In the origin rillons were the scraps of meat left at the bottom of the big pan in which the meat of a whole pig was cooked for the purpose of making fat for the needs of the household. They were then seasoned and kept in small pots. But those days are over, and rillons are now made on a smaller scale.

Take several pounds of streaky pork, cut it in small pieces and roll them well in salt and lots of pepper. Put all this in à large saucepan with a tumblerful of salted water and cook on a moderate fire. Stir often to help the melting of the fat and the evaporation of the water. Cook till the pork meat is a nice brown colour. When the fat stops smoking it is cooked.

Remove them from the fire and squeeze through a sieve. Taste them, add more seasoning if necessary, put them back in the saucepan and cook a few minutes more. Then put them in earthenware pots and pour slowly the melted fat over them, so that it fills the tiny spaces left in the rillons. Go on pouring till you have on the top à layer of pure fat about half an inch thick. Cover with paper and the lid. Rillons are very good cold as a kind of coarse pâté, as hors d’Œuvre, and also used for different dishes.