Make Your Own French Charcuterie at Home

Hailing from an iconic four-generation charcuterie family business, father and son Gilles and Nicolas Verot present four of their deliciously simple recipes to try at home.

LE MANS-STYLE RILLETTES

Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs (1 kg) boneless pork shoulder
• 2½ cups (500 g) lard
• 6 tsp salt
• 6 pinches freshly ground pepper

METHOD

1 Cut the pork shoulder into 114 inch (3 cm) cubes.
2 Melt the lard in a medium pot over medium heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, add the pork cubes and cook, covered, for 2 hours, turning the meat every hour. Stir in the salt and pepper and then cook for an additional 2 hours, turning the meat every hour until it shreds at the touch of a spatula.
3 Set a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the contents of the pot into the strainer, collecting the fat in the bowl. Remove the pork cubes to a separate container.
4 Shred the pork by hand, then add three-quarters of the reserved fat to it, mixing well.
5 Cover and refrigerate the mixture, stirring every 15 minutes for I hour 30 minutes to achieve a consistent texture. Continue to refrigerate it for 8 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
6 Refrigerated leftovers will keep for 4 days.

CAILLETTES

Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 14 lbs (650 g) whole pork belly or 14 oz
• (400 g) minced pork belly
• 1½ lb (250 g) pork or veal liver
• 1½ yellow onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1½ shallots
• ½ bunch tarragon
• 20 sprigs parsley
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3½ oz (100 g) spinach
• 3½ tbsp milk
• 3 tsp salt
• 4 pinches freshly ground pepper
• 1 large egg
• 3½ tbsp heavy cream

METHOD

1 Using a knife, remove the rind and any bones from the pork belly, making sure to keep the fat on the belly.
2 Chop the pork belly and liver into approx ½ inch (7mm) pieces. Set aside.
3 Finely chop the onion, garlic, shallot, tarragon and parsley leaves. Set aside.
4 Roughly chop the spinach. In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter, add the chopped spinach and sauté for 3 minutes. Set aside.
5 In a small skillet, cook the onion and shallot with the milk over medium heat until soft.
6 Place the pork belly in a mixing bowl, add the salt and pepper and mix by hand or with a mixer on low speed.
7 Pour the egg and cream into the bowl and blend until the mixture becomes uniform. Add the liver, milk-infused onion and shallot, and spinach, garlic, tarragon and parsley to the bowl. Mix vigorously by hand or with a mixer on low speed for 5 minutes. Divide the mixture into six portions, shape into balls and place in six ramekins.
8 Put the ramekins in a cold oven, Set the oven to 320 °F (160 °C) and bake using the convection setting (if possible) for I hour 30 minutes.
9 Let the ramekins rest for I hour at room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
10 Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving and unmould with the help of a knife. Refrigerated leftovers will keep for 4 days.

CHICKEN PÂTÉ

Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ lbs (650 g) whole pork belly or I Ib (500 g) minced pork belly
• 6 sprigs parsley
• 1½ shallots
• 1½ cup (50 g) button mushrooms
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tsp plus I pinch salt, divided
• 5 pinches freshly ground pepper
• 14 lb (100 g) chicken livers
• ¼ lb (350 g) boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (100 g) heavy cream

METHOD

1 Using a knife, remove the rind and any bones from the pork belly, making sure to keep the fat on the belly.
2 Finely chop parsley leaves. Dice the shallots and button mushrooms.
3 In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add shallots, mushrooms and I pinch each of salt and pepper, stirring frequently. Once the shallots turn golden, add the parsley and chicken livers. Sauté until the livers have a rich brown colour on both sides. Set aside to cool.
4 Chop the chicken and half the olives into approximately 14 inch (7mm) pieces.
5 Place the pork belly in a mixing bowl; add the remaining salt and pepper. Mix by hand or with a mixer on low speed.
6 Pour the egg and cream into the bowl and blend until the mixture becomes uniform.
Add the livers, mushrooms, parsley and shallots. Mix vigorously by hand or with a mixer on low speed for about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a mould and press firmly.
7 Place the mould in a cold oven. Set it to 320°F (160°F) and bake using the convection setting (if possible) for 1 hour 30 minutes.
8 Remove the mould and while still hot, use a paper towel to dab away any imperfections on the pâté’s edges. Let it rest for I hour at room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
9 Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Refrigerated leftovers will keep for 4 days.

BEAUJOLAIS SAUSAGES

Makes 5 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ yellow onion
• 2 shallots
• I tbsp unsalted butter ½ cup (50 g) chopped bacon
• 11/8 lbs (600 g) whole pork belly or I lb (500 g) ground pork belly
• I lb (500 g) boneless pork shoulder or ground pork
• 3 tsp salt
• 4 pinches freshly ground pepper ½ cup (60 g) Beaujolais (Gamay) wine

METHOD

1 Coarsely chop the onion and shallots. In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the onion and shallots until they soften. Add the bacon for the last 30 seconds of cooking.
2 Using a knife, remove the rind and any bones from the pork belly, making sure to keep the fat on the belly. Chop the pork belly and pork shoulder into approximately 1/4 inch (7 mm) pieces.
3 In a mixing bowl, combine the pork belly and the salt and pepper. Mix by hand or in a mixer on a low speed.
4 Add the pork shoulder, wine, shallots, onion and bacon. Stir vigorously by hand or in a mixer on low mixer speed for 5 minutes.
5 Shape into sausages or meatballs.
6 Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 30 minutes or pan-fry until cooked through. Serve hot.

Extracted from French Charcuterie at Home: Terrines, Rillettes, Saucisses, & Pâtés En Croûte by Gilles and Nicolas Verot, with photography by David Japy. Published by Tra publishing, RRP £42.99.

From France Today Magazine

Lead photo credit : Gilles & Nicolas Verot