Rillettes is a classic French dish that is a preservation method similar to confit, where meat is seasoned, submerged in fat, and cooked slowly over several hours. The meat is then shredded and packed into sterile containers covered in fat. Rillettes were traditionally made with fatty pork belly or pork shoulder, but the cooking style was later applied to game birds, wild rabbit, and fish. The soft, smooth texture is a deciding factor in determining a good rillette dish. Rillettes are usually served at room temperature, as a spread with toast points, much like a pâté.

Rillettes are made by chopping or shredding pork, chicken, duck, or fish meat, cooking it in its own fat, mincing it, and mixing it with some of the fat from the cooking process. Rillette’s texture is loose with threads of meat visible. Its preparation process looks like another famous French cooking technique called confit. It cooks a whole piece of meat in animal fat under low heat with minimal seasoning. The difference is that confit items are usually cooked and served whole, whereas Rillettes are the result of shredding the confit.

Rillettes are chunkier than pâté and contain meat that is cooked confit-style (in its own fat). Unlike pâté and terrine, which have a smooth texture, rillette tends to be made with shredded meat from pork, duck, or rabbit, but can also be found made of seafood like salmon and scallops. The meat is slowly cooked in fat, flavored with spices, and then ground but done so in a way where the finished product still has a coarse texture. Rillettes are also meant to be spread on top of bread or toast.