Serves 4

Ingredients

Trotters

4 hind pig’s trotters, boned
150ml dry white wine
100g onion, diced
100g carrot, diced
150ml veal stock
1 tbsp port

Stuffing

150g butter
225g veal sweetbreads, blanched and chopped
20 morel mushrooms, dried, soaked until soft, drained
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 chicken breast, skinned and diced
1 egg white
200ml double cream
salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Crispy pig skin

500g pig skin
salt
black pepper, freshly ground
1 clove
1 celery stick
1 bouquet garni
1 carrot, finely diced
1 leek, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced

Potato purée

800g potato, peeled and cut into chunks
200ml milk
70g duck fat
salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Method

Trotters

Preheat oven to 160°C.

Add the trotters to a large casserole dish with the wine, onions, carrots, veal stock and port.

Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 3 hours.

Once cooked, remove the trotters from the casserole dish, pass the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and reserve until later.

Lay each trotter flat on a sheet of foil and leave to cool.

Stuffing

Add half of the butter to a pan and heat until bubbling.

Fry the sweetbreads in the butter for 5 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and onion and fry for a further 5 minutes. Cool.

Add the diced chicken breast to a blender with the egg white, cream, salt and pepper.

Blitz until smooth.

Pass through a drum sieve to achieve a perfectly smooth purée.

Combine the chicken purée with the sweetbread mix and set aside in the fridge until ready to stuff the trotters.

To Finish

Once the trotters are completely cool, divide the stuffing mix between the trotters and roll the trotters firmly around the filling to ensure there is no air trapped.

Roll up the large sheets of foil to cover and tightly seal the trotters in a neat cylindrical shape.

Store in the fridge to firm up for at least 2 hours.

When ready to serve, remove the trotters from the fridge and, keeping them wrapped in the foil, place in a steamer.

Set over simmering water for 15 minutes, or until heated through.

Alternatively, add to a casserole dish with 100ml of water and place in an oven heated to 220°C for 15 minutes.

Crispy Pig Skin

While the trotters are resting, prepare the crispy pig skin.

Roll up the skin, tie tightly with butchers’ string and place in a large pan.

Cover with water and the vegetables, season and gently simmer for 3 hours, making sure that the water does not boil. Skim away any impurities that rise to the surface.

Leave the skin to cool in the cooking liquid, remove the string and roll tightly in cling film. Allow to set in the fridge

Preheat the oven to160°C.

Using a meat slicer, cut the skin into very thin strips and lay each piece on to a greaseproof-lined baking sheet, then place another baking sheet on top to keep it flat. Bake in the oven until crisp and golden.

Potatoes

Add the potatoes to a large pan and cover with water.

Season with salt, bring to the boil. Cook until tender.

Drain the potatoes and mash to make a purée.

Add the milk to a pan, bring to the boil then pour on to the potatoes along with the duck fat.

Mix thoroughly to combine and season.

To serve

Divide the trotters onto serving plates and remove the tin foil.

Add the reserved stock to the casserole dish, reduce by half and stir in the remaining butter.

Arrange a portion of hot mash next to each trotter.

Add a couple of pieces of crispy pig skin to the mash.

Pour the sauce over the trotters and serve immediately.