Pieds et paquets

Roll twelve parcels. Keep the commercially prepared tripe cold. Mix the 150 g salt pork with 12 g garlic, parsley, half the pepper and half the salt. Divide the filling across the 12 tripe rectangles, roll tightly and secure each parcel with kitchen string. All 12 parcels are compact, similarly sized and tied firmly enough that no filling is exposed. Uniform parcels resist opening during a long braise and cook at a similar rate. Do not perform slaughter, singeing or primary offal cleaning at home; use commercially prepared tripe and keep it refrigerated.

Prepare the commercial feet for the pot. Pat the commercially cleaned split feet dry and inspect only for loose fragments left by the processor; do not undertake primary cleaning. The feet are dry on the surface and no loose bone fragment remains on the tray. Dry surfaces reduce splashing when the feet enter the hot braising base. Handle feet as raw animal protein and sanitise the tray and surrounding surfaces afterward.

Soften the braising vegetables. Heat 30 ml olive oil in a heavy 6-litre casserole. Soften onion, carrot and celery for 10 minutes without scorching, then add the remaining 8 g garlic for the final minute. The vegetables are softened and lightly golden at the edges, with no burnt garlic. A cooked aromatic base gives the long braise sweetness without needing aggressive browning. Keep hot oil stable and add damp ingredients carefully to limit splatter.

Bring the sauce to a simmer. Add tomatoes, wine, stock, thyme, bay and orange zest. Bring the liquid to a full simmer for 10 minutes, then nestle the sheep feet on the bottom and the 12 parcels above them. The sauce is simmering evenly before the raw offal is fully submerged. Moving promptly through the warming phase avoids leaving raw offal for a prolonged period in lukewarm liquid. Use separate utensils for the raw parcels until the braise is established.

Give the braise its full time. Cover and maintain the casserole at a very gentle simmer for 420 minutes, checking periodically that the parcels remain mostly covered and turning them carefully once or twice. The tripe parcels are yielding rather than rubbery, the feet are gelatinous and the sauce has a cohesive body. Very long gentle cooking converts connective tissue without breaking the parcels apart. Keep the lid controlled to avoid steam burns and do not let the pan boil dry.

Strip bones and reduce. Lift out the parcels and feet. Remove and discard all bones from the feet, retaining about 180 g edible meat and gelatin. Skim obvious surface fat, then reduce the sauce uncovered for 15 minutes before returning the edible foot meat and parcels. The sauce coats a spoon lightly and no hard bone remains in the edible foot meat. Bone removal and a short reduction give a safer, cleaner serving sauce without counting discarded bones in the yield. Check the foot meat carefully for small bones before returning it to the casserole; hot steam and sauce can burn.