Pieds de Mouton Rouennaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6-quart heavy covered pot or cocotte
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Wide 2-quart saucepan
• •Small skillet
• •Long match or utility lighter
• •Rimmed baking sheet with wire rack
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small sharp knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Blanch the trotters

   Blanchir, briefly boil, the cleaned trotters before the braise. Put them in a large pot with the cold water, bring slowly to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse the trotters well, and wash the pot. This is a cleaning blanch, not a blanc; no flour or acid belongs in the cooking liquid.

2. 2

   Braise until yielding

   Heat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Arrange the trotters snugly in a heavy covered pot and add the stock, Madeira, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and half the pepper. The liquid should reach at least halfway up the trotters; add a little water if your pot is broad. Cover tightly and braise for 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours, turning once, until the small bones twist free and the connective tissue yields without resistance. Keep the liquid at a bare tremble. If a trotter splits, save every piece. Ça se rattrape: the caul and forcemeat will hold it later.

   Tenderness decides the time, not the clock. A bone that still grips the flesh means another twenty minutes under the lid.
3. 3

   Debone and strain

   Lift the trotters onto a tray and let them cool only until your fingers can manage them. Working while they remain warm, pull and cut away every bone while preserving each trotter as two long halves of skin, tendon, and tender flesh. Strain the braising liquor through a fine sieve into a wide saucepan, then skim away the surface fat.

4. 4

   Reduce and burn brandy

   Boil the strained liquor briskly until only about ½ cup (120 ml) remains and it is nappant, thick enough to coat a spoon in a glossy film. Remove the pan from the heat and place it on a clear heatproof surface, away from anything flammable. Pour the measured brandy from a cup, never from its bottle, and ignite it with a long match while keeping your face and sleeves back. Let the flame die, then return the pan to low heat and reduce again until the liquor coats the spoon. If it goes too far and turns gluey, whisk in 1 tablespoon of water. Ça se rattrape. Cool until fluid but no warmer than your hand.

5. 5

   Sweat the onion

   Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet over low heat. Add the onion and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until completely soft and translucent without coloration. If the edges begin to brown, add a teaspoon of water and lower the heat. Scrape the onion and every drop of butter onto a plate to cool.

6. 6

   Bind the forcemeat

   Put the cold sausage meat in a bowl and add the cooled onion, parsley, remaining pepper, and reduced braising liquor. Mix until evenly bound but do not beat it warm. Fry a teaspoonful in the onion skillet and taste; add as much of the remaining salt as it needs. If the forcemeat feels too soft to mound, chill it for 20 minutes. Do not stiffen it with breadcrumbs, because the gelatin will set it as it cools.

7. 7

   Wrap in caul

   Rinse the caul in cold water, spread it flat, and pat it dry. Lay out the eight rectangles and divide the forcemeat evenly among them, about 2½ ounces (68 g) for each parcel. Spread roughly a tablespoon beneath each trotter, set the two deboned halves of one trotter together on top, and cover them with the remaining portion of forcemeat. Fold the caul snugly over the filling and set the parcel seam-side down. If the caul tears, overlap a small scrap across the gap. It will melt into the parcel as it cooks.

   Keep the caul and forcemeat cold. Warm caul becomes slippery, while cold caul stretches and folds with much better manners.
8. 8

   Crumb and chill

   Set the parcels on a rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over every surface, turning the parcels carefully, then spoon the melted butter over them so the crumbs are evenly moistened rather than soaked. Chill uncovered for 20 minutes to firm the shape while the broiler heats.

9. 9

   Grill gently

   Set an oven rack about 8 inches (20 cm) below the broiler and use its low setting. Broil the parcels gently, turning every 5 to 6 minutes, until every side is deeply golden and the forcemeat reaches 160°F (71°C), about 18 to 22 minutes total. If the crumbs darken before the centers are ready, lower the rack and finish at 400°F (200°C); ça se rattrape, and the crust will remain crisp. Rest for 5 minutes, then serve two parcels per person while the butter still gleams along the crust. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Order the sheep's trotters from a proper butcher and ask for them cleaned, singed, and split lengthwise. Pig's trotters are larger and richer, so they are not an invisible substitution and will not fit this timing or these caul rectangles.
• •Choose plain, finely ground fresh pork sausage meat without garlic, smoke, or assertive herbs. The book gives the flavor to onion, parsley, reduced Madeira liquor, and brandy; a strongly seasoned sausage takes the dish somewhere else.
• •Use unsalted stock. Nearly all of it is boiled away, and a stock pleasant enough by the cup can become brutally salty after reduction.
• •The paired pieces in each parcel are the two halves of one split trotter. This keeps the original ratio of one caul rectangle and one-tenth of the forcemeat per trotter, scaled here from ten trotters to eight.
• •Caul fat is the proper wrapper because it disappears into the crumb while holding the parcel together. Bacon, pastry, and cabbage leaves all announce themselves and change the dish.
• •Serve with plainly buttered potatoes or a sharply dressed green salad. A dry Norman cider handles the richness beautifully and keeps the table firmly in Normandy.

Advance Preparation

• •Braise and debone the trotters up to 2 days ahead. Chill the meat and strained liquor separately, then reduce the liquor and make the forcemeat before assembling.
• •The parcels can be wrapped in caul up to 24 hours ahead and kept covered in the cold. Add the breadcrumbs and melted butter shortly before grilling so the coating stays crisp.
• •Leftover cooked parcels can be reheated at 350°F (175°C) for 12 to 15 minutes, then placed briefly under the broiler to restore the crust.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 370g)