Thursday 20 November 2014

Tim's B'rillette



Dawn this morning,
the rising sun turning the hills to rust-red.
It was stunning.

Anyway....
comment posted by Tim
upon my request as to what to do with the pig's head


"Anyone know how to make pâté?
Found a pig's head down the bottom of the freezer,
spent two days slow cooking it,
so that it disintegrated into a mush of meat and bones,
that way one cannot distinguish exactly what bits go where,
which makes the task of sorting everything out easier,
makes me less squeamish.

Anyways,
I have one pot of bones, one pot of meat for the dogs, one pot of meat for us.
Thought I would have a go at making pâté.
Anyone know how to do that?
Or else I can mince the meat up,
and lose it in a pie or something."

And Tim said:


"Get a block of Saindoux [lard] and stir your meat and "shut up and eat it" into the lard...
simmer in the lard for around twenty minutes and season to taste. 
Pull any big lumps of flesh apart with two forks and stir it back in...
hey presto! You have B'rillette...
half way 'twixt Brawn and Rillette.
Use as rillette"  

"Righty-o Tim", I thought,
"will give it a go".
And I have, 
and this is what I did:

From the fridge, I took bowl of chunks of head meat from a cooked pig's head:


Cut / shredded the meat into smaller pieces:
(Boolie pretending he is not interested in the meat related activity going on above his head)


One packet of lard.....



...from which I took a third....


....and that went into a saucepan to melt,
my thoughts being melted fat would be easier to mix with the meat...
Also added two chopped onions, two cloves of garlic, and some spices...


When all softened down, tipped the lard mixture back into head meat,...
and gave it a good mixing...


Another third of lard put into pan and melted,
but over a low heat,
as didn't want a burnt bottom,
which is something I have a tendency to have quite frequently,
because I do have the habit of wandering away from the stove
when I should stay and attend to what is cooking.

So I kept turning over the mixture,
then flattened it to see how much lard there was in proportion to the meat.
I thought that the melted lard should sufficient to almost cover the meat,
but not be enough to drown it. 
When the lard gets cold and sets,
it should glue the meat together,
I think.


The mixture looked on the 'dry' side, 
so I added some more dollops of lard.
I have now used up all the packet of lard.


At fifteen minutes simmering, the bottom was sticking,
so I stopped cooking the mixture. 
Gave it a pat.
Decided not to add any more lard.


Had a nibble on a bit of meat. 
Was as bland as anything,
so in went some allspice, salt, pepper, and mustard,
and then some more.

Then into lined tin...
and done!


It will go into the fridge once it is cooled down.

Two hours later:
Now in fridge.
Not set though.
I think that I should have got the pieces smaller,
and perhaps I should have put the mixture into jars,
rather than a tin.
Not to worry,
all will be revealed in the morning when I get up,
because I am off to bed now.
Clean sheets, electric blanket, and my husband,
all in a heap,
what could be better!

So thanks, Tim, for giving me an idea to experiment with!
Lester will either be having B'rillette on toast for breakfast,
or the dogs will be having B'rillette on dog biscuits,
at least it will not be wasted.

And leaving you with a last look at that stupendous dawn:


Vx

12 comments:

Tim said...

Looks right...
halfway 'twixt Brawn and Rillettes...
Not the jelliness of a brawn...
not the greasiness of rillettes...
enjoy!!

Tim said...

I didn't mention spices, etc...
I presumed that you would be adding such anyway...
Also...
if it seems on the dryside...
add some more lard...

My main paté recipe uses mainly pig liver, some chair from the butcher and some coarsely chopped ham....
plus all the spices I can think of that would compliment the flavour...
usually a mix of mace...
or nutmeg if we are out...
juniper berries...
WHOLE peppercorns...
mustard...
both real Colmans Superfine in powder and yellow or black in grain...
caraway seeds....
if you look here:
http://livingtoeat-pollygarter.blogspot.fr/2011/01/spice-racks-back.html
you will see that we have a lot to choose from...
a bit of cayenne can alter the oomph! of the final result, too!!

You name it, anything can be added...
and it is fun trying different methods.

Your "head meat" could have been used instead of chair and chopped ham.

Whilst you can get "streaky bacon" from Lidl in France, ordinary butchers' ham can be used to line the tin.
DON'T use dry-cured ham...
it becomes un-cuttable plastic...
terrible.

Home-made pate freezes very well... and prtion size slices of your "B'rillettes" would too....
but let them thaw out overnight in the fridge.

I have used end-bits of paté to enrich gravy / sauces for meat...
wonderful.

Vera said...

I'm forever saying this, Tim, but you treasure! But what is the difference between 'butcher's ham' to 'dry cured ham'?

We can get streaky bacon at our local Intermarche, but we also get it off our pigs as well!

Love that spice 'rack / shelves'. Am going to have a similar shelfv/ rack in my 'proper' kitchen, and my intent is to use as much of my own seasonings as possible. Did some dried parsley last year, expecting it lose flavour and aroma within a few months, but a year on and it is still as good as the day I made it.

