Smoked Trout Rillettes

Having mastered the onion confit from Ruhlman's Charcuterie, I'm moving on to rillettes which are, basically, potted meat cooked in fat to a paste sort of like a pate. Traditionally, rillettes were pork, but can be made of anything, really, even vegetables. In this case, I used 1/2 lb of the Ducktrap smoked trout from Trader Joe's, but this would be so great if you had fresh trout and a smoker. So, so quick and easy. I packed mine into 1 cup Platinum jars but didn't process, so they need to be eaten in two weeks. I'll take them to a party on Sunday with thin slices of baguette toasted until crispy.

Smoked Trout Rillettes

4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 tbsp minced onion

8 oz (1/2 lb) boneless smoked trout fillets, skin removed and shredded (Trader Joe's has these.)

1/4 cup dry white wine (go with the most acidic you can use -- Sauv blanc instead of Chardonnay)

1/2 tsp finely minced lemon zest

1 tsp kosher salt

ground white pepper to taste

2 tbsp finely sliced fresh chives (from the front porch herb pots!)

1) Melt the butter over medium heat, then add the onion and saute until soft. (Don't brown the butter or the onions.) Add the trout, wine, lemon zest -- then hold off, mix and taste before adding the salt/pepper. Adjust your acid levels adding a bit more wine/lemon if needed. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated -- about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

2) Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the chives, and mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes a smooth paste. Adjust the seasonings -- it will have mellowed out a bit. Spoon into jars or a nice crock, then refrigerate until ready to serve. (Up to 10 days.)