Tag: Rillette

Biera’s Berkshire Pork Croquettes with Rhubarb Apple Butter & Pickled Rhubarb

Posted on by Sharman

When it comes to the carefully selected ingredients she melds together on the plates at her contemporary restaurant in the Richie neighbourhood of Edmonton, Chef Christine Sanford of Biera is passionate and particular about the Alberta pork she serves. Chef Sanford is eager to introduce her customers to Broek Pork Acres’ pasture-raised Berkrshire, a pure breed known to produce tender, dark, juicy meat with high fat marbling.

Having visited the Broek Pork Acres farm in Lethbridge County, Chef Sanford is confident in the pork dishes at Biera because she has seen firsthand the dedication and care Allan and Joanne Vanden Broek put into raising their beautiful Berkshire pigs. She easily describes it as some of the best pork she has ever had; patrons who’ve tried the Broek Acres Berkshire pork dish from Biera‘s charcoal grill are sure to agree.

Chef Sanford graciously shared a versatile recipe for pork rillette, a spreadable combination of pork and fat reminiscent of pate, that can be served soft on toast (and a great accompaniment to any charcuterie plate), or breaded into crispy croquettes and accented with a beautify rhubarb apple butter & pickled rhubarb.

 

BERKSHIRE PORK CROQUETTES WITH RHUBARB APPLE BUTTER & PICKLED RHUBARB

PORK CROQUETTES
Makes about 20 pieces

60-70% meaty Berkshire pork (Cut meaty pork into medium sized pieces)
30-40% Pork Fat (Cut fat into smaller pieces)
2 large garlic cloves smashed (this is enough for around 2kg meat)
1 bay leaf
1 sprigs thyme
Apx 1/4 bottle Normandy Style Farmers Cider or something similar to Cuvee de Ranke

Directions:

1. Weigh out the pork and pork fat and calculate 2% Kosher Salt and set aside (so for 2kg of meat and fat total, you would add 40g kosher salt.)

2. In a brazier or large pot render the fat on med-low until most of it is liquid.

3. Remove fat from pot and brown the meat. Add the Garlic, add your 2% salt. Cook a few more minutes until golden.

4. Deglaze with the cider/beer and add the rendered fat back in. Add the bay and thyme. Stir and cover on LOW, stirring every 10 minutes.

5. Cook until tender, then remove the lid and continue to cook until the liquid has reduced and coated the meat. Let rest 20 minutes, then strain off the fat, blend the meat gently in a food possessor to make a chunky paste- you can add a bit of the fat back in if it seems dry.

(Note: You can keep any extra pork fat for another dish!)

To prep the croquettes:

1. Flatten rillette onto a tray lined with parchment and let cool over night (this helps to firm it up so it’s easier to bread)

2. The next day cut into rectangle squares and bread (breading directions below)

 

BREADING INGREDIENTS

1 cup all-purpose flour
Egg wash (2 eggs beaten with 1/4 cup of milk)
2 cups panko breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Set up the breading station. Place the flour in one dish, the egg wash in a shallow bowl, and the panko in a separate dish. Season them all with salt.

2. Dip the rillette portion in the flour, then with your other hand into the egg wash and then using your dry hand back into the panko.

3. Let chill 20 minutes and then you can shallow fry or deep fry the breaded rillettes until golden and heated through.

RHUBARB APPLE BUTTER

5lbs Red Rhubarb
2 Apples
250ml Cherry cider or apple cider

Directions:

1. Chop the rhubarb up and the apples into quarters removing pits.

2. Cook everything in a large pot on low for appx 1-2 hrs or until apples & rhubarb are getting soft and the mixture has thickened up (the liquid will evaporate over time)

3. Blend on high in a blender until very smooth, and season to your taste with salt.

 

PICKLED RHUBARB

1 lb rhubarb stalks
1/2 cups water
2 cups apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat the vinegar, sugar and salt until dissolved.

2. Pour over the rhubarb and let sit overnight, or up to a week.

3. To use slice the rhubarb into desired sizes.

To serve, serve the fried pork rillettes with a dollop of the rhubarb apple butter and top with pickled rhubarb.

