Something For The Weekend?

Try This For A Satisfying Snack Or Supper… PORK Rillettes or Rillettes de Porc are best described as a type of coarse textured pate.

They’re commonplace in France, with each country town seemingly having its own special recipe.

I love everything about Rillettes.

They’re cheap and simple to make and they taste delicious. Even kids like them.

Mine go through jarfuls of the stuff, so if you haven’t tried them before, give them a try now.

One bite of that rich, rustic texture and I guarantee it’ll transport you to a French Brasserie. Well that’s the effect they had on me when I first tried them.

Rillettes are perfect for a light lunch or late night snack. They work best spread on toast or a crusty baguette washed down with some red wine.

Tetbury is blessed to have award winning Jessie Smith as the local butcher and manager John Newman sources meat within a 4 mile radius. Wherever you shop, look for pale pink meat with plenty of fat as this enriches the meat as it cooks.

Cook slowly and you'll be rewarded with juicy, tender meat. I make the most of the oven by cooking rillettes in with a casserole (see February’s Lazy Coq Au Vin.) The good news is pork rillettes will happily keep fresh for up to two weeks in the fridge. And if you seal and bottle them properly, they’ll last several months (though we’ve never managed to keep them this long.) The secret is to pack the meat down into sterilized Kilner jars then cover it with a generous layer of fat (about 1cm thick) before clamping down the lid and making it airtight.

Another plus is that a jar of pork rillettes makes a great gift – after all who doesn’t love a jar of something homemade?

For the recipe go to: www.wyldecooking.blogspot.com