Chicken Rillettes

These chicken rillettes are so versatile.

Serve as an elegant starter, sandwich filling or light lunch, this chunky chicken spread is lightly spiced and so delicious.

Make in advance to serve to your guests or take on a picnic and they make a great gift too.

Bon appétit.

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you will love this dish
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️Cooking Time
• 🥗 Side Dishes
• 🥙 Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• 🍣 Storage
• 🍱 Prepare in Advance
• 📋 Recipe
• French Appetisers
• 💬 Comments

❤️ Why you will love this dish

• Delicious spread onto bread or toast for an easy lunch or starter.
• Make in advance and it lasts for up to 5 days.
• Budget friendly.
• Easy to make.
• Great gift idea.

🤔FAQs

I had never had rillettes until I moved to France, and they soon became a regular item on my shopping list to add to those decadent French lunches of crusty bread, brie and tomato salad.

However, they are actually very easy to make at home too, with very little preparation.

The best bit is that you can use cheaper cuts of meat and use the fat rendered from cooking a roast, so you can give these chicken rillettes as a gift or make an elegant starter without breaking the bank.

I love this chunky chicken spread on toast, but they are also great to make quick wraps or sandwiches too.

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🥘 Ingredients

• Fat - duck fat is readily available in supermarkets in jars or tins. It is easier to collect fat from cooking a whole chicken or duck to use in this dish. Remember that you won't actually be consuming much of the fat, as it is to c cook the meat and much will drain away.
• Chicken - I've used chicken legs, as they are economical to buy, and there is more flavour when using meat on the bone. The skin will help to keep the flesh moist while cooking andwill be discarded.
• Seasoning - freshly ground black pepper and flaked sea salt.
• Thyme - thyme is often used in French cooking, as it goes so well with meat dishes. I've used a large sprig.
• Garlic - garlic cloves.
• Bay leaf - fried bay leaf and fresh leaves can be overpowering.
• Mace - mace is part of the lacy casing around nutmeg called an airl and has a similar flavour with a little heat. It's often sold in a powdered form and as airls, which need to be ground in a pestle and mortar before use.

The printable recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of the article.

🍽 Equipment

• small deep roasting tin
• sharp knife
• aluminium foil
• 4 ramekins or similar dishes
• small saucepan or microwaveable bowl
• mixing bowl

🔪 Instructions

Preheat the oven to 150 C / 300 F / 130 FAN / Gas 2.

While it is heating up place the duck fat in the roasting dish to melt in the oven.

Peel the garlic and press down on the cloves with the flat side of a sharp knife to crush the cloves.

Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper and use a sharp knife or carving fork to poke holes all over the skin.

Season the chicken with half of the salt and pepper and place in the hot roasting dish, along with the garlic, thyme and bay leaf.

⏲️Cooking Time

Cover the dish with foil and cook for about 2 hours.

A fork should easily slide into the chicken when it's really tender.

Put the chicken on a plate or board and leave until it is cool enough to handle.

Remove the skin and shred the meat into small pieces. It's easier to do this with your hands or by using 2 forks.

Discard the skin and bones.

Put the shredded chicken in a mixing bowl with the rest of the seasoning and mace.

Strip the leaves from the remaining sprig of time and roughly chop a tablespoonful. Add to the chicken mixture.

Mix in about 2 tablespoons of the cooking fat and juices so that the chicken rillettes stay really moist.

Pack into jars or ramekins and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

The rillettes are ready to eat, but for presentation I like to melt butter and pour over the top in the traditional way.

Gently heat the butter in a saucepan or heat in 10 second full power bursts in the microwave.

Pour over the butter and add a sprig of thyme if you wish.

Let the butter set before serving.

Traditionally, clarified butter is used and it's easy to make at home.

Clarified butter, also known as ghee, has a high smoking point which means that you can use it like you would do a vegetable oil. Think of really crispy and buttery roast potatoes, creamy curries and delicious fried onions!

• Put the butter in a small saucepan and heat gently until it melts.
• Use a spoon to skim off any foam or bits that rise to the surface and discard.
• Next, pour the liquid butter into another container, being careful not to let any of the sediment at the bottom to go with it. I prefer to use a separating jug for this.
• The clarified butter is now ready to use.

Serve and enjoy.

🥗 Side Dishes

Delicious with toast, crusty bread and a salad.

• Red onion chutney
• Cornichons - these are small cucumber pickles
• Green salad
• Fougasse Bread
• Carrot and Celeriac Remoulade
• Fennel and Pear Salad with Blue Cheese
• Tomato and Onion Salad
• Pear and Rocket Salad
• Courgette Salad
• Broad Bean Salad

🥙 Substitutions

• Chicken legs - use chicken drumsticks or thighs if you prefer.
• Mace - use freshly ground nutmeg.
• Fresh thyme - swap a tablespoon of fresh thyme with a teaspoon of dried thyme.

📖 Variations

• Herbs and spices - add a pinch of cayenne or chilli pepper to taste instead of the mace. Change the thyme for tarragon or marjoram.

🍣 Storage

• Refrigerator - store covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Freezer - store in an airtight container and freeze for up to a month. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.

🍱 Prepare in Advance

• Make a day or 2 in advance and store in the fridge. Discard any leftovers after a total of 5 days.

Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais

More recipes like this to try

• Duck and Pork Terrine
• Chicken Terrine
• Game Terrine
• Salade Gourmande
• Chicken Wing Confit
• Crab Pâté
• Chicken Liver Parfait
• Prawn Tartare
• Lobster mayonnaise
• Pork Rillettes
• Haslet
• Duck Confit
• Twice Cooked Chicken Wing Confit
• Confit Potatoes
• Pork Confit
• Tuna Pâté
• Smoked Salmon and Avocado Starter

📋 Recipe

Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

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