charcuterie

oh and i ate the confit with a salad. my gurl dint like it so i ate her scraps straight up

I had cured duck breast at Taste a few weeks ago - it was cut fairly thick (1/8" maybe, def not paper thin) and they had seared the skin side briefly. Really good.

So I've made this a couple of times and it's cheap, easy as hell and so unbelievably good:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/dining/161prex.html

I had some in the freezer and broke it out when a friend was here last weekend. Holds up pretty well frozen but not as good as fresh.

classic pork rillettes (from p267 of ruhlman and polcyn)
1 lg leek
1 sm bunch of thyme
3 bay leaves
1 celery stalk
8 black peppercorns
1 md onion studded w 5 cloves
3 lbs very fatty pork butt cut into 1" dice
kosh
2 qt white veal stock or water
freshly ground black pepper to taste
abt 8 oz rendered pork fat
some cheesecloth
1. split the leek lengthwise in half stopping abt 1" from root end and wash it well. lay the thyme and bay leaves inside the leek, lay the celerystalk next to it and tie it up with string (an aromatic bundle called a bouquet garni)
2. crack the peprcorns and tie it in cheesecloth
3. preheat oven to 300F/150C
4. put pork in 6 qt pot and cover with water by 2", bring to boil, the drain and rinse w cold water (a way to quickly eliminate blood and impurities) return pork to clean pot and add leek bundle, peppercorn thing, and onion and 1 tbsp kosh, and the stock bring to simmer cover and put in oven 4-6 hrs or the meat is falling apart tender
5. remove the pork to cool, strain liquid set aside
6. pork goes into the stand mixer with paddle on low slowly adding strained cooking liquid until the meat shreds thoroughly and takes on a moist spreadable texture, abt 1 or 2 min. taste: salt and pepper as necessary (remember this will be served at room temp so it should be seasoned assertively)
7. spoon meat into ramekins or crocks, fridge until chilled the pour abt 1/8" rendered fat on top to seal them ramekins. return to fridge for up to 2 wks
8. remove rillettes at least 2 hr before serving, cuz they best and easiest to serve at room temp

addendum: veal stock
8 lbs veal bones cut into 7.5 cm lengths (have butcher do this, yo)
1 c fine dice onion
1/2 c fine dice celery
1/2 c fine dice leek, white part only
2 bay leaves
2 tsp black peppercorns
1 bunch thyme
6 qt water

1. bones in a pot taller than it is wide cover with water and boil. drain and rinse
2. back in pot and add remaining ingredients. water should cover by 1" bring to boil skimming the stock frequently then reduce heat to lowest possible. skim the stock and simmer for 6-8 hrs or overnight
3. strain and let cool then fridge or freeze

whew! good on y'alls that do it

oh i'm thinking of doing rabbit (see "rillettes de lapin" upthread). have the Robuchon recipe. it's dope.

duck prosciuto
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd210/jdchurchil/food%20porn/DSC_0223-1.jpg?t=1275744194

speaking of duck fat I ate a can of beans earlier this week that consisted of just white beans in goose fat:and this was just a generic store brand! I love this country (France) so much.

― Euler, Friday, June 4, 2010 6:42 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

canned food in france = revelation

actually, pretty much everything in supermarkets there = revelation

even the cheapest store brand stuff is like miles ahead of n america

going to barcelona in june and am so psyched to try jamon bellota

good stuff. in fact the food (and wine) in spain is amazing & the prices seemed relatively cheap (especially compared to NYC). my son would now like to subsist on jamon y pan con tomat. don't recommend eating tapas twice a day, though.

this place was SO awesome: Cervecería Catalana Restaurant Carrer de Mallorca, 236 Barcelona

jokers joggin 'round spain makin me mad jealous, yo

had some bellota over the holidays, had memories of phil-two in paris and tokyo~~~~

wow 1st i googled bellota and found it was a spider, or the best kind of jamon iberico cuz a bellota is an acorn in spanish
and them pigs eat alot of them.

did it taste of acorns steve shasta?

ok i am finally getting around to actually making this stuff. just doing sausages right now like mick jagerwurst

I saw this recipe and thought of you guys.

hey dudes i made motherfockin headcheese!
srsly if any of u chi town ilxers want some i will bike deliver it to you cuz i made way too much!

Wow, thats amazing :)

my ex has italian family on farmland in WA who make all manner of whatever the italian word is for chacuterie. His zio makes an amazing, dense and dark pork sausage that is deadly spicy, and once or twice a year he vacuum-packs up a link or 3 and mails it to R. Dried, intense pork salami. I cant eat it, its just way way too hot for my palate but I am so impressed by the work that goes into it - they dont grow their own pigs but they work from a full pig carcass and make sausage and meats from it every year.

perhaps you should suggest that the put a little less spice in there? then you could eat it too!

Nah they're sicilian, thats heresy that is ;P

i don't know any sicilians but i just thought wtf it can't hurt, right? i mean it's a suggestion so they can ignore it if they choose

Oh i just mean sicilian food has soooo much chili in it. Heh tbh I dont like pork anyway :)