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of your mixer, or stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon, helps to develop the myosin protein in the muscle. You will see the ground meat change from a hamburger-like mound to a sticky-looking paste; the stickiness is a result of the protein development. Developing the myosin protein helps the forcemeat hold together. But you don’t need or want to mix the meat too long, because that mechanical action heats the meat and fat. If you’re using a wooden spoon, it helps to put the mixing bowl in ice to keep the mixture cold. This mixing also helps to distribute seasoning more evenly as well as to incorporate any liquid.

PUREEING

Many pâté mixtures are pureed in the food processor, which results in a fine smooth texture in the finished pâté. Freeze your processor bowl and blade before pureeing the ground meat and fat. Puree only as long as necessary, usually until the mixture is smooth and uniform. Again, temperature is the key concern here, given that the whipping blade and warm motor heat up the meat.

PANADE

A panade is a mixture of starch, often simply plain white bread, and liquid that helps to bind a pâté or terrine mixture. It may also contain eggs, and the liquid is often cream, both of which further serve to bind and enrich.

SEASONING AND THE QUENELLE TEST

Classic seasonings are salt, of course, and a mixture of sweet spices, such as nutmeg and clove, or quatre épices (see page 145). Check your seasoning before you commit your pâté to the oven, by cooking a spoonful of the mixture. It’s best to wrap it in plastic and gently poach it in water (160 to 170 degrees F./71 to 76 degrees C.), because that will best reflect the final dish; if you fry it over direct heat like a mini-burger, it will cook at too high a temperature, losing its fat and developing a caramelized flavor that the pâté won’t have, making it difficult to evaluate the seasoning. Taste the poached sample. Does it need a little more salt? If it doesn’t seem to, think again—the pâté will be served cold, and cold food needs more aggressive seasoning than hot. So your hot pâté test should taste slightly oversalted. If it needs any other flavor adjustments, now is the time to act.

INTERIOR GARNISH

Often pâtés are enhanced by other whole or chopped ingredients mixed into the pureed forcemeat, what are called interior garnishes. A large garnish such as a seared duck breast may be laid in the center of the pâté when you fill the mold, or smaller items, such as mushrooms, diced ham, tongue, duck confit, pistachios, or herbs, can be folded into the forcemeat. These garnishes add flavor, as well as visual and textural contrast. It’s harder to make cold food taste wonderful than it is hot food, so the more visually ravishing a pâté—say with elegant red cherries, green pistachios, black trumpet mushrooms surrounding the oval of a duck breast—the more likely your guests will be tempted and pleased.

THE VESSEL ITSELF

It almost doesn’t matter. There are countless rectangular molds made of various materials in all sizes. The first pâtés were baked in pastry, until the pastry guild said the charcuterie guild was cutting in on its territory and the charcutiers of the Renaissance were forced to put their loaves of meat, their pâtés, into earthenware vessels—terrines. You can spend hundreds of dollars on fancy terrines with screw-down tops for pressing. Le Creuset’s enamel-coated iron ones, the industry standard, cost about $65. And Williams-Sonoma makes pretty porcelain molds that look great on a shelf or sideboard. But a Pyrex loaf pan will do the trick. As would a couple of layers of sturdy aluminum foil.

Of course size and shape affect the outcome—you don’t want a container so big that the outside of the pâté is overcooked while the center is raw. You wouldn’t fill a stockpot with a nice forcemeat and expect it to cook well. Some terrine molds have an elegant shape, others less so. If you’re serving a pâté out of the mold, you’ll want it to look nice. But generally, the material in which you bake a pâté has little effect. As Brian puts it, “I bake in everything.