Caillettes Ardéchoises

Ingredients

• 300 g pork liver, chopped coarsely by hand or through a coarse mincer plate
• 300 g pork shoulder, chopped coarsely by hand or through a coarse mincer plate
• 300 g pork belly, chopped coarsely by hand or through a coarse mincer plate
• 300 g Swiss chard leaves, stalks removed, blanched, well squeezed, roughly chopped; or Spinacia oleracea in equal quantity
• 3 cloves garlic, fresh, finely chopped
• 15 g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 8 dried juniper berries, crushed in a mortar — not ground fine
• 10 g sea salt
• 4 g black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 large sheet pork caul fat, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes to restore pliability, cut into 8 squares

Method

1. 1
   Soak the caul fat in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of unsalted water to the boil. Blanch the chard leaves for 2 minutes, drain immediately, and squeeze thoroughly in a clean cloth until no water runs out. The leaves must be dry enough to hold their shape in the mixture.
2. 2
   Chop the pork liver, shoulder, and belly coarsely by hand with a heavy knife, or pass once through a coarse mincer plate — the cut must remain visibly textured. Combine meat, chard, garlic, parsley, and crushed juniper in a large bowl. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Mix by hand until the ingredients are evenly distributed but not compressed into a paste. Distinct pieces of liver and chard must remain visible throughout.
3. 3
   Heat the oven to 180 °C. Divide the mixture into eight portions of 100–120 g each, shaping each loosely into a ball. Lift one square of soaked caul fat, lay the ball at its centre, and fold the caul over to form a neat parcel. Repeat. The caul should wrap without tearing; if it tears, it was insufficiently soaked.
4. 4
   Arrange the caillettes close together, touching one another, in a single roasting tray. This mutual contact supports their shape during cooking and the shared rendered fat prevents drying at the sides. Place in the oven and bake for 40–45 minutes. The caul fat is done when it has rendered fully to a translucent golden-brown and the dome of each caillette is browned.
5. 5
   Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before serving. Cut one caillette in cross-section to verify: liver pieces and chard leaves must be distinctly visible; the interior must be moist, not waterlogged. The aroma in immediate sequence should be pork fat, juniper pine, then garlic.