Pork rillettes - Taste of France

Today is 14th of July - Bastille Day, so I thought it would be only right to post a recipe for a traditional French dish.
Rillettes is the French word for meat or fish that has been gently cooked, then shredded and potted with a layer of fat on top to preserve it. If left completely covered in the fat in a sealed jar, it will keep in your fridge for a few months.
Served with toasted sourdough bread and cornichons, these coarse pates make a delicious starter or a lunchtime snack.

Pork rillettes (recipe adapted from Rachel Allen's "Entertaining at Home")

(Makes 4x250ml jars)

Ingredients:
500g pork belly
500g pork shoulder
200ml dry white wine
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp coarse sea salt
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp chopped thyme

Preheat the oven to 130 degrees Celsius (fan ovens).
Remove the fat and rind from the pork belly, chop it roughly into a few pieces and place in a roasting tin. Cook in the oven for about 1 hour to render the fat, then pour the liquid into a bowl and discard the cooked rind. Set aside until later.

Cut the pork belly and shoulder into 1-2cm cubes. Place the meat together with all the remaining ingredients in a casserole dish or oven-proof saucepan. Place on a medium heat, stirring to mix everything together.

Bring to simmering point, then cover with a lid and transfer to the oven.
The rillettes need to cook for about 4 hours, all the fat on the meat should be rendered into liquid and the meat should be flaky. 
Break the meat up with a fork, taste for seasoning and transfer to sterilised preserving jars, packing the meat down tightly. Pour over the rendered fat to just cover the meat. Allow to cool to room temperature so the fat has solidified before serving.

Bon appetit!!