The glory of the pig's foot!
The glory of the pig's foot!
A stopover town, Sainte-Menehould and its inns have always entertained the barge, whether it was a chance visitor or a king of France.
In 1459, Charles VII stopped there to taste the country's fashionable pig's trotters. Back at the palace, he called for some "loofy people" at Sainte-Menehould.
Legend has it that Louis XVI, during his flight to Varennes, was recognized from his portrait on an assignat, while he was tasting the pig's trotters from the Golden Sun.
The origin of the recipe is attributed to this table in Sainte-Menehould. The cook would have forgotten her pig's feet on the fire. Tasting them out of the pot, she was surprised to find them not only cooked to perfection, but the bones so melting that you can taste them with the marrow.
The foot that is traditionally offered at Sainte-Menehould is, in fact, a large foot bandaged in a cloth, cooked for four hours in a court-bouillon (which eliminates 50% of the gelatin), with onion, carrots, shallots, garlic , bouquet garni, thyme, bay leaf, basil and parsley.
But the good butchers in Paris simply offer it raw and breaded, with its bones to roast and suck without chewing them. The pig's trotter is worth as much for the tender flesh of the trotter as for its gelatinous appearance.
Is there a more French delicacy than this?
