Rillettes du Mans

Name: Rillettes du Mans
Total time: 300 min
Yield: Serves 12
Cuisine: Pays de la Loire
Ingredients: 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) fresh pork belly; 500 g (18 oz) pork shoulder; 300 g (11 oz) lard or duck fat; 2 tbsp fine salt; 1 tsp ground black pepper; 1 bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf); 2 garlic cloves, crushed

Slow-cooked shredded pork spread

⏱ 300 minServes 12Medium320 kcal

A recipe from Le Chaudron — the cooking of France’s regions.

01 — Ingredients12 servings

1.5 kg (3.3 lb)fresh pork belly
500 g (18 oz)pork shoulder
300 g (11 oz)lard or duck fat
2 tbspfine salt
1 tspground black pepper
1bouquet garnithyme, bay leaf
2 clovesgarlic, crushed

1.5 kg (3.3 lb) fresh pork belly
500 g (18 oz) pork shoulder
300 g (11 oz) lard or duck fat
2 tbsp fine salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 bouquet garni thyme, bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Serves 12. In the app, quantities adjust to the number of guests on their own — and the ingredients go straight to your shopping list.

02 — Equipment

1 large cast-iron Dutch oven (28 cm / 11 in across)

1 chef’s knife (22 cm / 9 in blade)

1 wooden cutting board

2 forks for shredding

1 medium stainless-steel ladle

1 sturdy wooden spoon 4 sterilized glass jars (250 ml / 1 cup)

1 fan oven (140 °C / 275 °F)

03 — Method

Cut the pork belly and shoulder into 4 cm (1½ in) cubes, removing any bones and gristle.
Melt the lard in the Dutch oven over very low heat and add the pork with the spices and garlic.
Season generously, add the bouquet garni and just cover with cold filtered water.
Bring to a bare simmer, then cook covered in the oven at 140 °C (285 °F) for 4 hours.
Remove the bouquet garni; the pork should shred easily with a fork.
Shred the warm meat with two forks right in the pot, mixing it into the fat.
Pack into the sterilized jars, press down lightly and cover with hot strained fat.