It is true, as has often been observed, that a terrine is nothing more than a meat loaf with a French accent. But it is equally true that one of the most welcome presentations on the party table could be a well-made terrine maison, a savory mixture of rough-textured chopped pork, pork fat and liver that has been flavored with warm aromatics such as cinnamon, allspice and bay leaves.
Once cooked, pates and terrines should be set aside for several days to develop their flavors. Terrines will last for weeks if they are first covered with melted fat (clarified butter or rendered poultry fat) to seal them from the air, then stored in a refrigerator.
Because fat is what gives such satisfying flavor to this food, low-fat terrine is a contradiction in terms; people watching their fat consumption will want to eat these in small quantities.
Paul Bertolli, the chef at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., has found a proportion of between 20 and 25 percent fat in the mixture to be adequate.
Bertolli also has substituted chard leaves for the more traditional pork fatback or caul fat to line a terrine.
TERRINE OF PORK CHEZ PANISSE
12 to 14 servings
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours
8 ounces fresh pork fatback
2 1/2 pounds pork shoulder
7 ounces fresh pork liver, trimmed of all veins
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 shallots (4 ounces), finely diced
1 cup white bread crumbs
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cloves garlic, peeled, pounded in a mortar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup shelled pistachio nuts, parboiled 1 minute, skins removed
1/2 teaspoon each, finely ground: allspice, bay leaf, oregano, thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
3 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 to 10 large red or green chard leaves, parboiled 2 minutes, until limp
1. Slice fatback into thin strips and dice into uniform pieces, about 1/8 inch thick. Cut pork into thin strips and dice. Distribute fatback pieces on top of pork. Divide mixture in half on a chopping block and chop in two batches; chop until you have a varied forcemeat of fine and coarse bits of pork. When chopping, go over mixture with cleaver or knife several times, turning mixture with the blade, until you achieve the right consistency.
2. Slice liver; dice it; chop as finely as possible to a near-liquid consistency. Combine chopped meat and fat with liver in a large bowl.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat olive oil in a small saute pan, add shallots and saute gently 5 minutes without browning until they are soft.
4. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs and white wine and stir until crumbs are soaked. Add wine-soaked bread crumbs, softened shallots, garlic, parsley, pistachio nuts and all spices to the pork forcemeat and mix thoroughly by hand.
5. Line a 1 1/2-quart terrine or loaf mold with chard leaves: Cover the bottom with a large leaf and overlap the other leaves around the sides, allowing them to drape over the edge about 2 inches, trimming them if necessary. Pack forcemeat mixture into mold, mounding slightly, and fold leaves over top to enclose it. Rap bottom of mold against table to settle contents and place in a baking pan with enough water to come two-thirds of the way up the sides of the mold. Bake 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, or until a meat thermometer, inserted only as far as the center, reads 130 degrees.
6. Remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes. On the terrine, place a dish or flat board and, on top of that, a weight (a 2- or 3-pound can will do). Continue cooling at room temperature several hours. When cool and quite firm, remove weight, wrap terrine well and place in refrigerator to ripen a day or longer before serving.
The following is adapted from Paula Wolfert`s ”Cooking of Southwest France” (Doubleday, $24.95).
TERRINE DE CANETON A L`ANCIENNE
10 to 12 servings
Preparation time: 1 1/2 hours
Marinating time: 2 to 3 hours
Cooking time: 2 1/2 hours
1 duck, 4 1/2 pounds
8 ounces pork liver
1 medium-size carrot, scraped, coarsely chopped
1 medium-size turnip, peeled, coarsely chopped
1 medium-size onion, peeled, coarsely chopped
1 medium-size tomato, coarsely chopped
2 cups water
Herb bouquet (13 sprigs parsley, 2 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf and 1 leaf of fresh celery tied in cheesecloth)
2 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
10 or more dashes freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 cloves garlic, peeled, finely chopped
4 shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon or more quatre epices, made from 10 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 2/3 teaspoon ground ginger and 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
4 tablespoons Armagnac
4 ounces clarified butter or rendered chicken fat
1. Bone duck, or have butcher do it, scraping away meat and ligaments. Save bones, liver and skin. Discard sinews. In workbowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, puree all fat and a 4-by-5-inch piece of skin. Set aside.
2. Cut pork liver into small pieces. Process liver and duck meat briefly, using pulse button (you need not rinse bowl of food processor). Set aside.
3. Crack duck bones into small pieces and brown lightly in bits of duck fat in a medium-size skillet. Drain off any fat. Add carrot, turnip, onion, tomato, 2 cups water and the herb bouquet, heat to a boil and skim carefully. Lower heat and reduce liquid to 2 tablespoons of duck glaze; this will take about 45 minutes. Scrape glaze into a small bowl to cool. Discard solids in skillet.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine ground pork liver and duck meat, pureed skin and fat, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, freshly ground pepper, eggs, cream, garlic, shallots, parsley, quatre epices and freshly ground white pepper. Blend well.
5. Fold in reserved duck glaze. Pat mixture into a bowl and spread Armagnac on top. Let stand, uncovered, 2 to 3 hours at room temperature or, covered, overnight in the refrigerator. (Mixture should come to room temperature before proceeding with next step.)
6. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Stir mixture to loosen. Pack into a 1 3/
4-quart terrine or loaf pan. Smooth it down, cover with foil and set in a larger pan of hot water. Place on oven`s middle shelf and bake 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil covering, lower oven temperature to 225 degrees and bake 1 hour longer.
7. Remove terrine from oven and let cool 30 minutes. Cover with foil, a dish or flat board and, on top of this, a weight (a 2- or 3-pound can will do). Let cool. When completely cool, refrigerate. Remove weight the following day. Cover with melted butter or chicken fat to seal completely. Serve after three or four days. If well covered with fat, this will keep in refrigerator two weeks or more. Allow to come to room temperature before serving. –
