Pork Rillettes

How to prepare pork rillettes

1. Choose a meaty piece of pork belly, with a fat proportion of minimum 1/3 and maximum 1/2, the rest being meat. If you can only find very fatty belly with not much meat, supplement with pork neck to achieve this ratio (by eye). This recipe cannot be made with lean meat.
2. Cut the meat into 2 cm pieces. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme, nutmeg, allspice and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until the next day.
3. The next day, finely chop the onion and saute in lard until very soft. Add the stock and wine. Remove from heat and add the meat.
   * I used pork stock left from boiling the head; any meat stock can be used
4. Transfer the meat to an oven-safe dish that fits it snugly. Tuck the bay leaf between the meat pieces. Seal the dish well with aluminum foil and add a lid if you have one.
5. Bake for approximately 3 hours at 140C. You can check the meat anytime during this time (you can start checking after 2 hours), but be careful to reseal with foil after each check. At the end, the fat on the meat will be melted and the meat will be so soft it falls apart into shreds easily.
6. Pour everything from the dish into a colander placed over a pot.
8. Shred the meat using two forks.
9. Strain the liquid from the meat through a fine sieve or cheesecloth to filter and keep it clean. Simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the meat juices evaporate and only the fat remains.
10. Put the shredded meat in a food processor. Add the fat and pulse briefly at medium speed, just until all the meat is evenly shredded. Taste the mixture for salt and seasonings and add more if needed.
    
11. Put the paste in jars or containers with lids. Pour a thin layer of hot melted lard on top to seal the contents, this way it will last longer. Store in the refrigerator. It's better after at least 3 days from preparation. Serve at room temperature with toasted bread, gherkins, onion or olives.

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