Kig ha Farz

Ingredients

• The meats
• 1.2 kg beef brisket or chuck, in one piece
• 600 g smoked pork belly (lard fumé), in one piece
• 800 g pork knuckle (jarret de porc), bone in
• 400 g Breton sausages (saucisses de Moléne or similar)
• The vegetables
• 400 g carrots, peeled, left whole or halved
• 300 g turnips, peeled, quartered
• 3 leeks, trimmed, tied in a bundle
• ½ firm green cabbage, cut into wedges
• 800 g potatoes, peeled, kept whole
• For the farz sucré
• 250 g buckwheat flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 80 g salted butter, melted
• 50 g sugar
• 80 g raisins or prunes, stoned if using prunes
• 150 ml cream, enough to achieve a thick, pourable consistency
• For the lipig
• 30 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 ladleful of cooking broth with skimmed surface fat, from the pot

Method

1. 1
   Place the beef brisket, smoked pork belly, and pork knuckle in a very large pot. Cover generously with cold water. Bring slowly to a simmer, skimming all grey foam from the surface as it rises. The broth must run clear and pale golden before proceeding.
2. 2
   Once the broth is clear, reduce heat to a bare simmer — never a boil. Add the carrots and turnips. Maintain the gentle trembling surface throughout cooking; a vigorous boil toughens the meat and clouds the broth irreparably. This is where the dish lives or dies: the heat must remain constant and low for the full duration.
3. 3
   Prepare the farz sucré batter. Combine the buckwheat flour, beaten eggs, melted salted butter, sugar, and dried fruit. Add cream gradually, stirring until the batter is thick and pourable. Lay a thick cotton cloth flat, flour the inner surface liberally, and pour in the batter to fill only two-thirds of the cloth — the farz expands during cooking. Tie the cloth tightly, leaving no gaps.
4. 4
   After the meats have simmered for 45 minutes, suspend the cloth-wrapped farz in the broth alongside the meats, fully submerged. It must cook within the meat broth — not in a separate vessel — to absorb the broth's flavour through the cloth. Cook for 2 to 3 hours. The farz is done when it feels firm and resistant through the cloth when pressed.
5. 5
   Add the leeks and cabbage wedges approximately 40 minutes before serving. Add the potatoes and the sausages 25 minutes before serving. The potatoes are done when a skewer meets no resistance at their centre.
6. 6
   Remove everything from the pot. Skim the surface fat from the broth into a small pan. Add one ladleful of hot broth and the 30 g of cold butter. Whisk steadily over moderate heat until the lipig emulsifies into a glossy, cohesive sauce. It should coat the back of a spoon lightly.
7. 7
   Dismantle and serve. Slice the meats and arrange on one platter. Arrange the vegetables on a second platter. Unmold the farz, remove the cloth, and slice into thick rounds on a third platter. Drizzle the lipig over all three platters. The farz should be dense, moist, and buckwheat-scented at the centre — not waterlogged.