Recipe: Traditional-style confit of porc

Name: Traditional-style confit of porc
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 195 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: Traditional-style confit of pork for 6 to 8 persons :; 2 kg (4.4 lb) (4 lb) boneless pork filet; 8 garlic cloves, degermed and cut in long sticks; 3 shallots, peeled and cut in 2; thyme and bay leaves (2)100 grams (3 oz) coarse sae salt; 10 grams (1/3 oz) crushed black pepper beans; 500 grams (2 lb) lard (pork fat)

By chef patrick Asfaux 4.9/5 (41 reviews) · 🍳 26 made it

Prep 15 min

Cook 180 min

Total 3h15

Servings 8 serv.

Three hours in the oven at 140°C in lard, then minimum three days in the fridge: that's how you turn a pork loin into homemade charcuterie. Eight garlic cloves spiked through the meat, coarse sea salt, crushed white pepper. The meat becomes dense, sliceable like ham. Eat it cold on toasted bread with a touch of mustard, or pan-fry it hot with raw cabbage salad and wild mushrooms.

Ingredients for 8 servings

Adjust for

servings

Traditional-style confit of pork for 6 to 8 persons :
2 kg (4.4 lb) (4 lb) boneless pork filet
8 garlic cloves, degermed and cut in long sticks
3 shallots, peeled and cut in 2

thyme and bay leaves (2)

100 grams (3 oz) coarse sae salt
10 grams (1/3 oz) crushed black pepper beans
500 grams (2 lb) lard (pork fat)

Step-by-step directions

1 pre-heat the oven at 290°F

2 pour the lard into an ironcast deep pan and melt it down. Add the crushed pepper and the 2 bay leaves, a little thyme and the shallots

3 in the meantime, prick the pork filet, insert the garlic sticks in it and roll the filet into the salt and put it into the pan. Cover with a lid, make the fat sligntly boiling and put the pan into the oven during 3 hours

4 take the pork out of the pan with care using a skimmer, put it in a large bowl, filter the fat and pour it onto the pork to cover it. Let it cool down and keep it into the fridge for at least 2 full days before heating it.

It it cold on roasted bread or in slices with a salad or roast the porc slices and serve it with potatoes browned in the pork fat : the taste is a miracle ...

Chef's tip

Enchaud is really a Sunday winter dish, when you have time and it's cold outside. Historically it comes from Périgord, southwest France: the ancestor of pâté en croûte, but without the crust and without liver. Just meat, lard, aromatics. Farm-raised pork producers offer their best cuts in October, November, December: that's your window for a fine farm pork loin. For wines, go for a medium-bodied red, not too young. A Pécharmant obviously, it's the local appellation. Otherwise a Côtes du Marmandais, a good Cahors not too heavy, or even a Beaujolais cru (Morgon, Côte de Brouilly). Dry white also works if you prefer: Gaillac sec, Marcillac blanc. The classic accompaniment stays simple: toasted country bread, blackcurrant mustard, small cornichon salad. You can serve new potatoes fried in the cooking fat: that's where it gets real. If you have porcini or chanterelles in autumn, sauté them separately with some of that same fat, a touch of lemon thyme, it's magic. Count about 250 g per person as a generous starter, or 150 g as part of a longer meal.

Frequently asked questions

Can you replace the lard with another fat?

Yes, duck fat works very well, even better. Goose fat too. Avoid olive oil, it's too light and won't set like a confit. Butter burns at 140°C. Use the same weight: 800 g.

How long does enchaud keep in the fridge?

At least three weeks, covered in fat. The fat protects it from air. Once you start eating it, keep it well covered. In the freezer, it lasts six months without issue.

Why bring to a light boil before moving to the oven?

To seal the meat surface and remove excess salt once placed on absorbent paper. If you submerge it cold, the salt penetrates too much. This step creates a nice white crust.