Tonight we ate duck rillettes with lemon myrtle chutney and drank Lindeman’s Kriek

What is  Kriek I here you ask?

Kris: People know what  Kriek is.

Caroline: I didn’t. Don’t you want to explain what it is?

Kris: No, maybe tomorrow.

Caroline: Kriek is a Belgian Beer made from fermenting Lambic with sour cherries. In fact, Kriek is the Dutch word for the type of cherry used. Side note: for those who don’t know what a lambic beer is either (also like me), it is a belgian beer produced by ‘spontaneous fermentation’: it is exposed to wild yeast and bacteria as opposed to controlled brewer’s yeast.
Ok then, moving right along…

We sipped Kriek and ate Duck Rillettes on crusty bread with my homemade Lemon Myrtle Chutney.
Lemon myrtle is a native Australian rainforest tree and the leaves have a beautiful sweet lemon/lime taste when used in cooking or marinating.
(it is delicious in iced tea as well)

Kris’ Lemon Myrtle Chutney
makes approximately 2 jars

sweat off 1 large onion in oil

add 1 1/2 cups of raw sugar 

crush a handful of lemon myrtle leaves in your hand to bruise them and release the flavour and drop them in the pot

dump in 2 tins of diced tomatoes
(or fresh tomatoes if you have them, I used canned because they were cheaper)

simmer for up to 2 hours on LOW

the longer you simmer it the thicker it will become

MAKE SURE you stir every few minutes so the bottom doesn’t burn

Ta dah! you have delicious lemon myrtle chutney!

Rillettes is a preparation of meat, similar to a pâté, wherein the meat is salted and slow-cooked in fat for a LONG time. It isn’t too hard to make, just a bit time consuming. It is worth the effort though.

Kris: I have to say, I love duck, in anything really. We tend to eat fairly rich foods in winter; which is nearly over, so I am making the most of it. Lindeman’s Kriek is a bit sweet for me. I prefer Liefman’s Goudenband and Cantillion Kriek as they are a lot more tart and acidic. They would really cut through the richness of rillettes.

Caroline: YUM. Any meat cooked in its own fat is ok by me. The lemon myrtle chutney cut the saltiness of the rillettes really nicely for me. I think they’re both delicious on their own as well. The Kriek was a bit sweet for me, I would never be able to drink one by myself, but it was nice to sip. I thought it matched nicely with the rillettes and chutney. It was sweet and a bit tangy and not too heavy.