Duck Rillettes

Rillettes are meats simmered slowly in herbs and wine then shredded and packed into preserving jars to make a rough country pate to eat with good strong bread and a munch of cornichons - those tiny French cucumber pickles. They can be made with pork, rabbit, goose or duck - or a mix of all four.

1 1/2 pounds pork belly chopped into chunks
2 pounds duck cut into chunks, including bones and skin or goose, or 3 pounds pork loin, neck or belly, or rabbit
1 pint water (or for pork rillettes 10 fluid ounces)
1 glass white wine (optional but good. For pork, 10 fluid ounces)
3 bay leaves
1 clove garlic, crushed
6 sprigs fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried
a scraping of fresh grated nutmeg
salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper

Chop meat and fat into 2-inch chunks, add to a heavy casserole with everything else. Make sure it's covered with liquid and bring slowly to the boil, stirring occasionally to prevent meats sticking. Lower heat and cover. Simmer for 4 hours, removing scum as necessary. If the liquid is not evaporating, slide the cover a little to the side to allow steam to escape. You want the liquid to have settled around the meats so the whole mass looks well incorporated together.

Cool then press through a sieve to strain the liquids off. (If you pour them into a jug and let them cool in the fridge, the fat will rise and solidify and you can use some of it to melt as a protective cover at the end of construction. But a good deal must be incorporated loose into the meats with their juices.) Remove any fresh thyme stalks, take spoonfuls of the meat and drop them into a clean bowl. Take two forks and shred each spoonful into a rough paste, tossing any bones but shredding and incorporating the skin. Stir in enough of the fat and liquid to produce a spongey mass. If you haven't cooled the liquids in the fridge, whisk it with a fork and add.

Season with a brief grate of nutmeg, plenty of freshly ground black pepper, salt and some more thyme. 

Pot into cleaned jars and cover with waxed or parchment paper. Alternatively, melt down more pork fat or lard and cover with that. The rillettes should be kept for 2-3 days before eating for the flavors to mature. They will keep in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

Eat with good rough country bread and French cornichons - emphatically not American sweetened gherkins or cucumber pickles!