by Cameron Matthews, Executive Chef, Spicers Clovelly Estate

This classic country “pate” from the Loire region in France is a standard starter in small restaurants through the area served with crunchy bread and cornichons……

Ingredients
1.5 kg pork belly (or neck/shoulder) skinned and boned
sea salt
2 fresh bay leaves
1 large spring thyme
4 cloves peeled garlic
fresh ground black pepper

Method
pre heat oven to 160c
Dice pork into 2 cm x 2cm pieces and rub with 1 tablespoon of salt
Place pork in medium casserole, bury herbs and garlic in diced pork
Grind over plenty of fresh pepper, allow to marinate overnight or at least a few hours
Add 1 cup of water to dish and bake in oven for approx. 3 hours or until its is swimming in its own juices and fat and the pork should be fork tender
Tip into a colander set over a bowl to catch the juices, place pork into separate bowl and shredded with two forks, spoon in some of the reserved juices and season well (rilettes are traditional really well seasoned)
Spoon into preserving jars or clean containers and refrigerate