Spleen, and Pork Belly Rillons (together)

I happened across some fresh pork spleen at the co-op on Friday, and it looked really beautiful and was only $2. I have to say, offal is very affordable in addition to being good for you. I had no idea what to do with spleen so came home and searched my "The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating" and "Odd Bits" cookbooks. Both had good options, but I went for the latter. (I will definitely try the former though, as soon as my sage comes in: Rolled Pig's Spleen with bacon and sage sounds great.)

Spleen rolls and 2 Rillons chunks!

It turns out the spleen is like a very mild liver, really soft and buttery on the inside and tastes more like chicken liver. It comes as one long organ with fat on the inside, and both cookbook recipes were suggesting a long/slow braise of rolled up spleen. McLagan of Odd Bits says her fave way to eat spleen is to cook as Rillons (rillons being chunks of pork belly caramelized on the outside, then cooked in seasoned fat until they are moist and tender on the inside). I happened to also have pork belly, and had tried the rillons recipe one other time but overcooked them. This time they came out perfectly: melt-in-your-mouth goodness. They are higher maintenance than my regular roasted pork belly (which I make at least once or twice a month), but definitely fancier. These would be great dinner party appetizers.

Rillons (with Pork Belly and Spleen)

Rillons before I added the spleen

2 1/4 lbs pork belly (or part pork belly part spleen)
1 T sea salt
2-4 T lard
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 large sprigs thyme
1 fresh bay leaf
1 tsp smoked paprika
pinch cayenne
1/2 c white wine (or vermouth)
1/2 c water
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Cut the pork belly into equal large cubes about 2 1/2" by the thickness of the belly (about 12 pieces). Place them in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Toss together, cover, and refrigerate overnight. *If using spleen, salt the whole thing and refrigerate with belly.

2. Remove pork belly from refrigerator, pat pieces dry. (Spleen will not be browned and can stay in fridge for another hour or so.)
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4. In a large, heavy frying pan melt 2 T of lard and brown the pieces of belly on all sides; they should get dark and caramelized. (A splatter screen helps here!)
5. Transfer the pieces to a casserole dish/dutch oven just big enough to hold them in a single layer (with room for spleen). Add garlic, thyme, bay leaf, paprika and cayenne. Strain the fat from the frying pan, leaving behind any debris, then pour it over the meat along with the wine and water. Season with pepper. Place in the oven and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
6. Lower the oven temp to 300 degrees. Check the amount of cooking liquid in the pan: it should be about halfway up the pieces of belly; if it's not, add some of the remaining lard and a little more water if necessary. Cover and return to the oven to cook for another 2 hours until the pieces are very tender; stirring a couple of times. *If using spleen, it cooks for 60-75 minutes. When ready to add, pat spleen dry. Cut into 3-4 pieces crosswise, and roll each piece up, fat side in. Secure with a toothpick and set alongside belly.
7. The rillons can be eaten warm, or set them out to eat at room temp. Refrigerate for up to a week (and eat them on salad, or reheat in a frying pan.) For the spleen: slice each roll into thin slices and eat just like that, or on salad. Yum.