Every day in "Historically yours", Olivier Poels looks back on the history of a dish and gives us his recipe for making it again at home.

This Tuesday, he tackles pig's trotters at Sainte-Ménehould.

According to legend, it is in this village of the Marne that Louis XVI would have lost time by greed during his failed escape from Varennes.

When talking about pig's trotters at Sainte-Ménehould, it is common to hear about Louis XVI's flight from Varennes in 1791. Why?

This Tuesday in Historically yours, Olivier Poels looks back on the origins of this dish and gives us his recipe (to find at the bottom of this article) for making his own pork trotters à la Sainte-Ménehould!

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A 15th century recipe

The link between King Louis XVI and Sainte-Ménehould pig's trotters comes from a rumor spread by revolutionary lawyer Camille Desmoulins.

According to what is very probably a legend, Louis XVI would have lost some time during the failed escape from Varennes in 1791, because of a gluttony.

On June 21, probably between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., Louis XVI arrived in Sainte-Ménehould, a small village in the Marne.

Legend has it that he ordered his royal coach to stop, to taste the famous pork trotters a la Sainte-Ménehould one last time.

At the time, Camille Desmoulins made fun of a "king with pig's feet".

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The veracity of this account is questionable.

Of course, it is certain that the king arrived very early in the morning at Sainte-Ménehould, around 8 am or 9 am.

But it was a little early to eat pig's trotters ... There is no proof that the cook had that on hand.

On the other hand, Louis XVI was indeed recognized by a boy in this village.

He did stop there, probably to change the horses in his coach.

This recipe remains in any case one of the great classics of the region.

It is also much older: its creation dates from the 15th century, in the 1430s. It would have been invented by chance.

A kitchen boy would have forgotten the pig's trotters on the fire.

These would therefore have cooked overnight in broth, and the next day we would have realized that they had become crumbly, soft, and that even the bones could be eaten.

Some tips for cooking pork trotters well at Sainte-Ménehould

Pig's trotters can be purchased inexpensively from your butcher.

They must then be cooked in a broth for a very long time over low heat, so that the meat is as tender as possible.

Small precaution to take: they must be tied well before.

Finally, they should be breaded with a classic breading made of flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs.

Fry them, and voila!

Olivier Poels' recipe for 4 people:

Ingredients:

  • 4 pig's trotters

  • 1 carrot

  • 1 onion

  • 1 bouquet garni

  • 25 cl of white wine

  • 3 cloves

  • 1 egg

  • flour

  • breadcrumbs

The preparation :

1.

 Make a broth with the vegetables, spices and white wine

2.

 Cook the tied pork trotters for four hours over low heat.

3.

 Cut the pig's trotters in half

4.

 Dip them in the flour, egg and breadcrumbs

5.

 Fry them