Rillettes & confit
fat preserved
Slow-cooked meat preserved in its own fat — duck confit, rillettes de porc, rillettes de canard. The French southwest tradition.
- Salt meat 12-24 hours
- Slow-cook in own fat at 85-95°C for 4-12 hours
- For confit: store whole pieces submerged in fat
- For rillettes: shred meat, mix with cooking fat, pack into terrines
- Cover with additional fat layer for storage seal
Rillettes and confit are slow-cooked-in-fat preservation methods rooted in French southwest tradition. Confit (literally 'preserved') refers to whole pieces of meat slow-cooked in their own fat at low temperature, then stored submerged in fat — the canonical example is confit de canard (duck legs slow-cooked in duck fat). Rillettes refers to similar slow-cooked meat that's then shredded and stored in fat, sometimes incorporating the cooking fat as binder — rillettes de porc and rillettes de canard are the foundational examples.
The technical principle: meat is salted then slow-cooked in its own fat (or added fat) at low temperature (around 85-95°C) for hours; for confit, whole pieces remain submerged in fat for storage; for rillettes, the cooked meat is shredded, mixed with cooking fat, packed into terrines, and stored. The fat layer provides anaerobic protection from spoilage organisms — properly executed, both products keep for months refrigerated, longer with traditional storage methods. The flavor is rich and unctuous from the cooking fat infiltration; rillettes have a coarser texture than smooth pâté while still being spreadable.
Modern interpretation has expanded the category to include rillettes of fish, rabbit, and other meats.
Typical products
- Confit de canard (duck confit)
- Rillettes de porc
- Rillettes de canard
- Rillons (Tourangelles)
- Goose confit