French Terrine Recipes

FRENCH TERRINE

Steps:

• The evening before: Marinate the chicken livers overnight in the cognac (or port, or Madeira). If you do not have time to do that, simply sauté them lightly with butter and reserve. Sauté slowly the shredded onions and shallots in some butter, they must get transparent but not brown. Grind the bread (if no grinder, boil it with a little milk and purée with fork). Put the sausage meat, ground pork, bread, shredded onions and shallots and the eggs in a big bowl and mix thoroughly (it might be useful to use your hands instead of a spoon!). Add the spices and 4 tbsp of the cognac (or port, or Madeira wine). Cover all the sides of the terrine dish(es) with caul fat of bacon slices. Depending on the depth of the dish, you can do three layers or five layers of meat: Start with one layer of the mixture, add one layer of chicken livers, repeat if possible, and always finish with one layer of the mixture. Cover with the bay leaves for decoration. Close the crépine on top, (or cover with a few slices bacon) so as to completely surround the terrine. Make a dough with some flour and a little bit of water, roll it and put it all around the edges of the dish. It must be placed is such a way that when you cover with the lid, no air will be able to get in between the dish and the lid. Push in the lid. It will cause the dough to bulge slightly. Put the terrine dish in another bigger dish filled with water, and cook at high temperature (525 Farenheit) for 1 ½ hour. Let cool and put in the fridge. Wait at least 12 hours before eating. Enjoy with cornichons. Serves

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.

FRENCH COUNTRY-STYLE TERRINE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add pistachios and boil for 2 minutes. Drain, then remove skins.
• Line a 6 cup ceramic terrine or 9" x 5" loaf pan with bacon. Place on baking tray.
• Cu chicken breast into long thin strips. Place in small bowl with 1/2 cup madeira and season with salt and pepper. Let marinate while preparing the stuffing.
• For the stuffing: In a large bowl, mix together pork, veal, liver, onion, garlic, kosher salt and thyme. Add pistachios. Whisk remaining Madeirawith the eggs, add to stuffing and mix very well.
• Take a small piece of stuffingand flatten into a mini patty. Cook in a fry pan, then taste to check seasonings.
• Drain chicken strips and discard marinade. Place 1/3 of the stuffing in the prepared terrine and pack down. Arrange half the chicken strips on top. Top this layer with another 1/3 of the stuffing, press well; and add remainign chicken. Top with final 1/3 of stuffing and pack down. Push any exposed nut into the stuffing. Place bay leaves on top. Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours until firm and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out hot.
• Allow to cool thouroughly. Keep refrigerated, but serve at room temperature with fresh crusty bread and cornichons.

COUNTRY TERRINE

Steps:

• Assemble and marinate terrine:
• Cook onion in butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl set in a bowl of ice.
• While onion cools, pulse salt, peppercorns, allspice, nutmeg, and bay leaf in grinder until finely ground. Add to onion mixture and whisk in cream, eggs, and brandy until combined well.
• Pulse chicken livers in a food processor until finely chopped, then add to onion mixture along with ground pork and veal and mix together well with your hands or a wooden spoon. Stir in ham cubes.
• Line bottom and long sides of terrine mold crosswise with about 6 to 9 strips of bacon, arranging them close together (but not overlapping) and leaving a 1/2- to 2-inch overhang. Fill terrine evenly with ground-meat mixture, rapping terrine on counter to compact it (it will mound slightly above edge). Cover top of terrine lengthwise with 2 or 3 more bacon slices if necessary to cover completely, and fold overhanging ends of bacon back over these. Cover terrine with plastic wrap and chill at least 8 hours to marinate meats.
• Bake terrine:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.
• Discard plastic wrap and cover terrine tightly with a double layer of foil.
• Bake terrine in a water bath until thermometer inserted diagonally through foil at least 2 inches into center of terrine registers 155 to 160°F, 1 3/4 to 2 hours. Remove foil and let terrine stand in mold on a rack, 30 minutes.
• Weight terrine:
• Put terrine in mold in a cleaned baking pan. Put a piece of parchment or wax paper over top of terrine, then place on top of parchment another same-size terrine mold or a piece of wood or heavy cardboard cut to fit inside mold and wrapped in foil. Put 2 to 3 (1-pound) cans on terrine or on wood or cardboard to weight cooked terrine. Chill terrine in pan with weights until completely cold, at least 4 hours. Continue to chill terrine, with or without weights, at least 24 hours to allow flavors to develop.
• To serve:
• Run a knife around inside edge of terrine and let stand in mold in a pan with 1 inch of hot water (to loosen bottom) 2 minutes. Tip terrine mold (holding terrine) to drain excess liquid, then invert a cutting board over terrine, reinvert terrine onto cutting board, and gently wipe outside of terrine (bacon strips) with a paper towel. Let terrine stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving, then transfer to a platter if desired and cut, as needed, into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

MUSHROOM TERRINE

Steps:

• Slice the mushrooms.
• Melt in the butter in a large pan and add the mushrooms and onion, if using, sauté until all of the water has come out of the mushrooms and evaporated.
• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Beat eggs, flour, salt, pepper in a big bowl.
• Add cooked mushrooms and mix.
• Pour into greased loaf pan or terrine.
• Cook in a bain marie, a large pan filled with water that you put the loaf pan into for 40 minutes.
• Cool a bit, unmold.
• Cut into slices or cubes.
• Eat as is or add a bit of white sauce.
• I like it room temp, in cubes, as is.