Country Pate
Serves 18
Recipe By: Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken
1 pound Lean veal or chicken -- plus
1 ounce Lean veal or chicken
8 ounces Lean pork
14 ounces Fatback
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Freshly-ground white pepper
1/2 cupApplejack, calvados, or brandy
1 tablespoonVegetable oil
4 ounces Chicken livers -- trimmed
1 tablespoon Pureed garlic
1/4 cup Brandy
2 1/2 Bay leaves
1 slice Day old white bread -- crusts removed
2 teaspoons Ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon Freshly-grated nutmeg
3 small Eggs
1/2 pound Bacon -- sliced
1/4 pound Baked ham
1/4 pound Pickled tongue
4 Bay leaves -- for garnish
5 Garlic cloves -- peeled
Trim veal or chicken and pork of excess fat and tendons. Skin
fatback. Cut into 1-inch cubes and pass through largest hole of a
meat grinder. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in salt, pepper, and
applejack. Cover with plastic wrap touching the mixture and
refrigerate at least 1 day or as long as 3 to marinate.
After marinating, heat oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Saute
livers until well browned, about 1 minute per side. Remove from pan
and set aside to cool. Add garlic and cook about 1/2 minute, being
careful not to let it color. Reserve garlic with liver.
Add brandy and bay leaves to same skillet. Scrape bottom of pan to
loosen brown bits and cook over low heat until warm, about 5
minutes. Set aside to cool and remove and discard bay leaves.
Dip white bread in warm water to soften. Squeeze out excess
moisture. Add to the liver and garlic along with 2 cups marinated
ground meat, allspice, nutmeg, and brandy. Stir to combine.
Transfer to a food processor, add eggs, and puree until a smooth
paste is formed. This paste will bind the pate. Place puree in a
large bowl, add remaining ground meat, and combine well. (We
recommend using your hands, not a spoon, to combine this dense mixture.)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9- by 5- by 3-inch glass or
ceramic loaf pan with bacon slices so they overhang lengthwise, about
3 inches on each end. Slice ham and tongue into 4- by 1/2- by 1/2-
inch julienne strips.
Spread about a cup of pate evenly over the bacon to cover the
bottom. Arrange alternating strips of ham and tongue lengthwise,
over the pate. Repeat this procedure, alternating pate with strips
of ham and tongue, until pan is filled and top layer is pate. (When
the loaf is sliced you will see a regular pattern of solids and
pate.) Fold overhanging bacon over the top. (The pate may rise
slightly over the top of the pan. That's OK.)
Tap pan against a counter to firmly pack. Garnish top with bay
leaves and garlic cloves. Cover with 2 layers aluminum foil, tucking
edges under to completely seal. Place inside a larger pan and pour
in boiling water until it rises halfway up the sides of the pate.
Bake 2 hours 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Place cooled pate on a baking sheet and cover with another baking
sheet. Top with some 3 pounds of weights (canned goods or milk
cartons are good) and refrigerate overnight or as long as 2 weeks.
This compacts the pate and makes it easier to slice.
To serve, remove and discard the bay leaf and garlic garnish. To
loosen, dip pan's bottom in warm water and run a knife along inside
edges. Invert onto a serving platter. Cut into 1/2-inch slices and
serve on lettuce leaves.
This recipe yields 1 loaf or 18 appetizer servings.
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