Recipe: Black Bigorre Pork Civet

The day before (marinade and blini batter):

1 In a large container, layer the meat, aromatics, and dried porcini mushrooms. Pour the vinegar and Madiran wine over everything. Add salt and crushed peppercorns. Cover and refrigerate.

2 In a large bowl, combine the flours. Make a well in the center. In it, place the salt, oil, and yeast. Gradually add warm water, stirring to form a batter, then add the beaten eggs, incorporating flour bit by bit to create a semi-liquid batter like crêpe batter. If it's too thick, add more warm water. Cover with a clean cloth and keep at room temperature.

3 For fresh or canned porcini, cut them into small dice. Sauté them, season, and set aside in a small bowl.

The morning of preparation:

1 Preheat oven to 190 °C (375°F) (gas mark 6-7).

2 Drain the pork pieces one by one and place on a plate. Strain the marinade solids, keeping the liquid in a separate container.

3 In a large oven-safe pot over high heat, melt your fat. When hot, brown the pork pieces on both sides. Once nicely colored, add the drained marinade solids and let them sweat, covered, for 5 minutes. Add the flour, mix well, and cook another 5 minutes. Pour in the marinade along with a small glass of cold water. Bring back to a boil, then taste and adjust seasoning.

4 Cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours.

5 While it cooks, make your blini. Heat a non-stick blini pan or small crêpe pan over medium heat. Pour in some batter. Once it starts to set, add a few sautéed porcini pieces, flip, and stack them under an inverted plate.

6 After 2 hours, remove the pot from the oven and uncover. Prepare a clean pot. Using a skimmer and fork, transfer the meat pieces to the clean pot.

7 Add the chocolate squares to the cooking pot and blend the sauce for 1 minute. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing well, then adjust seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and bring to a boil.

8 Warm the blini gently in the oven.

To serve: On individual plates, place 2 meat pieces in the center, surround with sauce, and arrange the corn blini around them. Garnish with walnut pieces.