Country Pate
Submitted by debbieb
Classic French country pate with ground pork and veal marinated overnight in white wine and brandy, lined with fatback, and baked in a water bath until firm. A make-ahead appetizer.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
2 daysCOOK
2 hrsREADY
2 daysThis pate is a two-day project, and both days matter. Ground pork and veal marinate overnight in dry white wine, brandy, oil, sliced onions, and garlic. That long cold soak seasons the meat deeply and lets the wine and brandy tenderize the proteins before everything goes into the mold.
The next day, the onions get discarded (they’ve done their job), the garlic gets pressed back into the meat, and the mixture is packed into a terrine lined with thin slices of fatback. That fatback layer insulates the pate during the long bake, bastes it from the outside in, and creates the characteristic white border you see when you slice it.
Baking in a water bath at 375F for two hours keeps the temperature even and prevents the edges from overcooking while the center catches up. The pate is done when the juices run clear yellow with no trace of pink, or when a thermometer reads 160F.
Weighting the pate as it cools overnight compacts the meat into a dense, sliceable texture. Without weights, you get a crumbly, loose pate that falls apart on the plate.
Chef Tips
- Fry a small piece of the seasoned meat before packing the mold. This is your only chance to taste and adjust the seasoning before it’s committed.
- Pierce the foil lid with a skewer. That steam vent prevents pressure buildup that can crack the pate.
- Cool to room temperature before weighting, then refrigerate overnight with the weights on. Rushing either step affects the texture.
- Slice thin and serve at cool room temperature, not fridge-cold. Cold pate tastes muted.
Variations
- Add a tablespoon of green peppercorns to the meat mixture for bursts of sharp heat.
- Line the mold with bacon strips instead of fatback for a smokier flavor.
- Mix in chopped pistachios for color and crunch when sliced.
Ingredients
Directions
Directions: in a large bowl, combine the pork and veal.
Mix the wine, brandy and oil with salt and pepper to taste, and pour the mixture over the meats.
Scatter the onions and garlic on top. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate it for at least 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃).
Discard the onions, but put the garlic through a press and knead it into the meats together with the wine mixture.
Break off a small piece of meat and fry it in a lightly oiled skillet over moderate heat for 3 or 4 minutes, or until its juices run clear, without a trace of pink.
Taste the piece and, if you like, add more garlic, salt and pepper.
(Pork is unsafe to eat uncooked; do not taste the meats raw.)
Slightly overlapping the slices, line the bottom and sides of a 2-quart terrine mold or a 7½ x 7½ x 7½ inch loaf pan with the fatback.
Pack the meat mixture into the mold, and arrange the remaining slices of fatback on top of it.
Fit foil over the mold, or cover the meat mixture with foil and a lid.
To let steam escape, pierce a hole in the foil with a skewer.
If you are using a lid, insert the skewer through its hole to puncture the foil.
Set the mold on a rack in a large pan or dish.
Place them all in the oven, and pour enough almost-boiling water into the pan to cover ⅔ of the mold.
Bake for 2 hours or until the pate shrinks slightly from the sides of the mold and the surrounding fat and juices are a clear yellowish white with no traces of pink.
Or insert a meat thermometer; it should register 160 F when the pate is done.
Take the pate from the oven, but leave the foil in place.
Set the pate on a rack to cool to room temperature.
Then put another pan with a heavy can or weights inside it, or even a brick, on top of the pate to compact the meats.
Chill the pate thoroughly (overnight is best) with the weights in place.
Before serving, cut the pickle into a fan shape, slicing lengthwise through the pickle 4 or 5 times to within ½ inch of one end.
Spread the slices into a fan, and garnish the pate with it.
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