[Sca-cooks] For the Bacon lovers

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Aug 7, 2010, at 8:44 PM, Stefan li Rous wrote:

> Adamantius replied to me with:
> <<< Someone has invented smoke-flavored , pur?ed rillettes... well, that's frequently the mark of a good invention , the ability to look at mundane items in new and useful ways... >>>
> 
> In reference to: squeeze bacon ( http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/squeez-bacon.html ).
> 
> Okay, what is a "rillette"?  Sounds like it is something French. Is it period?

It appears that it is period in some form, although as with a lot of things, the period version may or may not be the same as the modern version. I believe Taillevent mentions rillons, which is the large, chunky-style big brother of rillettes.

Basically a confit of pork in fat (like confit of duck or goose, only this is pork chunks), but rillettes are shredded like finely-pulled pork barbecue (okay, I understand that to a Texan this may be an oxymoron; work with me here), which, when cool, is reduced to a spreadable, paté-like texture.

Here's a photo:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rillettes.jpg

The meat is often, but not always, partially salt-cured before cooking...

Adamantius






"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls, when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter