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1
The day before baking, bone the duck completely. Separate the breast fillets and leg meat. Reserve all remaining duck meat for the forcemeat. Combine the breast fillets, leg meat, Cognac, Madeira, salt, pepper, and quatre-épices in a non-reactive bowl. Turn the pieces to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The marinade should penetrate evenly; the meat will deepen slightly in colour.
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2
The day of baking, make the hot-water crust while the lard mixture is still hot. Melt 200 g lard in 200 ml hot water and pour it directly over 500 g flour sifted with 1 tsp salt. Add the egg and mix rapidly to a smooth, pliable dough. Do not allow the dough to cool before lining the mould — it becomes brittle. Work at once. Roll two-thirds of the dough to 5 mm minimum thickness and press it firmly into the hinged mould, allowing an overhang. Reserve the remaining third for the lid and decorative cut-outs. The dough should feel warm, smooth, and yielding — not sticky, not stiff.
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3
Grind the reserved duck meat and pork shoulder separately through a coarse plate (8 mm). Combine at 50:50 by weight, season with the reserved marinade liquor, and fold in the diced foie gras, pistachios, and truffles. The forcemeat should be coarse and cohesive — not a smooth paste, not crumbling apart. This is the critical preparation that binds the interior.
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4
Fill the lined mould in this order: a firm layer of forcemeat pressed flat; the marinated breast fillets laid centrally; a further layer of forcemeat; the leg meat; a final layer of forcemeat pressed firmly to eliminate air pockets. This is where the dish lives or dies — each layer must be pressed with conviction so no voids remain; voids will not be filled by gelée alone and will compromise both texture and the cross-section presentation.
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5
Roll the reserved dough to 5 mm and lay it as a lid. Trim, then crimp the edges firmly to seal. Brush the entire surface with beaten egg wash. Apply pastry cut-outs — leaves, flowers, or other ornament — and brush those too. Cut a chimney hole at the centre and insert a tube of rolled foil or a pastry chimney extending 2 cm above the crust. The surface should be uniformly gold and glossy after egg wash, with decoration adhering cleanly.
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6
Place the mould on a baking tray and bake at 180 °C for 2 to 2.5 hours. Check with a probe thermometer through the chimney: the interior must reach 72 °C. At that point the crust will be deep amber-gold and firm to the touch; a thin skewer inserted and held 5 seconds will emerge hot. Do not overbake — the crust dries and the meat tightens beyond recovery.
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7
Remove from the oven and allow the pâté to cool to room temperature in the mould. Once fully cool, pour warm clarified stock through the chimney in three additions over approximately 2 hours, allowing each addition to partially set before introducing the next. The stock seeps into all spaces between meat and crust and will set as a clear gelée. When no further stock is absorbed, the pâté is ready for refrigeration. Refrigerate for a full 24 hours — the gelée must set completely and the flavours must meld. The exterior will feel firmly set and cold; the chimney will show a level, set surface of gelée.
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8
Unmould by releasing the hinge or springform clasp. The crust should stand fully self-supporting. Serve cold, sliced with a sharp carving knife. Each slice must reveal: the golden crust at the perimeter, the clear gelée layer within, the coarse forcemeat studded with green pistachios and dark truffle, and the pink Cognac-marinated duck breast and leg meat at the centre. Accompany with cornichons.