Charcuterie_ The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing - Michael Ruhlman [100]
4 ounces/100 grams pork or chicken liver
1⁄4 cup/50 grams chopped white or yellow onion
8 tablespoons/48 grams coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
11⁄2 tablespoons/24 grams minced garlic
1 ounce/25 grams kosher salt (2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon/3 grams freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon/2 grams Pâté Spice (page 147)
2 tablespoons/20 grams all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons/30 milliliters brandy
1⁄2 cup/125 milliliters heavy cream
OPTIONAL GARNISH (MIX AND MATCH TO TASTE)
Diced ham, cooked mushrooms, rinsed brine-cured green peppercorns, duck confit (a total of 1 cup/250 milliliters)
1. Freeze all your blades and bowls before gathering and measuring your ingredients (see Note below).
2. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F./150 degrees C.
3. Grind the pork through the large die into the bowl of a standing mixer set in ice. Transfer about one-third of the pork to a smaller bowl, and add the liver, onion, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, and pâté spice. Fit the grinder with the small die (clean the blade of any sinew that might be caught there) and grind the pork-seasonings mixture into the bowl of coarsely ground pork. Refrigerate.
4. In a small bowl, combine the flour, eggs, brandy, and cream and stir to blend—this is the panade. Add it to the ground meat and, using the paddle attachment, mix until the panade is incorporated and the forcemeat becomes sticky, about a minute. (You can also do this using a wooden spoon or your hands.) Fold in the optional garnish, if using.
5. Do a quenelle test to check the seasoning, and adjust if necessary.
6. Line a 11⁄2-quart/1.5-liter terrine mold with plastic wrap, leaving enough overhang on the two long sides to fold over the top of the terrine when it’s filled (moistening the mold first will help the plastic adhere). Fill the mold with the pâté mixture, packing it down to remove air pockets. Fold the plastic wrap over the top, and cover with the lid or with foil.
7. Place the terrine in a high-sided roasting pan and add enough hot water (very hot tap water) to come halfway up the sides of the mold. Put the pan in the oven and bake until the interior of the pâté reaches 150 degrees F./65 degrees C. if using pork liver, 160 degrees F./70 degrees C. if using chicken liver, about 1 hour.
8. Remove from the oven, remove the mold from the water bath, and set a weight of about 2 pounds/1 kilogram on top of the terrine. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until completely chilled, overnight, or for up to 1 week, before serving.
Yield: 10 to 12 appetizer servings
[ NOTE: See pages 204–212 for a detailed description of the general terrine method. ]
PÂTÈ GRANDMÈRE
The kind of pâté a French country grandma would make, very simple, plain, hearty, using plenty of inexpensive, nutrient-rich, intensely flavorful liver. As liver accounts for more than half the meat, it’s the dominant flavor. Brian and I prefer to use pork liver rather than chicken livers primarily because you only need to cook pork liver to 150 degrees F./65 degrees C., whereas chicken must reach a temperature of 160 degrees F./71 degrees C. So pork liver gives you a moister, and tastier, pâté.
While this is a rustic, coarse, yet soft pâté, attention should be paid to a few steps. Notice that the pork liver is cut into chunks; this increases the surface area of the liver, which will be seared. The more seared surfaces, the better the final flavor. (Chicken livers, which are already small, don’t need to be cut up.) Shallots and brandy are then cooked in the same pan and are added to the liver to be ground, for even more flavor.
If you intend to serve the pâté straight from the terrine mold, rather than unmolding it, there’s no need to line the terrine. You could even roll the pâté up in plastic wrap and poach in water at 160 to 170 degrees F./71 to 76 degrees C. to the same internal temperature, which will take about an hour. Serve with crusty bread, good Dijon mustard, and sharp, flavored