Your Weekly Voilà: The Next Star of Your Charcuterie Board 😋💕🇫🇷

At the start of a French meal, there is always a place for olives, pickles, cured meats, and rillettes (pronounced ree-yett). Rillettes is a way of cooking pork, duck, or chicken. It is a method of slow-cooking the meat with aromatics while submerged in its fat. The meat is then shredded and preserved in a container topped with a protective layer of fat. Think of it as a thick, rustic, savory spread. It is a remote cousin to pâté, which is usually made from organ meats such as goose liver and has a smoother texture.

Rillettes are more similar to another French cooking technique called confit whereby the meat is cooked whole in its animal fat under low heat. However, rillettes is then torn into small pieces.

The end result is simply delicious.

I actually came to learn about rillettes from finding an old, handled crock in a brocante shop. I was thinking that it was a jug from which to drink your cider. I suppose there is no reason why you couldn't, except that some of the crocks can be quite large. It was clear that these beauties could be valuable containers in today's kitchen, studio, or garden ready to hold whisks & ladles, paintbrushes, or herbs. But I was curious about its original use. A conversation with the proprietor revealed that it was not a drinking cup; rather, the crock was used to preserve rillettes.

Fast forward to an aperitif with family in the south of France and I found myself eating this delicious concoction on a slice of toasted bread. Finally, it clicked that my love of handled crocks had found my new love of this rustic spread.

Here in France, vintage handled crocks are known by several names such as Francais Grès, pot confit, pot à graisse, and pot rillettes. They come in a range of colors depending on the region's local clays.

One of the best-known potteries for rillettes crocks was the atelier of the Renault family. In 1847, Stanislas Renault opened his first atelier in Argent-sur-Sauldre in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Five generations and over 150 years, the Renaults handcrafted their iconic stoneware from local grey clay. Sadly, Poterie Renault closed their workshop in 2016.

Fortunately, you can find their timeless salt-glazed pieces at brocantes and vide grenier or "empty the attic" sales throughout France. Currently, I have a few favorite pieces of Poterie en Grès in Le Shop.

I find that preparing rillettes requires a bit of intuition and a few adjustments based on your local ingredients. You can use a variety of meats, with duck and pork being the most common options here in France. But I find chicken to be a most delicious and affordable alternative. You can use just chicken legs or chicken legs and thighs. And are you ready for a bit of blasphemy in terms of French cuisine? (Whispering quietly and certain you will not repeat this to my French family or neighbors.) You can use the leftovers from your grocery store rotisserie chicken. Serve the chicken breast on sandwiches and save the remainder and make it into rillettes. I know this must be considered cheating by many a Julia Child devotee.

For those looking for a recipe that requires at least a bit more preparation, I have you covered. My recipe will provide enough rillettes for your next soiree's charcuterie board. For those who want to make a large batch and store it in the fridge for a month or so, you can use a whole chicken and adjust the amount of spices and liquid.

In any case, there is no fussing over a hot stove, tending to a large vat of simmering fat. I prefer either a small cast iron-covered dish or a crockpot. If you have a food processor or standing mixer, you'll find out just how easy it is to throw in all the ingredients, do a few pulses, and Voilá - you just made rillettes.

Feel free to change up the ingredients. I like the flavor of juniper berries and they are easily found here in France. You could use allspice with pork rillettes. I use bay leaf and thyme. Pick what is in your garden. A squirt of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar can replace the dry white wine. Sometimes I add Armagnac if I have it.

Again, be intuitive with this recipe and add what suits your palate.

The perfect dish for your next charcuterie board
can be found in Le Shop

Click on the photos below for more details

Shop the collection here

Rustic Chicken Rillettes

2 large chicken legs and or chicken thighs, skin on, 1/2 pound
1/4 tablespoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
8 or so peppercorns, lightly crushed
3 or so juniper berries, well crushed
1 large bay leaf, torn in half
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 cup or more olive oil, average quality
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon quality mustard
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Salt & pepper to taste

Arrange the chicken pieces in an oven-safe dish or Crockpot or Instant Pot. Rub the chicken with salt and thyme. Sprinkle the peppercorns and juniper berries evenly over the chicken and press the bay leaves and garlic slivers into the meat.
Cover with olive oil until the chicken is at least 1/2 way submerged. You want to use the smallest pan possible that allows you to arrange the chicken in a single layer and not use a 1/2 bottle of oil.
Cover with a tight-fitting lid and place into a preheated 250 degree F (120 C) oven. Cook for 2 hours. Lift the lid and add the wine. Replace the lid. Continue cooking for another 1 1/2 - 2 hours. You want the chicken to easily come away from the bone. Depending on the size and thickness of the chicken, you might have to cook it a bit longer. Again - an intuitive process. (If you are using a slow cooker, follow the operating instructions.)
Remove from oven and lift the chicken into a shallow glass baking dish. Allow to cool. Remove the bones and shred the meat into pieces using two forks.
Strain the liquid through a sieve. I often include my spices but take out the bay leaf and thyme stems. Separate the oil from the juices by using a fat separator or a glass measuring cup and allow the juices to settle to the bottom for at least 15 min.
In a food processor or mixer, pulse 6-8 times or mix with a paddle attachment the meat, juices, mustard, and melted butter until well-mashed. You can do this with a fork but it takes some work. Add enough of the oil - 1/4 cup or more - and pulse or mix until combined. You want the spread to be rich and creamy and that deliciousness comes from the fat.
Place in your favorite ramekins, jars, or small crocks if you are serving immediately.
If storing, pack into sterilized jars leaving 1/2 inch of headroom. Carefully spoon fat over the rillettes to completely cover with no meat showing through. Allow jars to cool and then cover with a tight lid and store in the fridge undisturbed for up to a month. To serve, let it come to room temp for about an hour, carefully scrape off the fat cap to reveal the rillettes.

Note: I keep the leftover strained fat with all the seasoned juices in a small crock with a lid in the fridge. I use it when I prepare potatoes or make Yorkshire puddings/popovers or make a future batch of rillettes. None of that goodness goes to waste.

Remember, you can skip the cooking the chicken steps if you are using an already cooked rotisserie chicken. Just use some of the fat from a previous batch of rillettes, or take olive oil, a few spices, mustard, melted butter, and process in your food processor or mixer. Always serve at room temperature.

Best eaten on slightly toasted bread and paired with the sharpness of tiny cornichons or pickles, rillettes can be the star of your next charcuterie board. Delicious when topped with fig jam for pork and duck rillettes or capers with chicken or fish, it will be love at first bite.

À bientôt mon amie,
Karen 🇫🇷