A French Classic for a Very Good Reason.
I’ve long wanted to make this kind of pâté and finally got around to doing so. This is the kind of cooking project that I love. Nothing is complicated, but it has to sit for 4 days to cure after it’s been baked. The anticipation of eating a slab of country pâté is enough to keep me happy for days and is part of the fun.
I had a bag of foie gras slices from D’Artagnan Foods sitting in my freezer and knew this would be a good way to use some of them. After looking at multiple recipes, I came up with this one. I didn’t want to stray too far from the memory of the one I ate in Paris a few years ago.
I began by cutting up pork belly, pork shoulder, and foie gras into small pieces and letting them sit overnight with salt, sugar, some spices, curing salt, cognac and Calvados.
The next morning, I added panade (bread soaked with milk) and an egg before putting it all through my meat grinder. I then mixed in some chopped pistachios. After that I lined a pullman loaf pan with strips of bacon, spread in the meat mixture and covered it all with the overhanging bacon.
At this point it was ready to be placed into a large roasting pan into which I added boiling water and baked for a little over an hour until the center reached 155°.
After it had cooled down, I placed heavy cans on top of it and chilled it for 24 hours, at which time I removed the weights and let it chill for another 3 days in order to ripen.
What you see here is the end result and I couldn’t be more thrilled. It’s everything I want in a good country pâté. The flavor of the foie gras fully permeates it, yet the pork holds its own, too. If you’re a pâté loving person, you’ll get where I’m coming from. I fantasized that I was sitting in a bistro in France when I ate this meal. If only!
Pork and Foie Gras Country Pâté
20
servingsA French inspired and bacon wrapped pork shoulder, pork belly, and foie gras country pâté with Calvados and pistachios.
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Ingredients
2 pounds pork belly
1 pound pork shoulder
1 pound foie gras
4 teaspoons Morton’s Kosher Salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon black pepper, coarsely ground
1/2 teaspoon finely ground longpepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Calabrian chili powder
3/4 teaspoon pink curing salt #1
1/4 cup cognac
1/4 cup Calvados
3.5 ounces panade (milk soaked bread)
1 egg
1/2 cup roughly chopped pistachios
20 strips of thin cut bacon
Directions
- Chop the pork belly, pork shoulder, and foie gras into 1/2 inch cubes. Put into a large bowl and stir in the next 12 ingredients. Cover and let sit over night. The next morning, stir in the panade and the egg. Make sure your meat grinder attachments are well chilled and grind all the meat mixture on the medium blade of the grinder. Stir in the pistachios.
- Preheat the oven to 350° with a rack in the center.
- Line a large terrine or pullman loaf pan (13 x 4 x 4 inches) with the slices of bacon, letting them overhang the sides by about 2 to 3 inches. Spoon in the meat mixture and cover the top with the overhanging strips of bacon. Place into a large roasting pan, put into the oven and and add boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the pan/terrine. Bake for about an hour and 10 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer registers 155° in the center of the pâté. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.
- Cover the top of the pan/terrine with plastic wrap and place either heavy cans or a brick on top in order to compress the pâté. Allow to chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Remove the weights and let it chill for another 3 days in order to cure. Remove from the refrigerator and turn out the terrine. Slice into 1/2 inch thick slabs and serve with slices of baguette, cornichons, mustard, chutney, etc. Enjoy!
Equipment
- Large Terrine or Pan - 13 x 13 x 4 inches
- Meat Grinder