Pork Rillettes
Recipe adapted from Elias Cairo, Olympic Provisions, Portland, Oregon
To learn more about this recipe, click the following link to read the related story, "Picnicking, Portlandia Style," in Tasting Table's National edition.
Recipe adapted from Elias Cairo, Olympic Provisions, Portland, Oregon
Pork Rillettes
Elias Cairo from Olympic Provisions makes pork rillettes for the Portland Picnic Society.
Prep Time
2.58
hours
Cook Time
2.5
hours
Servings
2
pints
Total time: 5 hours, 5 minutes
Ingredients
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 4 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
- 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled (skin scraped away using the edge of a spoon) and grated
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed
- ½ teaspoon curing salt (also called pink salt or Prague salt)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground coriander
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2½ pounds boneless pork shoulder, excess fat trimmed, meat cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1½ cups lard
Directions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the white wine, garlic, fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of the salt, the curing salt, black pepper, thyme, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ground ginger, nutmeg and white pepper. Add the chopped pork shoulder and stir to evenly coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days.
- Preheat the oven to 300°. To a small saucepan set over medium heat add the lard and slowly warm until it is completely liquefied. To a large baking dish or Dutch oven add the chopped pork shoulder, and pour the lard over the meat. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake until the meat is very tender and pulls apart easily, about 2½ hours.
- Remove the pork shoulder from the oven and set aside for 1 hour. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl and separate the meat from the fat. Set the bowl with the fat aside (you'll use it later). Turn the pork onto a cutting board and roughly chop it, then transfer it to a large bowl. Add about ⅓ of the reserved, drained fat back to the pork and stir to combine. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
- Divide the pork rillettes among 2 pint jars. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove from the refrigerator and divide the remaining lard (reheat to liquefy the lard if necessary) over the top of each jar of rillettes to create a ¼-inch-thick layer of fat. Seal the jar and refrigerate for up to 1 month.