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Home-Style Pate
(Terrine Maison)
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What You Need: |
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1 pound fresh pork fat, ground
1½ pounds lean pork, ground
1½ pounds calfs, beef or pork liver, ground
½ pound lean veal, ground
5 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots or scallions
½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic
½ pound whole chicken livers
¼ cup Cognac
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon spice Parisienne or allspice
1½ tablespoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ pound cooked smoked beef tongue or baked ham cut in ¼-inch cubes (about 1 cup) (optional)
½ pound fresh pork fat back, the fat from a pork loin or fat salt pork, sliced into 1/8-inch strips or sheets
1 large bay leaf
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How To Cook: |
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1. Combine the ground meats in a large mixing bowl. In a heavy 8- to 10-inch skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over moderate heat. When the foam subsides, stir in the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until soft but not brown. With a spatula, scrape into the bowl of meat.
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2. In the same skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and cook the chicken livers for 3 or 4 minutes or until they have stiffened but are still pink inside. Remove the livers with a slotted spoon and set them aside on a plate. Pour the Cognac into the hot skillet and boil it, stirring and scrapingin any browned bits that cling to the bottom or sides of the pan, until it has reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Pour this glaze over the meat and shallots. Set the skillet aside.
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3. Add the cream, lemon juice, flour, egg, spice Parisienne or allspice, salt and a generous grinding of pepper to the meat mixture. Knead vigorously with both hands, then beat with a wooden spoon (or in an electric beater with a pastry arm) until all the ingredients are well blended and the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Lightly fold in the tongue or ham cubes if they are used. Because the mixture contains raw pork, saute a spoonful of it in the waiting skillet before tasting it for seasoning. Add more seasoning then if needed.
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4. Preheat the oven to 350 and line a deep, rectangular 2-quart mold which has a cover (a terrine, or a metal or glass baking pan) with thin strips or sheets of pork fat. Depending on their length, the strips may be arranged lengthwise or crosswise, but they should overlap slightly and completely cover the bottom and sides of the mold. If they are long enough, let them hang over the sides and later lap them back over the top of the filling; otherwise, save enough strips of the fat to cover the top of the terrine.
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5. Spoon half of the meat mixture into the lined mold, pressing it down firmly and smoothing it with the back of the spoon or a rubber spatula. Cut the chicken livers into quarters or eighths, depending on their size, and lay them in a row down the center of the mold. Fill the mold with the remaining meat mixture.
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6. Smooth the top with a spoon or spatula and bring the long strips of fat from the sides up over the meat or arrange additional strips over it. Lay a bay leaf on the fat, enclose the top of the mold snugly with foil, then cover tightly.
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7. Place the mold in a large baking pan on the middle shelf of the oven. Pour in enough boiling water to reach at least halfway up the side of the mold and bake the terrine for 2 hours or until the fat and juices which will have risen to the top are clear yellow.
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8. Remove the terrine from the oven and lift off the cover and aluminum foil. Loosely cover the mold with fresh foil and weight the terrine by placing a heavy pan, casserole or cutting board, weighing at least several pounds, on top of it. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate the terrine,with the weight still in place, until it is thoroughly chilled. To serve, remove the weight and the foil, and cut slices directly from the mold in which the terrine baked.
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