Rillons de Touraine

Rillons are the Loire Valley’s other great pork-in-fat preparation — the chunky, caramelized counterpart to rillettes’ silky shreds. Where rillettes are cooked until the meat dissolves, rillons are cubes of pork belly (poitrine) confited in their own fat until golden-brown on the outside while remaining meltingly tender within — essentially pork crackling’s refined, slow-cooked French cousin. The technique is precise: pork belly is cut into 4-5cm cubes (each piece retaining its layers of lean meat and fat), seasoned generously with salt and pepper, and left to cure for 12-24 hours. The cured cubes are placed in a heavy pot or cocotte with just enough water to cover the bottom (the water prevents initial scorching before the fat renders). The pot is placed in a 140°C oven for 3-4 hours, during which the fat renders gradually, the water evaporates, and the pork cubes slowly fry in their own fat, developing a deep mahogany-brown caramelized exterior. The interior should remain succulent, the layers of lean and fat clearly visible when cut. The finished rillons are drained and served warm or at room temperature as a charcuterie course, alongside cornichons, Dijon mustard, and a glass of Chinon rouge or Bourgueil. In Tours, rillons are a breakfast food, eaten with bread and coffee at the marché. They are also served as a garnish for salads (salade tourangelle aux rillons), diced and scattered over frisée with a warm vinaigrette of walnut oil and sherry vinegar. Rabelais, born in Chinon, celebrated rillons in Gargantua — they have been a Touraine staple for at least 500 years.