 

 

BIERA
Ritchie Market
9570 – 76 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T6C 0K2
(587) 525-8589

HOURS
  • Monday Closed
  • Tuesday 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
  • Wednesday 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
  • Thursday 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
  • Friday 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
  • Saturday 1:00 pm – 11:00 pm
  • Sunday 1:00pm – 5:00 pm

RGE RD Bread & Meat Off Sales

Posted on by Sharman

Still have people to buy for on your Christmas list? Why not give the gift of meat?

Since January 2016, Chef Blair Lebsack and his culinary team at RGE RD in Edmonton have been letting customers take a piece of the restaurant home each month during their Butchery Off-Sales. The multi-day event features a variety of meat delights for sale including Nature’s Green Acres finest Alberta Pork transformed into rillettes, country style terrines, sausages, pate, mortadella and even pork fat (ideal for roasting veggies or making a flaky pastry crust).

Off-sales were always part of the plan when the restaurant first opened. Holding a monthly event gives chef Lebsack and his team an opportunity to get creative with off-cuts and pieces of pork that may not make it on their regular menu. RGE RD receives their whole Nature’s Green Acres black Tamworth and Berkshire hogs just one day after they are slaughtered, giving the kitchen the control to age, cut, and create a variety of dishes that have regular customers stocking up each month.

Rillette, which Lebsack believes is served best at room temperature with a baguette and a glass of wine, was on the original menu when RGE RD first opened. Lebsack isn’t surprised by the popularity of the Butchery items, but he has been surprised by the increase in quantity they make each month.

When they first started his team was making just 10 kg of sausages; today, the RGE RD Butchery often sells out of 60 kg of sausage at their monthly sales events.

Friday, December 22, from 12pm to 6pm is RGE RD‘s final Bread & Meat Off Sale of the year. The last time I stopped in for a RGE RD off sale they were already sold out of several items, so if you want your choice RGE RD Butchery offerings, be sure to get there early or call 780-447-4577 to preorder.

The assortment of meats from the butchery is an ideal hostess gift and perfect for any charcuterie plate, which pairs beautifully with a French baguette or loaf of mountain bread baked in their wood-burning oven.

If you are looking for suggestions, I’m a big fan of RGE RD’s rillette. Pork shoulder cooked confit style, low and slow in stock and fat is hand-pressed in a mortar and pestle until velvety smooth. And if you are lucky – the mortadella!

RGE RD
10643 123 Street
Edmonton, AB T5N 1P2
(780) 447-4577

Zinc Restaurant Chef Omar Recipe: Smoked Pork Hock Rillettes

Posted on by Sharman
Chef Omar at FEASTival of Fine Chefs

I have more Alberta Pork love from this year’s FEASTival of Fine Chefs with a recipe from Chef Omar.The four-course dinner prepared by some of the finest and most creative chefs Edmonton means chefs have to think outside (or inside) the box to come up with creative menus. Prior to this 25th anniversary event, hosted by the Alberta Food Processors Association, each participating chef and restaurant was handed a different mystery box of goods containing locally sourced ingredients including proteins such as Alberta Pork.

This year Chef David Omar of Zinc Restaurant started the evening off with a Smoked Pork Hock Rillette appetizer
liquid and reduce with seasonings below:

3 whole peeled garlic cloves
Pinch crushed chilis
1/8 tsp allspice
¼ tsp whole coriander
¼ tsp whole mustard seeds
10 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaf
¼ tsp whole black peppercorns

Reduce to ¼ original volume and strain through new cheesecloth. Reserve hot for use.

4 oz thin sliced shallots
1/8 lb butter
Pinch black pepper

Sweat shallots in sauté pan until tender. Add shredded pork hock and cook to soft. Add pork stock reduction and cook until liquid is reduced by another ¼.Portion into eight 2 oz jars. Press into jar to remove air pockets and smooth top surface flat.

1/8 lb butter
1 tbsp chopped parsley

Melt butter in sauté pan until just brown on edges, fold in parsley and spoon on top of jarred meat immediately.

Serve with mustard, pickles, relish and crostini. Enjoy