When I was looking for a rillettes recipe, I also came across three other R words that I’d never heard of before: rillons, rillauds and rillots. I investigated these terms and decided to write a helpful post to share what I’ve learned on these delicious topics!
What’s the difference between rillettes, rillons, rillauds and rillots?
Rillettes are a cooked and shredded meat spread—generally pork and another meat—with a chunky texture. Rillettes are a type of potted meat. Rillons, rillauds and rillots are French names for pork belly confit. In English, rillons is the most common term used for pork belly confit.
Now that you know the difference between rillettes and rillons, rillauds and rillots, you still may wonder about the differences in cooking and serving these French specialities and if rillons is a good way to enjoy pork belly. If yes, keep reading!
More about the differences between rillettes and rillons, rillauds and rillots
Rillettes are a shredded meat spread, generally made with pork and another meat. Unlike a smooth pâté, rillettes have a chunky texture and are a type of potted meat.
Rillettes are generally made with:
- Pork and another meat such as duck, rabbit, chicken, game or veal.
- Fat such as fatback, pork belly, duck fat and/or lard.
- Salt, spices and aromatics.
- Stock, wine and/or water.
Fish rillettes can be made with salmon, trout or sardines. Even vegetarians can get into rillettes; I’ve seen vegan rillettes recipes made with tofu, jack fruit, mushrooms, etc.
Rillons, rillauds and rillots are all French words for pork belly confit. As with rillettes, we’ve brought the French word, rillons, into the English cooking vernacular. If you search for rillauds and rillots on Google, you’ll mostly get results in French.
Rillons, rillauds and rillots are generally made with:
- Pork belly.
- Fat, such as lard and/or duck fat.
- Wine and sometimes brandy or cider.
- Water.
- Salt, spices and aromatics.
Cooking method differences and similarities
Rillettes and rillons have similar cooking methods; they’re both cooked in fat and liquid in the oven over low heat until you have the most tender meat you can imagine. However, many rillons recipes call for browning the pork belly first. This makes rillons a bit more labour-intensive than rillettes (which are great for the lazy cook), but browning meat adds a delicious flavour.
You can expect rillettes and rillons to be in the oven for a couple hours. Rillons will take a bit less time because you want them to be tender but still retain their shape for serving and eating.
Another difference seems to be alcohol. In all the rillons recipes I looked at—of course, my search was not exhaustive—booze was included in the form of wine, cider or brandy. Rillettes recipes can include wine or beer, but booze isn’t always called for.
Storage differences and similarities
Rillettes are pressed into small pots and covered with a layer of fat to keep the air out. Rillons can also be stored in glass jars. With rillons, you put the cooled pork belly pieces into glass jars and pour melted fat (from your recipe) into the jar until your pork belly is covered (including an inch of fat at the top).
Cooled rillettes and rillons can be refrigerated and will keep for weeks or months. [To learn all about how long rillettes last, click here.]
How to serve rillettes and rillons, rillauds and rillots
Rillettes are typically eaten with bread and served alongside sweet items such as fig jam and savory items such as pickled vegetables, cheese and olives. Rillettes can also be eaten as a sandwich. For full coverage of chowing down on rillettes, check out my article called, How Do You Eat Rillettes? Sandwiches, Nibbles and More! (This article also contains recipes for keto and carnivore “bread” in case traditional bread doesn’t agree with you and your digestive tract.)
Rillettes are served cold or at room temperature. Think of rillettes as an essential element of a charcuterie board or ploughman’s lunch.
Rillons, rillauds and rillots may be even more versatile than rillettes—what dish can’t be enhanced by a slow-cooked, bite-sized chunk of tender pork belly?
Rillons can be eaten hot with:
- Potatoes, mashed or otherwise.
- Fried apple rings.
- Mustard.
You can eat rillons hot right after cooking, of course. Or, if they’re stored in the fridge, you can take them out of the glass storage container, wipe off excess fat and gently reheat them on the stove. Alternatively, you can flambé the rillons in brandy for a dramatic flair and to enhance the rillons with a brandy flavour.
Rillons can be eaten cold or at room temperature with:
- Bread.
- In a fouée bread, which is like a French version of a pita bread.
- Salad greens.
- As part of an assiette de cochonailles, which is basically a charcuterie board of only pork products.
Hot or cold, rillons can be part of a hearty breakfast or lunch and pair well with white wine (but please, not at breakfast).
Are rillons delicious?
You know what? Since I’ve only just “discovered” rillons, I can’t say for sure, even though I’ve enjoyed pork belly many times.
However, Brett Laidlaw in his online journal, Trout Caviar, says this about rillons, “Now, if you’re anything like me you’re already thinking that sounds pretty good, but here’s the clincher: the result is remarkably light and highly, highly edible. The lean meat becomes as tender as a well cooked pot roast, and the fat turns ethereal. This is seriously good pork, mes amis.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m sold! My next step is testing out a simple recipe.
Where do rillettes and rillons, rillauds and rillots come from?
Rillettes, rillons, rillauds and rillots originated in central France and have been embraced around the world for their deliciousness and simplicity.
Rillettes and rillons are famously from the traditional province of Touraine, in the Loire valley, Sarthe and further east in Anjou. Different cities and regions develop their own style of recipes so the rillettes you eat in Tours won’t be the same as ones you find in Le Mans.
This variation according to region is all the more reason to plan a trip to France, it seems to me! Related to that, the Brissac-Quincé is a festival in Anjou, France that takes place in July and includes rillaud-making contests. And probably lots of good eating too.
According to Dr. Neil Buttery, on his British Food History blog, rillettes have been around for at least six hundred years and were especially popular in Britain during Victorian and Edwardian times.
Not surprisingly, Cajun rillons are also popular in Louisiana. Toup’s Meatery in New Orleans kept appearing when I was learning about Cajun rillons so I wanted to include it here—in case you or I go on a Louisiana meat tour! Related to rillons but not exactly, You can see how Isaac Toup of Toup’s Meatery turns pork belly into pork cracklins, in this article, Isaac Toups Cooks Cracklin’s [sic] on the Louisiana Cookin site.
Rillons and the witness protection program: Four other names for rillons
Rillons have many different names! We already know rillons are also known as rillauds and rillots but that’s not all. According to Rosi Hanson, in her book, Recipes from the French Wine Harvest, rillons are also called richauds.
And the New Larousse Gastronomique says that rillons are also known as grillons.
It’s beyond me why one pork belly confit recipe has five different names. But, who am I to question hundreds of years of traditional French cookery that’s produced such delectable results?
Pronunciation guide
How do we say these delicious dishes in English-speaking countries? The first tip is to not say the silent letters which can be: LL, S, D, T, N.
| The word | How to say the word phonetically* |
|---|---|
| Rillettes | Ree-ette |
| Rillons | Ree-on |
| Rillauds | Ree-oh |
| Rillots | Ree-oh |
| Richauds | Ree-shoh |
| Grillons | Gree-on |
*My phonetic spellings, anyway.
Conclusion
So there you have it, folks: rillettes, rillons, rillauds, rillots, richauds and grillons are a simple way to enjoy pork meat without breaking the bank or enrolling in Le Cordon Bleu. Learning about rillons is inspiring me to add this dish to my repertoire and I hope it inspires you too. Let me know how your rillettes and rillons turn out!