Pig's trotter

Pied de porc

What it is

Pieds à la Sainte-Menehould are wrapped in cloth and cooked until the small bones crumble under the tooth — thirty hours in the old versions. The story goes that Louis XVI stopped in the town for them during the flight to Varennes in 1791 and lost the hours that led to his arrest; Sainte-Menehould has traded on it ever since.

In the kitchen

Buy them split and by the pair, and singe the bristles over a flame before they go anywhere near water. Cook, cool completely, then crumb and grill — a trotter straight from the pot is far too slack to hold a coating.

Goes with

Dijon mustard T55 flour Shallot White wine vinegar Carrot Onion Bay leaf Black pepper

Same species

Andouillette Boudin blanc Natural casings Caul fat Chorizo Ciauscolo

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