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Duck rillettes

20/12/2012

5 Comments

 
While the bulk of rillettes you can buy in the UK is made from pork, shops in the Dordogne have a much wider range. Pork is still popular, but given the importance of duck and geese to the local economy, it's hardly surprising that the birds are used to make this coarse pate.

Summer lunches always feature a bowl of some variety of rillettes, to be eaten on torn baguette and topped with cornichons. The best lunches feature rillettes, the local duck salami, kilos of cheese, and piles of fresh strawberries from the market, all washed down with a chilled rose or some Normandy brut cider.

If you have access to a supermarket or delicatessen that sells duck fat and confit duck legs, it is actually quite easy to pull together duck rillettes. They are best served as you would  a pate, on fresh baguette or thinly-sliced toasted rounds of a hearty country loaf.

6 confit duck legs
175g duck fat
2½ tsps ground white pepper
¼ tsp ground cloves
¾ tsp ground ginger
¾ tsp ground nutmeg


1. Preheat oven to 100°C.
2. Mix the four ground spices together in a bowl or jar and set aside.
3. Place duck in a roasting pan and cook for 5 minutes or until fat has melted. Drain and reserve fat. Remove skin from duck legs and finely slice, using a sharp knife. Remove duck flesh from bones and finely shred using a fork.
4. Warm duck fat and reserved fat in a shallow pan until it has just become liquid, add shredded duck meat, season to taste with spice mix and sea salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until duck meat is soft. Spoon rillettes into a terrine or pot and pack down firmly, cover and refrigerate until set.
5. Serve at room temperature.



Recipe via 
gourmettraveller.com.au, with some slight modifications to the order of the instructions.
5 Comments
Alison Price link
28/6/2013 12:52:04 pm

As an avid Ausralian reader of Bruno books I am so happy to now be able to make these great recipes. I made the Rillettes with a tin of confit brought home from the Lot for my French class party here in the Southern Highlands of NSW. It was a great success and I can't wait to return again soon for more wonderful Perigord food and the amazing markets. Looking forward also to more about Bruno and St Denis. Congratulations on a great series.

Reply
martin
28/6/2013 08:01:21 pm

Dear Alison,
thank you for those kind words. I'm delighted you enjoy Bruno and his food.
warmly, martin walker

Reply
Leslie M. Ficcaglia link
30/10/2017 06:34:26 am

Love your books and am waiting impatiently for the next one. I'm familiar with your area (I have a friend who lives near Beaumont-du-Périgord) and I adore French cuisine. I make my rillettes de canard after a roasted duck meal, though, using the carcass to get the most out of my fowl!

Duck Rillettes
Leslie M. Ficcaglia
Prep Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 3 hrs
Servings: 8-10

About This Recipe
Shredded duck (or goose) meat. This is a wonderful French staple, eaten as an appetizer, snack, or lunch, and served on slices of crusty baguette or crackers. I use the carcass from a roast goose or duck after we've served it for a meal; it's a great way to take advantage of every last delicious morsel of the bird.

Ingredients
1 goose or duck carcass (including the giblets, wings, and pieces of skin and fat)
cubed pork belly (optional)
salt
pepper
cloves (or quatre épices)
bouquet garni
Cognac or a dash of any other wine

Directions
Break up the carcass and place it with the other parts and the cubed pork in a large pot with a cupful (or more, as necessary) of water. Add the seasonings, cover, and cook very slowly, stirring often, for at least 2 1/2 hours.

When the meat separates easily from the bones and the liquid has almost evaporated, remove the bones and tear the meat into short strands with your fingers, mixing it well with the fat, skin and giblets. The texture should be coarse and with separate threads, rather than more homogenized like a pâté. You can also put some in a processor, or use an immersion blender, to make a smoother paste. Fill small baking or custard dishes with the mixture and any remaining liquid, leave it to cool, and then cover it with a layer of goose or duck fat. I use small containers which will each serve two to four people as an amuse-bouche before a meal. They can be frozen.

Reply
Martin link
1/11/2017 08:15:23 am

That sounds fabulous! Have you ever tried deep-frying the skin? One of the local butchers here makes duck scratchings/chicharrones from the skin, and they're a wonderful -- if unhealthy -- snack.

Reply
Leslie link
1/11/2017 11:15:13 am

That sounds a little like the grattons that I've eaten near Toulouse. It also sounds delicious! And don't forget, duck and goose fat are supposed to be good for you...If I get back to your area I'll have to ask you for the name of that butcher.




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