Smoked Trout Rillette for #Charcutepalooza

Well, I was prepared to be grouchy about this one. Truth is, I'm hanging on to Charcutepalooza by by fingernails. The day I had to try this recipe I also had to squeeze in moving furniture out of my office to be ready for the contractor who's going to give me paint-ready walls and a wooden floor; design, cut and sew a Victorian cycling outfit for the Tweed Ride, and cook something with 15 pounds of local pawpaws, which I've never seen before. Oh, and did I mention work? (It remains to be seen how many of these deadlines I'll end up meeting.)

At risk of sounding as though I'm complaining, I found that smoked trout rillettes are a breeze to make. Not (as vaunted) thrifty, though. Smoked local trout runs about $35 a pound hereabouts, so it cost about $10 a ramekin to make a dish that is – though decidedly delicious – normally off the menu for me (because of all the butter).

That said, I was intrigued as the way the hot butter boiled up into a froth when I added the fish. I was wondering what was happening at the molecular level when the butterfat met the fish oil. Some kind of crazy emulsification, I'd be guessing. The wine would help that along. And I got a lot of satisfaction from using up a bunch of garden chives, which are still nice even at this late season.

Here's the finished product, which will be served with baguettes, sautéd greens and lightly mashed root vegetables. I'm sure it will be delicious. I just can't see doing it again very often.