rillettes
- 1 pound pork belly, best available, skin discarded
- 1 pound boneless pork shoulder, best available, skin discarded
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt, or more, preferably sea salt
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 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.
pork belly, pork shoulder, mustard seeds, ground black pepper, salt, garlic, bay leaves, white wine
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015775 (may not work)