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French · Finistère

Kig ha Farz

Kig ha farz (Breton for ‘meat and farz’) is Brittany’s pot-au-feu — a magnificent one-pot boiled dinner from Finistère and northern Brittany that combines multiple meats with a unique buckwheat pudding (farz) cooked in a cloth bag within the same broth. The dish represents the fullest expression of Breton peasant gastronomy and remains a communal, celebratory meal served at festou-noz (night festivals) and family gatherings. The meats include beef brisket or chuck, smoked pork belly (lard fumé), a piece of jarret de porc (pork knuckle), and Breton sausages (saucisses de Molene or similar). The vegetables are root-focused: carrots, turnips, leeks, cabbage, and potatoes, added in sequence by cooking time. The farz is what makes this dish unique: a thick batter of buckwheat flour (250g), eggs (3), salted butter (80g, melted), sugar (50g for the sweet version), dried fruit (raisins or prunes), and enough cream to create a thick, pourable consistency. This batter is tied tightly in a floured muslin cloth and suspended in the simmering broth alongside the meats, where it cooks for 2-3 hours, absorbing the meat flavors through the cloth while setting into a dense, moist, buckwheat-scented pudding. Two farz versions are traditional: farz gras (savoury, with meat drippings) and farz sucré (sweet, with sugar and dried fruit). The dish is served dismantled: sliced meats on one platter, vegetables on another, the farz unmolded and sliced into thick rounds. A sauce called lipig — the cooking broth’s fat skimmed and emulsified with butter — is drizzled over everything.

‹Swipe for the next dish›
ServesEight to twelve portions
Total3 hours 30 minutes
Sourced1of 17 in BC
Cook
‹ Previous · Jus Lié — Lightly Thickened Meat Jus|Next · Kir et Kir Royal ›
I

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

The meats
1.2 kg
beef brisket or chuck
in one piece
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
600 g
smoked pork belly (lard fumé)
in one piece
Your own market
800 g
pork knuckle (jarret de porc)
bone in
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
400 g
Breton sausages (saucisses de Moléne or similar)
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
The vegetables
400 g
carrots
peeled, left whole or halved
Your own market
300 g
turnips
peeled, quartered
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
3
leeks
trimmed, tied in a bundle
Your own market
½
firm green cabbage
cut into wedges
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
800 g
potatoes
peeled, kept whole
Origin · FranceLekker · Vancouver →
For the farz sucré
250 g
buckwheat flour
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
3
eggs
beaten
Your own market
80 g
salted butter
melted
Your own market
50 g
sugar
Your own market
80 g
raisins or prunes
stoned if using prunes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 ml
cream
enough to achieve a thick, pourable consistency
Your own market
For the lipig
30 g
cold unsalted butter
cut into small pieces
Your own market
1
ladleful of cooking broth with skimmed surface fat
from the pot
Not yet stocked in British Columbia

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

II

The Method

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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
III

Quality Hierarchy

01
Reserve — Beef from a Breton cattle breed (such as Froment du Léon), a house-smoked pork belly, saucisses de Moléne sourced directly from Finistère, and both farz versions — gras and sucré — served simultaneously for the full traditional contrast.
02
Estate — Well-aged beef brisket from a known butcher, a quality smoked pork belly, and a single farz sucré made with stone-milled buckwheat flour; lipig properly emulsified to order.
03
Market — Supermarket brisket and smoked lard, commercial buckwheat flour, one farz version, lipig made from the skimmed surface fat whisked with cold butter as described.
04
House — Any combination of the named meats available, farz made without dried fruit if none are to hand, broth fat whisked with butter in place of a formal lipig.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Sight. The broth runs clear and pale golden before the farz enters the pot — grey foam fully skimmed.
◇Sight. The surface of the broth trembles but never churns; a single lazy bubble breaks the surface every few seconds throughout the full cooking period.
◇Touch. The cloth-wrapped farz feels firm and resistant when pressed through the cloth — it no longer yields softly at the centre.
◇Touch. A skewer passes through the potatoes without resistance, indicating they are cooked through but not collapsing.
◇Sight. The lipig coats the back of a spoon in a thin, glossy, cohesive film — it has emulsified rather than remaining an oily broth.
◇Where it lives or dies. The pot must hold a bare, unwavering simmer from first to last — a rolling boil at any point toughens the meat and destroys the clarity of the broth that carries the entire dish.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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VI

What to Pour

The pairing
Mugnier Musigny Grand Cru
Domaine J.-F. Mugnier · Chambolle-Musigny
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
From British Columbia
Fort Berens Riesling
Fort Berens Estate Winery · Lillooet
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic

Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →

The whole pairing
Pillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
Sourced through Provenance

The hands behind the plate.

Lekker
Vancouver · potatoes
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