Rillettes de Tours

Ingredients

• boneless pork shoulder, cut into 4 cm cubes1.2 kg
• pork back fat or fatback, diced300 g
• dry white wine (Vouvray or Chenin Blanc)200 ml
• water200 ml
• yellow onion, halved1
• garlic cloves, smashed4
• fresh thyme sprigs4
• bay leaves2
• quatre-épices (or a pinch each of clove, nutmeg, ginger, white pepper)1 tsp
• black peppercorns, cracked1 tsp
• fine sea salt1 tbsp
• cornichons, for servingto taste
• crusty country bread or baguette, for servingto taste

Steps

1. 1

   Heat oven and combine ingredients.

   Heat oven to 140°C. Combine pork shoulder, back fat, salt, and quatre-épices in a heavy Dutch oven and toss thoroughly to coat.

2. 2

   Add liquids and aromatics.

   Add the wine, water, onion halves, garlic, thyme, bay, and cracked peppercorns. The liquid should come about a third of the way up the meat.

3. 3

   Braise pork until tender.

   Cover tightly and braise in the oven until the pork shreds at the touch of a fork and the fat is fully rendered, 3½ to 4 hours. Stir gently once an hour.

4. 4

   Strain and reserve rendered fat.

   Discard the onion, garlic, thyme stems, and bay. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl and strain off the rendered fat, reserving every drop.

5. 5

   Shred meat while warm.

   Transfer the meat to a wide bowl. While still warm, shred it with two forks into coarse strands — Tours-style means visible texture, not a smooth paste.

6. 6

   Bind meat with reserved fat.

   Beat in just enough of the reserved fat (about 150 ml) to bind the meat into a moist, spreadable mass. Taste aggressively for salt — it will dull once chilled.

7. 7

   Pack rillettes and seal with fat.

   Pack the rillettes firmly into ramekins or a wide terrine, smoothing the top. Pour a 5 mm layer of the remaining warm fat over the surface to seal.

8. 8

   Cool and refrigerate before eating.

   Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 24 hours before eating. The flavor only sharpens over 3 to 4 days.

9. 9

   Cool and serve with accompaniments.

   Bring to cool room temperature before serving. Spread thickly on toasted baguette with cornichons and a glass of cold Vouvray.