Pieds-Paquets with Sauce Charcutière

Name: Pieds-Paquets with Sauce Charcutière
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 2 pounds (about 1 kg) lamb neck or lamb shank; 2 pig’s trotters, each 6 inches (15 cm) long (just the trotter, not the whole leg); 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil; 1 cup (140 g) roughly diced, peeled carrot (about 1 1/2-inch/4-cm chunks); 1 cup (140 g) roughly diced celery (about 1 1/2-inch/4-cm chunks); 1 cup (115 g) roughly diced onion (about 1 1/2-inch/4-cm chunks); 4 sprigs thyme; 1 clove garlic; 2 teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon pepper; 2 cups (500 ml) dry white wine; Butter for greasing; 2 cups (500 ml) Beef Shank Stock (page 249); 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard; 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 teaspoon red or white wine vinegar; 16 small sour gherkins, sliced; 2 tablespoons capers, drained and patted dry; 1 French shallot, thinly diced; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon; 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper; 2 slices bacon, thick fall lardons (see Theory #3, page 166), crisped (optional); 2 cups (400 g) chopped, blanched spinach (frozen is easiest); 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage; 8 ounces (225 g) caul fat, thawed in the refrigerator if frozen and soaked in cold water until it can be gently stretched flat; 2 tablespoons olive oil; Good Fries (page 154)

January 24, 2012

If you’re French or a Francophile, you know what these are supposed to be: sheep tripe and pig’s trotters cooked together. We didn’t know that, but we knew the name. We just made what we thought it ought to be and it turned out well, if completely unlike the original (we think). This is braised lamb and pig’s trotter with greens and herbs, wrapped in caul fat. The sauce—a French classic with gherkins, mustard, and shallots—is also perfect with chops and liver.

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