When I was cleaning out the freezer I came across a big supermarket shopping bag full of bags of pig's liver. I have another pig's head to do (It is huge....probably will have to cut it in half/ quarters to get into my pot!) so am thinking of using the liver and head meat to make a paté. Sorry for being a nuisance, but is paté the same as the B'rillette recipe?

Thankyou once again for taking the time to give me this info. Through your help I am getting more confident about exploring new ways of doing things. Vx

Horst in Edmonton said...

There sure is a big plus in being a farmer. You have all the meat you want. Also it is the best meat as the farmer really cares for his animals. I hope you enjoy the fruit of your labour. It sure looks good from here. My mother used to make all kinds of sausage meats in canning jars. Never had to worry about the lack of food and it always tasted wonderful.

Vera said...

Horst, I am in awe of people like your mother and the amount of knowledge they had in regards to food preservation. And it is shame that this knowledge was being lost, but thank goodness for the Internet network because now this knowledge can be passed on to novices like me.

Hope you have a peaceful and restful Sunday.

Tim said...

Vera...
proper paté is not made the same as rillettes...
what I gave you for your headmeat was a way of making rillettes... from what usually makes brawn...
our local butcher does a wonderful "tête persille"...
where he cubes the brawn and re-sets it in parsley aspic....
a slice of that on the plate looks good and is unrecognisable as head!

With paté, you mix all the ingredients together with "blitzed" liver and pour it into a mould...
as per your loaf tin...
which can also be bacon or ham lined...
that is then covered by more streaky bacon or ham if desired.
The mould is then put in a waterbath...
larger container and water added up to half the height of the mould...
and given a long slow cook...
I tend to cook at around 160 Centipedes for two to three hours...
you'll find loads of recipes on the web to get times from...
once cooked... test with a knife / cake prodder...there should be clear juice and no blood from the liver...
you need to place a board that is smaller than the mould on the top and apply weight...
I have cut hunks of waste board to fit and cover those with foil...
for weight, I usually use tins if beans, etc...
three tins should suffice for a mould like yours.
Once cool enough, the whole kaboodle needs to go in the fridge to set overnight [as a minimum]...
it needs twelve hours really...
If you have a mould that you can leave it in... and serve from... then you don't need to line it... but you will need to put gelatine, buttery-lard or aspic on top as a seal.
You can also do paté in Le Parfait terrine jars...
we clamp the lid down immediately before removing from the oven...
we've kept those for over a year... and NO FREEZER involved.
Nor do you need weights... the paté is a bit more "open" in texture as a result.
They look just like the pots that you can buy in the supermarchés.
For the table when entertaining, remove the lid and metal bits...
melt some butter... place a bay leaf on the paté...
pour on the hot butter and allow to cool...
decorate with peppercorns, etc...
if a duck paté a slice of clementine looks good...
forget the bay leaf!
A length of ribbon tied round where the lower metal lived looks good too!!

And in answer to your ham query...
dry-cured ham is the dark, chewy and delicious, thin-sliced stuff...
butchers'...
note the apostrophie...
ham is the pale pink, bland stuff that you use to wrap French white asparagus... or Belgian endives... before you smother them in cheese sauce...
ie: the same stuff that formed many British summer salads!!

Rhodesia said...

My mother used to make the most amazing brawn with pigs head and trotters. Sadly she never gave me the recipe!

Have you looked at:-
http://wild-life-in-france.blogspot.fr/
think you may find it interesting if not.
Take care Diane

Jean said...

I think you have to be applauded for using head meat. I don't think I could, although I realise that to waste it is not right.
I am however looking forward to having the time to do more proper cooking, now that we are both retired....although I don't think I ever worked harder in my life!

Mizumatte said...

oh Vera you really are a deasent farmer's wife taking care of everything. Jaana

Vera said...

Tim, ah, so that's the difference between the b'rillette and paté! Thanks ever so much for taking the time to explain that to me, and I shall definitely have a go at some point in the future. Vx

Diane, I did look at the link, and thanks for that.

Jean, we are still vaguely squeamish about eating head meat! But it would be a waste not to try and become accustomed to it...it is not the taste, it is the thought that it comes from the head!

Jaana, I am trying to become a farmer's wife, but think that it will be a long time before I can say that I am a 'proper' farmer's wife!

Vera said...

Tim, ah, so that's the difference between the b'rillette and paté! Thanks ever so much for taking the time to explain that to me, and I shall definitely have a go at some point in the future. Vx

Diane, I did look at the link, and thanks for that.

Jean, we are still vaguely squeamish about eating head meat! But it would be a waste not to try and become accustomed to it...it is not the taste, it is the thought that it comes from the head!

Jaana, I am trying to become a farmer's wife, but think that it will be a long time before I can say that I am a 'proper' farmer's wife!

Tim said...

Vera...
you've been eating the b'rillettes too fast...
you've got hiccups!