The "Non Vegetarian" Corner: Rillettes de porc (by Nigel Slater)

Nigel Slater produces some good recipes. This one works very well with Freedom Farm belly pork. He misspells "rillettes" as "rilettes". Truly a Grauniad journalist.

A goodly amount of black pepper added in the packing stage is good idea.

SERVES 8
belly pork – 1kg, skinned and boned
bay leaves – 3
thyme – 3 large sprigs
garlic – 3 large cloves, peeled
water – 250ml

Put the piece of pork in a roasting tin or large shallow pot for which you have a lid. Set the oven at 160°C/Gas 4.

Rub a tablespoon of salt all over the meat, drop in the bay leaves, together with the thyme, the whole garlic cloves and the water. Cover, either with tight foil or a lid, then leave in the oven for 3 hours or until the pork is completely tender.

Remove the lid, lift the meat from its juices, then tear it into very fine shreds with the aid of two forks. This takes a little while to do thoroughly, but is a rather pleasing task. Pack tightly into a china or earthenware bowl. Pour the liquid in the roasting tin through a sieve over the rilettes and mix lightly. Leave to cool, then refrigerate till the fat has set.

Serve with toast or exceptionally crusty bread and cornichons, or perhaps pickled chillies.