• 1 knuckle of bacon, about 1 kg (2 lbs
• 300 mls (½ pint) dry white wine
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 parsley stalks
• 6 peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• salt
• pepper

Soak the bacon for at least four hours in cold water to get rid of excess saltiness, changing the water a few times. If the bacon was not too salty to begin with, you can always add salt later if necessary, but a too salty brawn will not be good to eat.

Put it in a saucepan with the wine, the onion peeled and stuck with the cloves, the bay leaf, parsley stalks and peppercorns. Add the water, bring to the boil, skim the surface and simmer, partly covered, for 1 ½ to 2 hours, until the meat is tender. Remove the knuckle from the pan, keeping the stock simmering. Quickly remove the meat from the bone, and put the bone and skin (not the fat) back in the pan to extract more gelatine. Remove any sinews from the meat, and dice it neatly. Season it to taste.

Wet a mould, terrine or pudding basin, and put the meat in it, loosely, not packing it down, as the liquid is meant to fill the spaces between the meat. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Strain the liquid into a chilled bowl. This is to bring the temperature down as quickly as possible so that you can chill the stock in the refrigerator in order to remove the fat from the surface. Once this has been done, liquefy the stock again. Add seasoning if necessary. Stir in the parsley, and pour the stock over the meat.

Refrigerate, covered, until it sets again. Eat within two days.