These pork crépinettes- krepinet- are small patties that are moist and full of flavour with a relatively coarse texture. A dish that was once widely prepared on the islands and is now almost forgotten.
- 500 g Pork mince
- 2 sheets caul fat, allow for wastage through trimmings
- 200 g chicken liver- roughly chopped
- 60 g pork fat, lard or trimmings from the caul fat ( note1)
- 1 onion finely chopped or grated
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, needles stripped and chopped
- 3 sprigs fresh oregano, chopped
- 1 sprig thyme, small leaves stripped
- 1 tbsp chilli flakes (optional)
- 2 eggs
- 25 g plain flour
- salt and cracked pepper
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Rinse the caul fat in cold water and then transfer in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes. The warm water minimises the tearing of the caul fat when wrapping.
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Remove from the bowl pat dry with a cloth or absorbent paper. Lay it flat over a cutting board and trim all excess fat. Keep the trimmings because you may require to use it as extra fat if your mince is too lean.
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Wash and pat dry the liver and roughly chop and keep.
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If you are going to add extra fat, bring your fat (caul fat trimmings or lard) to room temperature and chop it as finely as you can, and keep.
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Bring your mince to room temperature and place it in a large bowl. ( note 2)
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Thoroughly mix all ingredients with the mince pork using your hand.
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Oil your hands and scoop a spoonful of the filling and place it in the palm of your hand and roll it into small balls of approximately 3.5cm in diameter, 50-60 grams.
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Place each ball on the caul fat, evenly spaced apart and then cut a square of approximately 9cm around each.
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Fold the caul fat over each ball and gentle flatten slightly into a small pattie or burger shape creating a crépinette. You need it to wrap completely around the patty. It is better to have too much caul fat than too little.
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Set each completed crépinette on a cookie sheet, seam side down. Refrigerate until required.
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Heat enough oil in a frying pan over medium heat. The oil has to reach about ½ way up your crépinette.
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Add the crépinettes seam-side down and shallow fry for 5 to 6 minutes per side, until golden brown or until no longer pink in the centre. Turn them over every two odd minutes. Do not be tempted to rush this. Crépinettes are best cooked at a leisurely pace.
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Once cooked place them on an absorbent paper.
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The crépinettes can be eaten as is, or in a sauce of your choice with rice. You can serve it with a tomato sauce or thin gravy, or you can even cook them in a daube.
- This recipe compensates for the possibility of lack of fat in your mince by suggesting the use of extra fat like lard. If you buy fresh caul fat, you may get enough fat from the trimmings that you can use to mix into the mince. If your mince has enough fat, reduce or eliminate the extra fat.
- Bringing your mince to room temperature will allow your fat to better incorporate in the mix.
- You can also cook your patties in an oven. Place then in a hot oven, approx. 200°C and cook for about 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 180°C and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Once cooked, you will notice that the caul fat would have rendered away almost completely leaving golden moist patties.
- If your caul fat pieces are small, you can overlap them to completely cover the patties.