Thai Spiced Rillette

As the season for parties and general merry making is officially upon us we need to talk about some food for entertaining. I have several recipes that I love to use for make ahead situations where I think I’ll either be too busy the day before or I know I’ll need to concentrate on other things that day. One of my absolute favorites is rillette; spiced or plain, with any mixture of meat, it sits right at the top of my favorites list. I love the interactiveness of it, I love sitting around a table with a bunch of friends nibbling on toasted breads, and I especially love that everyone can assemble the perfect bite for themselves.

This make ahead recipe gives you plenty of time to be free to hang out with your guests as the only thing at needs to be done on the day of serving is remove it from the fridge.

Thai Spiced Rillette Recipe

• 3 pounds pork butt
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ tsp crushed coriander seeds
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 dried chilis
• 2 slices of dried galangal
• 3 tsp red curry paste
• 2 to 3 cups of chicken stock
• ½ cup chili oil
• salt

Cut pork into one inch cubes (leave extra fat intact)

Give pork a quick rinse in warm tap water

Rub red curry paste, coriander and black pepper into the pork

Arrange pork evenly in a large dutch oven and nestle in the garlic, dried chilis, and galangal

Cover with stock and turn heat to high

Once it comes to a gentle simmer, cover with lid and place in preheated oven set to 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 to 4 hours

Pork is ready for the next step when it’s fork tender and just falling apart

Allow pork to cool to room temperature, then using tongs remove pork pieces reserving both pork and liquid

Place pork in a standing mixer and mix on medium low using the paddle attachment until broken down into small thin pork strands ( a couple of minutes should be fine)

Salt and taste to adjust salt levels, keep in mind that this will be eaten slightly cool which means it needs to be salted fairly aggressively

Spoon pork into individual ramekins or any cute pots, pressing down lightly, leaving a quarter inch of extra space at the top and chill for 2 hours

In a small bowl mix together chili oil with ½ cup of reserved liquid, spoon this oil mix over the top of each ramekin to seal and refridgerate over night.

Allow to come to room temperature for an hour or so before serving, should keep well in the fridge for a couple weeks

Serve on toasted crusty bread with lightly dressed greens and semi tart dried fruit like thinly sliced dried mango