Country Pate Recipes

COUNTRY PâTé

Steps:

• Prepare ground meat Heat the oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent, stirring constantly to prevent browning, about 6 minutes. Place in a large mixing bowl to cool. Meanwhile, grind the meats on medium speed with the fine die, making sure not to put too much meat into the feed tube at once. Grind the fatback first, before it becomes too warm, followed by the chicken livers, then the raw meats. Grind the cooked ham last (it has the firmest texture and least amount of fat and will be able to grind well even though the grinder parts are no longer as cold).
• Add shallots and garnishes Stir in the shallots, along with all of the garnishes, except the bay leaves. Add 2 teaspoons salt and mix to evenly distribute. To test for seasoning, heat some oil in a small skillet and cook a small amount of pâté mixture thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning, if desired.
• Prepare mold Heat oven to 400°F with rack in center. Line a 1 1/2-quart, 4 by 13-inch terrine with bacon, slightly overlapping the pieces and leaving an overhang of about 4 inches on one side (most likely you will need to use one whole piece and a half piece laid end to end, in order to have a piece long enough to line mold with desired overhang).
• Fill mold Bring a medium pot of water to a boil while you fill the mold. Spoon some of the meat mixture in the bottom of the mold and press firmly into the corners. Continue with remaining meat, making sure to distribute it firmly and evenly as you work so there are no gaps or air bubbles. When all meat is in the mold, press to flatten meat evenly. Fold over bacon, beginning with the long sides first, then the short ends. Arrange bay leaves on top. Cover with terrine lid.
• Bake Place terrine in a roasting pan and add boiling water until the level reaches halfway up the sides of the terrine. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted near the middle registers 165°F, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Compress pâté Cut a piece of cardboard to fit the interior of the terrine mold. Wrap cardboard tightly in aluminum foil. Remove terrine from roasting pan. Remove lid, and place terrine on wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet. Place prepared cardboard on top of the terrine. Weight with canned items or other heavy objects. (This will allow excess fat to spill over the sides of the terrine as the pâté compresses.) Refrigerate terrine for 8 hours. (Terrine can be refrigerated up to 3 days; remove cardboard and weight after 8 hours, then cover tightly with lid or plastic wrap.)
• Unmold pâté Unmold terrine by inverting onto a platter or cutting board. If necessary, dip terrine in warm water and run a paring knife around edge to loosen before inverting.
• Serve With a serrated knife, cut pâté into 1/2-inch-thick slices, and serve with toasted baguette slices, grainy mustard, and cornichons.
• You will need a 1 1/2-quart terrine that is about 4 by 13 inches. The terrine is lined with bacon in the recipe below to add another layer of flavor; be sure there is adequate overhang on one long side of the dish, so you can wrap it over the top of the mixture, covering the entire surface.

COUNTRY TERRINE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.
• Melt the butter in a saute pan and gently saute the onions until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the Cognac, remove from the heat and cool slightly.
• Combine the ground pork, liver and ground veal in a large bowl. Add the onion mixture, breadcrumbs, herbs, quatre-epices and eggs. Mix well. Sprinkle with plenty of salt and pepper. Fry a patty of it to check for seasonings and adjust if necessary.
• Thinly slice the pork fat and line a 10-by-2 1/2-inch terrine mold with the slices, slightly overlapping them and allowing it to hang over the edges. Pack the meat mixture into the terrine and press down evenly. Fold the overhanging strips of fat over the top and add a few more slices if necessary to cover the top. Cover the top with a piece of parchment paper, then cover the terrine with foil.
• Put the terrine in a roasting pan and pour around enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the terrine. Place in the oven and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the water bath and cool completely. Place a brick on it and refrigerate overnight. Slice and serve.

COUNTRY PATE

Steps:

• In food processor, pulse the salt pork, chicken livers and chicken meat until it forms a slightly grainy puree.
• In a bowl, combine all of the meat, spirits, herbs and spices. Season with salt and pepper.
• Spray a 9" X 5" loaf pan with cooking spray and line the pan with 6 of the prosciutto slices. Spoon the meat mixture into the pan. Cover with the remaining prosciutto slices and press lightly. Cover with aluminum foil. Refrigerate for one hour.
• With a rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Set the loaf pan in a baking dish. Pour boiling water into the dish until it reaches halfway up the side of the loaf pan.
• Bake until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 165 F, about 1 1/2 hours. Allow the pate to cool in the water. Remove from the water and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
• Served chilled or at room temperature with slices of French bread.

PATE DE CAMPAGNE (COUNTRY-STYLE PATE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Combine the meat, liver, onion, garlic and parsley in a mixing bowl and blend well. Add the mixture, one-quarter at a time, to the container of a food processor and blend well. As each batch is processed, scrape it into a bowl. When properly blended, the mixture will be finer than hamburger. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Combine the eggs, flour, cream and Cognac in a small mixing bowl and blend well with a wire whisk. Add this to the pork mixture and blend thoroughly.
• Select a pate mold large enough to hold the pate mixture (a mold with a two-quart capacity and measuring about 11 1/2 by 4 by 3 1/2 inches is suitable). Line it with very thin slices of fatback, letting the slices overlap the upper edges of the mold.
• Pour and scrape the pate mixture into the prepared mold. Smooth it over. Fold the overlapping slices of fatback over the top of the pate. Add additional thin slices of fatback so that the top is completely but not excessively covered.
• Cover the pate with a lid and place it in a heatproof baking dish. Pour warm water around the pate mold and place it in the oven. Bake one hour and 50 minutes to two hours or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
• Remove the pate from the oven and remove the mold from the water bath. Leave the lid on top of the pate. Let stand overnight at room temperature. When cold, serve sliced with cornichons.