I saw these beautiful little bundles at a market in Chianti, Italy. They are piccolo packages of a spiced savory pork mixture tucked into small rounds and wrapped with caul fat. In french, their called rillettes.
Rillette ( "ree-ette") is cooked meat (usually pork) shredded and packed then sealed with some meat fat, usually in a charming little stoneware crock of some sort. I wanted to recreate my own Italian version of the french classic. When I saw these, I immediately thought of little alfresco picnic appetizers. I imagined them being cooked over the Tuscan wood-fired Grill {see my blog entry of May 20 for the Grill} and served with some crunchy cornichon, crostini and a chilled Gavi di Gavi white wine.
We have a big bay leaf bush right outside our kitchen and I thought this would be just the recipe to use the thousands of savory leaves that lay in waiting on the branches. I have finally found some way I can use just more than one at a time!
My next challenge is going to be finding caul fat to wrap the pork rilletes. For that, I will head to a local butcher, Lynn Sawicki, to hunt down this essential ingredient.
Since pork rillette is not a staple dish or an easy everyday recipe, it took some research for recipes. I plan to try it soon and share with friends around the table {hopefully, in the not too humid Atlanta summer heat!}
Until then, eat something you love tonight!
Buon appetito!
copyright 2008 Alisa Barry
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