Rillettes – Wee Pots of Porky Goodness!

Tags

AIP, Autoimmune Protocol, Budget Friendly Recipe, Charcuterie, Linga Longa Farm, Paleo, Pork, Rillettes, Slow Cooking, Stephanie Alexander

(Image by TSL)

You can never put too much pork in your mouth as far as I’m concerned. (Lewis Black)

Do you ever wonder which genes you got from your Mum, and which you got from your Dad? Physically, it’s a toss-up whether I am more a product of one over the other. I resemble both my parents. But, my taste buds – they are ALL my Dad’s. He’s coming to visit in a couple of weeks (with my Mum). And, as so often happens before he crosses the ditch, I start thinking of foods that he might particularly enjoy…

This week, I was inspired by my recent ox tongue experiment. It was so easy, not to mention budget-friendly, that I thought I should continue to expand my culinary horizons. And, while my Dad was impressed with my ox tongue exploits, this week’s recipe may hold slightly wider appeal – none of that ‘ick-factor’ sometimes associated with cooking tongue!

In my recent search for suitable tongue recipes, I came across Stephanie Alexander’s recipe for pork rillettes. And, the seed was firmly planted. I love rillettes. And, frankly, the recipe looked so easy.

If you can’t have your rillettes melting on freshly toasted sourdough (sigh!), celery sticks are a pretty tasty alternative!
(Image by TSL)

Actually, too easy. So, I started researching…

What are rillettes?

Rillettes are potted jars of meat confit, slow cooked in fat, and then shredded and packed in more fat. Rustic, unctuous and SERIOUSLY scrummy. Best of all, because of the richness of rillettes, a little goes a long way. It’s a very budget-friendly option.

The process was originally used before refrigeration to keep meat from spoiling. The fat, while providing an incredible flavour, sealed the meat in the pot keeping it fresh and delicious for weeks longer than would have been possible otherwise.

Often made with pork, duck or goose, or even salmon, the savoury quality of rillettes comes from using traditionally fatty meats and a generous quantity of salt. Nigel Slater says it keeps for weeks if covered with a layer of fat. So, it must be true!

Rillettes are great with homemade kraut, too…
(Image by TSL)

If I had to narrow my choice of meats down to one for the rest of my life, I am quite certain that meat would be pork. (James Beard)

Rillettes have a very high fat content, so it is even more critical that you know the quality of the produce before you buy. You want to know your animal has been pasture-raised and is free of any potential nasties that will settle in the fat. The absolute best pork I have tasted in my life comes from Lauren and Greg at Linga Longa Farm. They take great care of their happy pigs – and, it is SO noticeable in the taste of their pork.

Greg & Lauren from Linga Longa Farm
(Image by TSL)

I’m not on a commission from Linga Longa (yet!), but I did pick up a kilo-and-a-half of pork belly from their stand at Eveleigh Market last week, especially to give my inaugural rillettes-making experiment a go.

I decided to keep things very simple, for my first attempt. And, because I am limited in the spices I can currently eat (thanks to the Autoimmune Protocol) that means really simple…

I gotta tell you – this ‘rillettes a la TSL’ experiment exceeded all expectations. Seriously good. These babies are about to become a staple here at Casa TSL. And, for those of you on the AIP who need a wee pick me up every now and then, may I suggest a spoonful of homemade rillettes. YUM! – Sure to satisfy!

Pork Rillettes

• Time: about 4 hours
• Difficulty: easy-peasey
• Print

You will need to start this recipe the day before

Ingredients:

1.5 kilos best quality happy pork belly, skinned and boned
Himalayan sea salt
1 x large sprig thyme
1 x bay leaf
2 x cloves garlic
freshly ground black pepper (optional, leave out if on the autoimmune protocol)
1/4 x cup water
1/4 cup verjuice

Method

1. Cut your pork belly into 2 cm pieces and place into a bowl. Massage in 1 1/2 Tablespoons of salt. cover with cling film and pop in the fridge overnight.

2. Heat your oven to 150°C/300°F.

3. Pop your meat into a cast-iron casserole (I used my le Creuset). It is best if it is a snug fit.Add your herbs. Push the garlic cloves down into the centre. Grind on fresh pepper (if using). Pour over water and verjuice. Cover and cook for 3 1/2 – 4 hours, until the pork is swimming in its own fatty juices.

4. Strain through a fine sieve over a bowl (and making sure to reserve the fat). Discard the thyme and bay leaf.

5. Using two forks, shred the meat into a bowl and check for seasoning. Spoon meat into sterilised pots or jars. Ensure you press the meat down well so there are no air pockets. Strain leftover fat over the meat-filled jars.

6. Refrigerate until required.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

E N J O Y !

In extravagant moments I stuff baked potatoes with pork or duck rillettes. Scoop out the cooked potato, mash with the rillettes and pile back into the potato skin and bake until the top crisps. (Nigel Slater)

This recipe features in the Phoenix Helix Recipe Roundtable.

