To make rillettes, meats are first marinated or given a brief salt cure, then braised or confited (poached in their own fat) until very tender. The tender meat is then mixed with a bit of the reserved ...

That’s how Grant Achatz, the edgy, award-winning chef of Alinea restaurant in Chicago, sums up the recent popularity of rillettes and other house-made charcuterie. “It’s just like anything else,” he ...