A delicious starter for any occasion

SERVES: 8
PREP TIME: 20 mins
COOKING TIME: 1 hr
DIFFICULTY: easy
IDEAL FOR: family, crowds, Christmas, New Year party, dinner party
BUDGET: £

Pâté vs terrine. Is there a difference?

Yes.

They are not the same thing.

The paté is much smoother than the terrine on the right

Pâté

Pâté means “paste”.

A pâté is usually made from duck or chicken liver.

And are a much finer, silkier texture and you can pop them any dish.

Tim and I made chicken liver pâté for starters at our wedding.

We used Kilner jars and left them on each table for people to tuck in. Worked a treat.

Terrine

A terrine is like casserole i.e. It means both the dish it’s cooked in and the name of the dish

The dish originates in France and the translation of terrine is “large earthenware pot”.

Traditionally, the dish is in the shape of the animal of the ingredients used but more often than not, they are deep, rectangular, straight-sided dishes.

You use much chunkier meat from pork hock, diced lamb leg meat, duck breast or minced pork.

Just to be confusing, pâté can be a part of a terrine as a layer.

The different methods terrines and pâtés are cooked

A pâté is cooked in a pan, then blended until you get that silky texture.

A terrine is a mixture of coarse meat and cooked in a bain-marie.

The terrine is much coarser meat and is then wrapped in it’s terrine dish and put into a bain-marie and into the oven to cook

What are the ingredients in a terrine

Game and pork are the best ingredients for a terrine.

And added to them are spices like allspice, juniper, mace, then some booze like port or brandy.

Beef doesn’t work nor does chicken.

How should I serve a terrine?

Serve with crusty or fresh bread and gherkins or cornichons, chutney, relish… whatever you have in the fridge and cupboard but the main ingredient…

Friends and family.

And wine 😉

My friends at Michael Sutton Cellar recommend a chilled Chardonnay with the pork terrine.

An an off-dry Riesling with a chicken liver pâté.

Yum. Enjoy.

Print Pin

Rustic country terrine (pork)

Course Snack

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings 8 people

Cost £

Equipment

23 x 9 x 7.5cm terrine mould
Roasting dish (to act as the bain marie)
Food processor if chopping your own meat rather than asking your butcher
Temperature probe (this is a good investment to have in your cooking drawer)

Ingredients

250 g Boned pork shoulder, cut into 3cm dice or ask your butcher to mince to a coarse texture (easy option) try for locally sourced produce
250 g Boned belly of pork, cut into 3cm dice or ask your butcher to mince to a coarse texture (easy option) try for locally sourced produce
250 g Smoked streaky bacon, cut into 3cm dice or ask your butcher to mince to a coarse texture (easy option) try for locally sourced produce
300 g Pigs liver, cut into 3cm dice try for locally sourced produce
1 medium organic or free range egg
6 pinches of salt
1 pinch of freshly ground black pepper
4 Juniper berries, crushed
2 pinches of Five-spice powder
1/2 tsp Fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
50 ml cognac
20 g Pistachios or almonds or hazelnuts
1 fresh bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme

Instructions

Put your oven on to pre-heat it to 160C
To chop the meat… (I usually ask the butcher to coarsely mince it so have no need for this step) use your food processor on pulse.
Add the diced pork shoulder and pulse until a coarse texture. The remove to a large bowl.
Repeat with the belly pork, bacon and liver.
Then combine all the meats together in the bowl.
Add the egg, salt, pepper, juniper berries, five-spice, thyme, nuts, cognac and mix well.
Tip the mix into your terrine dish and with a spoon, press and pack the meat mix into the dish. Make sure it's compact and there are no air pockets.
Place the bay leaf and thyme sprigs in the top and press them in a little.
Cover the terrine loosely with a piece of greaseproof buttered paper. Then put the terrine dish in the roasting tin.
Place in the oven and then pour boiling water into the roasting tin until it's approx 2/3's of the way up the side of the terrine dish.
Leave to cook for 1 hour
The terrine should be cooked when the inside is at 65 – 70C and should have a slightly rounded top (it's worth investing in a temperature probe to check this and use it on many other dishes).
Once cooked, leave to cook at room temperature for around 2 hours. Ideally, leave for 2 days in the fridge to mature (make sure you wrap it in cling film first).
Serve with fresh crusty bread.

Notes

TIP:

To remove the terrine from the dish, dip a knife into hot water (or hold the blade over a gas flame and slide it down the sides to loosen it. Then turn the dish upside down and tap the base to free it.

Inspired by Raymond Blanc’s Pate de Campagne

Do you have another great recipe for a terrine? Drop me a line…