Potted meat (rillettes)


Potted meat (rillettes)
Potted meat (rillettes) is cooked long and slow in fat. Rillettes can be of pork or duck. Here is the pork version.
431K 3.9/5 based on 42 reviews
Grade this recipe:

Last modified on: October 3rd 2019

Keywords for this recipe:
For 3 kg 600 g, you will need:
  • 1 belly (streaky) bacon 0 kg 4 g belly (streaky) bacon (unsalted)
  • 2 ham 0 kg 2 g ham
  • 3 lard 0 kg 14 g lard
  • 4 coarse salt 1.3 oz coarse salt
  • 5 pepper 0.3 oz pepper
  • 6 lard 0 kg 3 g lard

Change these quantities to make:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 33 min.
Cooking: 6 hours 13 min.
All in all: 6 hours 46 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - 10 min.
Potted meat (rillettes)
Remove the rind and any hard parts of 0 kg 4 g belly (streaky) bacon (unsalted), cut into pieces.

Stage 2 - 5 min.
Potted meat (rillettes)
Cut 0 kg 2 g ham into pieces.

Stage 3 - 3 min.
Potted meat (rillettes)
Melt 0 kg 3 g lard in a large pan over high heat.

Stage 4 - 10 min.
Potted meat (rillettes)
Add the pieces of pork, and leave to colour a few minutes.

Stage 5 - 1 min.
Potted meat (rillettes)
Turn the heat down to minimum and add the pieces of ham and 0 kg 14 g lard.

Stage 6 - 1 min.
Potted meat (rillettes)
Add 1.3 oz coarse salt and 0.3 oz pepper.

Note that the good ratio is 12 grams of salt + 3 grams of pepper per kilo of meat.

If you use a different weight of meat, you can calculate a new seasoning with this little calculator:
Meats : grams

Stage 7 - 6 hours
Potted meat (rillettes)
Cover the pan and leave on very low heat for 6 hours.

Stage 8
Potted meat (rillettes)
After 6 hours, the meat will be reduced to a conserve.

Stage 9 - 3 min.
Potted meat (rillettes)
With a skimmer or wooden spoon, mix the lot. The meat will fall apart into small shreds and form rillettes.

Stage 10 - 3 min.
Potted meat (rillettes)
Mix until reaching desired consistency: not too much if (like me) you prefer to have bigger pieces in your rillettes, more if you prefer the rillettes smoother.

Stage 11 - 10 min.
Potted meat (rillettes)
Put rillettes into jars, removing meat with a skimmer, and cover the top with a little lard.

Leave to cool, then cover, then refrigerate overnight or longer.

Share with friends with a good bread, and pickles or mushrooms in vinegar.

The acid taste of pickles goes well the mildness of the rillettes, and if you also have a good red wine, then you will be kings of all the world...
Remarks
If you like to vary proportions, please try to respect: Half as much ham as fat pork (belly), 12 g salt + 3 g pepper per kilogram meat.

For the duck version, replace lard with duck fat, and ham with duck breasts. It's a very very good idea to use the fat from cooking a foie gras for this.
And to drink?
A good red wine, with plenty of tannins.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe390 150 %30 3 %1,890 290 %18,670 930 %78,170 930 %
Per 100 g10 4 %050 8 %530 30 %2,210 30 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man
How much will it cost?
  • For 3 kg 600 g : 23.41 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
Some other recipes using this recipe
Fried rillettes
Fried rillettes

Rilletes formed into thin cakes and fried. This allows the fat to drain off during cooking and leaves crunchy and tasty discs of lean meat which can be served with mashed potato (purée).
120K4.9 29 min.
Rillettes stuffed mushrooms
Rillettes stuffed mushrooms

In this recipe, the mushroom caps are first sautéed, then filled with fried onions and a spoonful of rillettes, then baked in the oven. Here they are served with a quick pickle made from brunoise radishes with tarragon.
35K3.8 58 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Other recipes you may also like
French baguettes
French baguettes
This classic of French baking is rather different from the recipe for leavened bread, it's a question of making a good crust and light crumb along the whole length. To succeed, you should know that there are two secrets: water first of all (much more than for normal bread), and the working of the...
October 24th 20171.1M 364.7 5 hours 6 min.
Nougatine
Nougatine
Nougatine is a delicious nut toffee: caramel mixed with toasted flaked almonds. Not a dessert in itself, it is often used to decorate cakes and pastries. But those who enjoy good things are sure to want to eat it on its own!
March 29th 2018322K4 32 min.
Cured Pork Belly With Lentils
Cured Pork Belly With Lentils
Pork belly with lentils is a typical French bistro dish. In principal, it is a mixture of different cuts of pork, usually salt-cured, cooked slowly until "confit" and meltingly tender, served with lentils cooked in stock. This dish takes a good while to prepare, but it's a real treat! It reheats...
November 15th 201592K4 3 hours 19 min.
Sausage and lentils "en cocotte"
Sausage and lentils "en cocotte"
This is a casserole-style version of the traditional French sausage-and-lentils recipe with a special feature: the lentils are cooked in just the right amount of water. The other ingredients add flavour as does, most importantly, the sausage (preferably smoked). When pricked, this will release its...
February 5th 2017134K4.5 1 hour 5 min.
Quince and apple compote
Quince and apple compote
This compote is a tricky balancing act between the characteristic quince flavour and just enough apples to sweeten it. You should end up with a compote that has a delicate quince flavour rounded out by the apples and brown sugar.
December 30th 2019107K3 59 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2024-09-22)

*Your e-mail Your first name or nickname
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing
The 2 comments already posted on this recipe
  • 1) Yes, streaky bacon is 100% pork meat.
    2) No because real pork is not fat enough, and there is ham.
    3) Yes but instead of ham only, you should keep streaky bacon.
    Posted by jh december 12th 2011 at 14:49 n° 2
  • In this recipe you do not say how much pork to use. You say 1kg of streaky bacon - is that the pork you mean? Can you not use real pork untreated and unsmoked? And if you use duck do you just substitute a kilo of duck meat? Thanks.
    Posted by Lori december 11th 2011 at 19:51 n° 1
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page