Country Pâté Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S PATE DE CAMPAGNE

Steps:

• Combine cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl to make spice mixture.
• Place pork shoulder, duck meat, chopped bacon, chicken livers, onion, shallot, parsley, cognac, salt, garlic, pepper, 3/4 teaspoon spice mixture, and pink curing salt in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly until evenly distributed. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate about 2 hours.
• Whisk cream, bread crumbs, and eggs together in a bowl.
• Transfer pork mixture to a rimmed baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment. Freeze for 15 to 20 minutes to facilitate grinding the meat.
• Grind pork mixture into a bowl using the meat-grinder attachment of a stand mixer. Add dried cherries and pistachios. Add the cream mixture; fold gently until just combined.
• Arrange bacon strips crosswise in a 9x5-inch loaf pan, letting ends hang over the edges of the pan. Trim some strips to fit the ends of the pan.
• Fill pan to the top with the ground pork mixture; smooth the top. Cover surface with strips of bacon. Fold side bacon piece edges over the top. Cover with a piece of parchment cut to fit the top of the pan; wrap tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Transfer pan to a deep pot or Dutch oven. Pour in hot tap water to reach 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up the side of the pan. Cover.
• Bake in the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 155 degrees F (68 degrees C), 1 3/4 to 2 hours.
• Transfer pan to a paper-towel lined surface to absorb any moisture. If mixture has risen above the top edge of the pan, press it down with a heavy pan. Remove the aluminum foil, leaving the parchment paper on top. Transfer pan to a paper-towel-lined baking dish. Cut a piece of cardboard to be slightly smaller than the top of the pan. Wrap with aluminum foil and place on the parchment paper. Press down with weights like canned food.
• Refrigerate at least 8 hours to chill and compress the pate.
• To unmold the pate, pour very hot water into a large bowl. Dip mold into hot water for 1 to 2 seconds. Turn out onto a paper-towel-lined dish; chill again before slicing.

COUNTRY PATE

Steps:

• Trim veal or chicken and pork of excess fat and tendons. Skin fatback. Cut into 1 inch cubes and pass through largest hole of a meat grinder. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in salt, pepper, and applejack. Cover with plastic wrap touching the mixture and refrigerate at least 1 day or as long as 3.
• After marinating, heat oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Saute livers until well browned, about 1 minute per side. Remove from pan and set aside to cool. Add garlic and cook about 1/2 minute, being careful not to let it color. Reserve garlic with liver.
• Add brandy and bay leaves to same skillet. Scrape bottom of pan to loosen brown bits and cook over low heat until warm, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool and remove and discard bay leaves.
• Dip white bread in warm water to soften. Squeeze out excess moisture. Add to the liver and garlic along with 2 cups marinated ground meat, allspice, nutmeg, and brandy. Stir to combine.
• Transfer to a food processor, add eggs, and puree until a smooth paste is formed. This paste will bind the pate. Place puree in a large bowl, add remaining ground meat, and combine well. (We recommend using your hands, not a spoon, to combine this dense mixture.)
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Line a 9 by 5 by 3 inch glass or ceramic loaf pan with bacon slices so they overhang lengthwise, about 3 inches on each end. Slice ham and tongue into 4 by 1/2 by 1/2 inch julienne strips.
• Spread about a cup of pate evenly over the bacon to cover the bottom. Arrange alternating strips of ham and tongue lengthwise, over the pate. Repeat this procedure, alternating pate with strips
• of ham and tongue, until pan is filled and top layer is pate. (When the loaf is sliced you will see a regular pattern of solids and pate.) Fold overhanging bacon over the top. (The pate may rise slightly over the top of the pan. That's OK.)
• Tap pan against a counter to firmly pack. Garnish top with bay leaves and garlic cloves. Cover with 2 layers aluminum foil, tucking edges under to completely seal. Place inside a larger pan and pour in boiling water until it rises halfway up the sides of the pate. Bake 2 hours 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Place cooled pate on a baking sheet and cover with another baking sheet. Top with some 3 pounds of weights (canned goods or milk cartons are good) and refrigerate overnight or as long as 2 weeks. This compacts the pate and makes it easier to slice.
• To serve, remove and discard the bay leaf and garlic garnish. To loosen, dip pan's bottom in warm water and run a knife along inside edges. Invert onto a serving platter. Cut into 1/2 inch slices and serve on lettuce leaves.

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 PATE)

Steps:

• Set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 350°F Boil Cognac until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 1 1/2 minutes. Cool.
• Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft and translucent but not brown, about 8 minutes.
• Combine ground pork and chopped bacon in large bowl. Using fork or fingertips, mix together until well blended. Add sauteed onion, garlic, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, thyme, allspice, and pepper to bowl with pork mixture and stir until incorporated. Add eggs, cream, and reduced Cognac. Stir until well blended.
• Line 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan with bacon slices, arranging 8 slices across width of pan and 3 slices on each short side of pan and overlapping pan on all sides. Using hands, lightly and evenly press half of meat mixture (about 3 1/4 cups) onto bottom of pan atop bacon slices. Arrange ham strips over in single layer. Top with remaining meat mixture.
• Fold bacon slices over, covering pate. Cover pan tightly with foil. Place pan in 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan and transfer to oven. Pour boiling water into baking pan to come halfway up sides of loaf pan. Bake pate until a thermometer inserted through foil into center registers 155°F, about 2 hours 15 minutes.
• Remove loaf pan from baking pan and transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Place heavy skillet or 2 to 3 heavy cans atop pate to weigh down. Chill overnight. DO AHEAD Can be made 4 days ahead.
• Place loaf pan with pate in larger pan of hot water for about 3 minutes. Invert pâté onto platter; discard fat from platter and wipe clean. Cut pate crosswise into 1/2-inch slices.

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.