Osso Buco – AIP Style

Tags

AIP, Autoimmune Protocol, Batch Cooking, Budget Friendly Recipe, Osso Bucco, Osso Buco Recipe, Paleo, Slow Food

(Image by TSL)

I’m currently on the Autoimmune Protocol, a nutrient-rich elimination diet that removes foods that irritate the gut, cause gut imbalance and activate the immune system. You can read more about the protocol and why I’m doing this here.

This magical, marvelous food on our plate, this sustenance we absorb, has a story to tell. It has a journey. It leaves a footprint. It leaves a legacy. To eat with reckless abandon, without conscience, without knowledge; folks, this ain’t normal. (Joel Salatin, farmer and author of Folks, This Ain’t Normal; You Can Farm)

I love my Le Creuset casserole. It is possibly my favouritist piece of kitchen equipment in my whole kitchen. Well, after my knives, it is. I’ve had it for years. So long, in fact, that the good people at Le Creuset don’t even make casseroles in my colour-way anymore. No matter – there’s still a lot of life in my well-loved one, yet.

I’ve probably mentioned my tactic of cooking once to eat twice (or even, thrice), before. It works particularly well for slow cooking in my Le Creuset. And, I know there are people out there who swear by their slow cookers. All power to them. But, me – I like the old-fashioned process of preparing, chopping, slicing, searing, simmering, seasoning – and then checking – as I braise my dish.

And, braising is the way to go if you want to maximise the nutritional value of meat in your diet (AND it’s budget-friendly). There is a tendency to focus far too much on the sexier, high-end cuts of meat these days – steaks, back-straps, chicken breasts. But did you know that’s not so healthy? – Especially all the time.

According to the very knowledgable Denise Minger, our high intake of methionine (an amino acid that comes from muscle meats), combined with our low intake of glycine (an amino acid from skin, bones, cartilage, etc) is a setup for chronic health issues.

Eat more slow cooked food, I say!

And, did I mention it tastes fantastic, too?

My blogging buddy, Petra recently posted a recipe for Kahlua Lamb Shanks. She made it for breakfast! Frankly, it looked pretty amazing to me, and I was all set to adapt it to fit the 1.5 kilos of osso buco I had defrosting. 

But, I got a little carried away. This AIP jaunt is really changing the way I approach cooking. At every opportunity, I look for ways to include more veggies and bone broth into my day. For this wee number, I managed to slip in onion, celery, carrot, garlic and silver beet/swiss chard, along with bone broth I had prepared earlier. Not so bad, I reckon!

Don’t know what Osso Buco is? Osso buco is a Milanese specialty of cross-cut veal shanks braised with vegetables, white wine and broth. It is often garnished with gremolata and traditionally served with risotto alla milanese.

The extra-special thing about osso buco is that because the shank is cut cross-ways, you get lots of lovely bone marrow melting into the braise as your meat cooks.

Of course, on the AIP, there is no risotto. And, instead of gremolata, this time I added some wilted greens into the dish. The end result is a bit of a one-pot-wonder, although if you’d like your meat to stretch even further it would be great on a root vegetable mash…

TSL's Osso Buco - AIP Style

• Servings: 4-6
• Time: 4 1/2 hours
• Difficulty: easy-peasey
• Print

Ingredients

1.5 kilos happy, pasture-raised ‘osso buco’ (I had 5 large pieces)
2 x onions
2 x carrots
2 x large sticks celery
3 x garlic cloves
4 x rashers of bacon
1 Tablespoon fat (I used beef tallow)
1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
2 cups bone broth (or beef stock)
1 x large bunch silver beet/swiss chard – washed, dried and cut into ribbons

Method

1) Half an hour before you begin cooking, remove your shin pieces from your fridge and bring to room temperature. I like to salt my meat at this stage.

2) Heat your oven to 180°C/350°F. Place a casserole over a medium heat and add your fat. Once the fat has melted, brown the meat in batches. As each piece finishes, remove it from the pan and put aside in a bowl.

3) While the meat is browning; wash, peel and dice carrots, celery, onions. Peel and chop your garlic and dice your bacon. Finely chop your rosemary. Put aside until ready.

4) Once all your meat has been browned, turn the element down to low and add the vegetables, rosemary and garlic to the casserole. Allow to sweat for ten minutes.

5) Add balsamic and apple cider vinegars. Mix thoroughly with softened vegetables. Allow to bubble for a minute or two.

6) Layer the shins over the top of the vegetables. Add your bone broth/stock. Bring to a slow boil.

7) Place the lid firmly on the casserole and transfer to the oven. Let it work its magic for three hours. I like to check it once or twice because I’m nosey like that!

8) Remove the lid and place back in the oven for thirty minutes to reduce some of the liquid.

9) Remove the casserole from the oven. At this point, your meat should have fallen off the bone. Remove the bones, ensuring all the lovely marrow has melted into the dish. At this point I like to break apart the meat with two forks – it should just fall apart.

10) Stir in silver beet/chard ribbons, pop on the lid, and put the casserole back into the oven for 15 – 20 minutes to allow the greens to wilt.

11) Check for seasoning and serve.

E N J O Y !