rillettes

American  

[ri-lets, ree-yet] / rɪˈlɛts, riˈjɛt /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. an appetizer made usually of pork or goose meat that is diced, seasoned, cooked, and then pounded or ground to the consistency of a spread.

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Etymology

Origin of rillettes

Borrowed into English from French around 1885–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rillettes

The honor of the pre-dinner nosh, meanwhile, usually falls to charcuterie, a category of cooked or cured meat like dry-aged ham, potted pâté, or rillettes.

From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2023

You’ll find marvelous “piggy” rillettes, bordered in an inch of fat, under the heading “French things we pretend are Italian,” for instance.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 11, 2022

The menu features small plates, many of them with seafood like lobster salad, oysters and salmon rillettes.

From New York Times ● Aug. 3, 2021

The meaty spread embraces duck rillettes, head cheese made from delicious pig parts and hinting of star anise, and caramelized onions, which are dark, sticky and swollen with reduced balsamic vinegar.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 22, 2021

We have not yet tasted the rillons and rillettes so prized by the school children of Tours, and so longed for by Félex when he beheld them in the baskets of his more fortunate companions.

From In Château Land by Wharton, Anne Hollingsworth