February 17, 2021

Country Pate with Pistachios (terrine)

I love making a meal out of cheese, pate and fruit. What some consider appetizers, I enjoy as the main course pretty often. A crusty bread and a glass of good wine make me happy and full.

This recipe will yield a good amount of pate but you can freeze it with excellent results; that way, you’ll always have some fresh, delicious pate on hand at a fraction of the cost compared to some fancy charcuterie aisle.

Come along with me and we’ll pretend for a second that we are walking the streets of Paris; we are walking with a baguette under our arm, a good bottle of wine, a wheel of Brie and some grapes in our stylish, canvas bag. A cute outfit highly recommended!!!!

Serving Size:

12-16

Time:

2 hours

Difficulty:

Easy

Ingredients

1 lb. pork shoulder, ground
3/4 lb. pork belly, ground
1 lb. chicken livers, ground
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
1 lb. sliced bacon (smoked, if you prefer a little smokiness)
1/2 lb. sliced ham, roughly chopped (large chunks)
2 tbsp. flour
3 eggs
1/2 cup cognac or brandy
4 garlic cloves, minced very finely
2 shallots, minced very finely
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1//4 tsp. ground allspice
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 bay leaves, ground
1 tbsp. onion flakes
2 tbsp. thyme
1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp. sweet paprika
salt & pepper

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
I chose to grind my own meat; I like more texture so I did a very large grind on the meat and pork belly. The chicken livers went through the meat grinder at the end – they come out quite “liquidy”.
In a bowl, I whisked the flour with the eggs, the heavy cream and brandy.
In another bowl, I mixed the meats, livers, spices and herbs; don’t overwork the mixture; pour the flour/cream mixture and combine
Line a terrine with plastic wrap (I used a terrine and a bread loaf pan – this is a larger quantity, it depends in the size of the terrine you have; mine is very small). On top of the plastic wrap, start placing the bacon slices. You want the bottom covered with bacon and leave the sides hanging (you will cover the meat mixture with this hanging bacon once your terrine is filled).
Pour the meat mixture in the terrine/bread pan and cover with the bacon. Wrap it tight with the plastic wrap. Cover with a lid.
Place the terrine in a hotel pan filled with warm water. You want the water to reach bout half-way up the terrine.
Bake at 350F for about 1 hour and 30 min or until the internal temperature reaches 155F.
Remove from the oven, place a heavy weight on top of the terrine lid and, when cooled, chill in the fridge overnight.