Rillettes

Yield:  8 servings

Preparation time is 4 hours

Ingredients

1. 2 pounds uncured slab bacon (pork belly) cut into ½-inch by 2-inch strips (1 kilogram)
2. 1 pound pork fatback, cut into small pieces (450 grams)
3. ½ cup dry white wine  (125 millilitres)
4. 2 sprigs thyme
5. 2 garlic cloves, peeled
6. 1 ½ teaspoons salt (7 millilitres)
7. 1 teaspoon black pepper (5 millilitres)
8. 1 blade of mace

Directions

1. Place all the ingredients in heavy pan and bring it slowly to boil over a medium heat. Cook, covered, over low heat for 3 hours, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
2. Uncover the pan and cook for a further hour, until the meat is soft and falls apart. Take the pan from the heat and tip it into a colander over a saucepan. Remove the cloves, mace and thyme. Squeeze the meat to extract the fat and shred the meat until it resembles a fine fibrous mass. Put the meat back into the pot with the cooking liquids. Cook for another 10 minutes until everything comes back together. Pour it into individual ramekins or a large pate mold.
3. Serve with toast.