Recipes

Country-Style Pâté

  • Serves

    makes 20 Slices

We developed this recipe based on many rustic dishes we've enjoyed all over France. Look for saltpeter at your local pharmacy.

Ingredients

  • 2 lb. chicken legs and thighs
  • 13 cup white wine
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 3 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 8-10 bay leaves
  • 4 sprigs fresh parsley
  • 1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped
  • 4 oz. rind from pork fat
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 slices stale bread, crusts removed
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
  • 12 oz. veal, finely chopped
  • 12 oz. pork, finely chopped
  • 12 oz. ground pork
  • 8 oz. chicken livers, halved
  • 7 oz. prosciutto, diced
  • 6 oz. cold fresh fatback, diced
  • 13 cup cognac
  • pinches allspice
  • pinches mac
  • 12 tsp. saltpeter
  • 3 large sheets of caul fat

Instructions

Step 1

Cut chicken pieces into legs and thighs, then remove thigh meat from the bone, remove skin, and cut meat into thick strips. Reserve skin, bones, and legs for stock. Mix together wine, oil, 1 tsp. of the thyme, 1 tsp. of the rosemary, and 2 of the bay leaves in a small mixing bowl, then add thigh meat, cover, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Step 2

Pour 6 cups water in a medium heavy pot; add reserved chicken (legs, bones, and skin), 1 of the bay leaves, 3 sprigs of the parsley, onions, pork rind, and salt and pepper to taste; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and gently simmer for about 2 1⁄2 hours. Strain stock, discard solids, return stock to pot, and increase heat to high. Boil until stock has reduced to about 1⁄2 cup. Remove stock from heat and let cool.

Step 3

Preheat oven to 325°. Pulse bread, garlic, and remaining sprig parsley in a blender to make fine bread crumbs. Put stock, bread crumbs, veal, chopped pork, ground pork, chicken livers, prosciutto, fatback, cognac, allspice, mace, saltpeter, and remaining 2 tsp. thyme and 1 tsp. rosemary in a large mixing bowl and season liberally with salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix ingredients thoroughly.

Step 4

Line a 6-cup terrine with caul fat, draping it over sides, then pack one-third of the meat mixture evenly into terrine. Lay half the marinated chicken pieces on top of meat. Repeat layers, ending with meat. Fold caul fat over meat to wrap completely, arrange remaining 5-7 bay leaves on top, and cover with a double layer of aluminum foil. Set terrine in a baking pan, add enough boiling water to come two-thirds of the way up sides of terrine, and bake to an internal temperature of 160°, about 2 3⁄4 hours. Remove from oven, pour off water, then return terrine to baking pan. Remove foil, cover terrine with plastic wrap, then place a piece of heavy cardboard, cut to fit, inside the terrine. Weight with a couple of heavy cans. Refrigerate for 1 to 3 days, then serve sliced.

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