Chef John's Country-Style Pork Terrine (Pâté de Campagne)

Name: Chef John's Country-Style Pork Terrine (Pâté de Campagne)
Prep time: 1 h 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 45 min
Total time: 2 h 55 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 8 whole Bacon; 1 tsp Black Pepper; 0.33 cup Bread Crumbs; 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper; 4 oz Chicken Livers; 0.25 cup Cognac; 1 whole Diced Yellow Onion; 0.5 cup Dried Cherry; 2 whole Eggs; 0.33 cup Fresh Parsley; 1 tsp Ground Cloves; 1 tsp Ground Ginger; 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg; 0.5 cup Heavy Cream; 4 cloves Minced Garlic; 0.5 cup Pistachios; 5 tsp Salt; 1 whole Shallot; 4 oz Thick-Cut Bacon

Appetizer 🧄Side Dish 🥗Dinner 🍽️Lunch 🥪Snack 🍿 French 🇫🇷 Low-Carb Comfort-Food

Chef John's Country-Style Pork Terrine (Pâté de Campagne) brings a rich, rustic flavor with a harmonious blend of pork, duck, bacon, and chicken livers. Warm spices, cognac, and cream create a silky, aromatic bite, while cherries and pistachios add sweet-tart pops and crunch. Serve as an elegant appetizer or on a charcuterie board for dinner parties and holidays.

Prep1 hr 10 mins
Cook1 hr 45 mins
Serves12
DifficultyHard

1

Mix the cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl to make the spice mixture.
2

Put the pork shoulder, duck meat, chopped bacon, chicken livers, onion, shallot, parsley, cognac, salt, garlic, pepper, 3/4 teaspoon of the spice mixture, and pink curing salt into a large bowl. Mix well until evenly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
3

Whisk the cream, bread crumbs, and eggs together in a bowl.
4

Spread the pork mixture on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment. Freeze for 15 to 20 minutes to make grinding easier.
5

Grind the pork mixture into a bowl using the meat-grinder attachment on a stand mixer. Stir in the dried cherries and pistachios. Add the cream mixture and fold gently just until combined.
6

Lay bacon strips crosswise in a 9x5-inch loaf pan, letting the ends hang over the sides. Trim some strips to fit the ends of the pan.
7

Fill the pan to the top with the ground pork mixture and smooth the surface. Cover the top with strips of bacon. Fold the overhanging side bacon pieces over the top. Cover with a piece of parchment cut to fit the top of the pan, then wrap tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
8

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
9

Set the pan in a deep pot or Dutch oven. Pour in hot tap water until it reaches 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up the sides of the pan. Cover.
10

Bake in the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads 155 degrees F (68 degrees C), 1 3/4 to 2 hours.
11

Move the pan to a surface lined with paper towels to absorb moisture. If the mixture has risen above the top edge of the pan, press it down with a heavy pan. Remove the aluminum foil, leaving the parchment on top. Set the pan in a baking dish lined with paper towels. Cut a piece of cardboard slightly smaller than the top of the pan, wrap it in aluminum foil, place it on the parchment, and press down with weights such as canned food.
12

Refrigerate for at least 8 hours to chill and compress the pate.
13

To unmold the pate, pour very hot water into a large bowl. Dip the mold into the hot water for 1 to 2 seconds. Turn it out onto a dish lined with paper towels, then chill again before slicing.