LES RILLETES DE TOURS (PORK SPREAD)

      Title: LES RILLETES DE TOURS (PORK SPREAD)
  Categories: Pork
       Yield: 1 Servings
  
     3/4 lb Fresh pork fatback
       1 tb Coarse salt
    9/16 lb Fresh, lean, boneless pork
       2    Plump cloves garlic,
            -unpeeled
       1    Branch dried thyme
       1    Bay leaf
       3    Peppercorns
       1 c  Water
  
   Makes about 1 pound.
   
   1. Remove the rind from the fatback. Discard it or save it for another
   purpose.
   
   2. Work the salt into all surfaces of the meat. Place it in a
   noncorrosive bowl, cover it, and refrigerate it overnight.
   
   3. Next day, dry the meat by patting it with paper towels. Don't be at
   pains to remove the salt. Cut both the fat and the lean meat into
   small thin pieces about
         2    inches by 1/4 inch.
   
        4.    Preheat the oven to 300^F
   
   5. Wrap the garlic, thyme, bay leaf and peppercorns in a piece of
   cheesecloth and tie it up securely. Put this sachet at the bottom of
   an ovenproof earthenware pot (you can use a beanpot with a lid) Put
   the chopped meat in the pot and add the water. Seal the pot with a
   piece of aluminum foil and press the lid down over the foil into the
   lid groove of the pot.
   
   6. Put the pot on the center rack of the oven and bake it for 3.1/2
   hours. Turn off the oven, but leave the pot in there for another 1/2
   hour.
   
   7. Place a large, stout sieve over a bowl. Break the seal on the pot
   and empty the contents into the sieve. Discard the sachet.
   
   8. Break the bits of meat apart with your fingers. Then, working with
   2 forks, pull the fibers apart. This operation is very essential for
   genuine rilletes, which are not a paste. They are very finely
   shredded pork and fat. (Don't make the mistake of putting the meat
   into the food processor and making a fine pate of it.)
   
   NOTE: You may eat the rilletes all at once if you like, but mix the
   shredded meat with a little of the dripping in a ratio of 2 parts
   shredded meat to 1 part dripping. You may also pack the rilletes into
   jars or pots and pour the dripping over them. Make certain that the
   dripping covers the rilletes at least 1/4 inch deep. Cover the tops
   of the pots or jars with foil. They will keep for a month or so under
   refrigeration. Make sure your pots are sterilized. An easy way to do
   that is by washing them well and rinsing them out with a few drops of
   Cognac. Be sure that the spread is at room temperature when you serve
   it. If you try to eat it cold, you will be astonished how tasteless
   and greasy it seems. When it is served at room temperature you get
   the full benefit of the long cooking, and the faint, savory perfume
   and taste of the garlic and herbs. The spread is at its best on
   crusty, freshly baked French bread.
   
   Source: French Cooking En Famille
   
   From The Cookie Lady's Files
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