Terrine de Campagne — Country Terrine

Ingredients

• 1 kg coarse forcemeat (pâté de campagne mix — pork shoulder, belly, and liver), seasoned, ready to pack
• 200 g blanched streaky bacon rashers or caul fat, enough to line the mould with overhang to fold over the top
• For the garnish inlay
• 100 g chicken or pork liver, trimmed, left in whole pieces or cut into strips
• 50 g shelled pistachios, or strips of cooked ham — as preferred
• To serve
• 1 quantity cornichons
• 1 quantity Dijon mustard
• 1 quantity country bread, sliced
• Optional — to seal
• 100 g clarified fat, poured over cooled surface to seal; extends refrigerator life to 10 days

Method

1. 1
   Heat the oven to 160 °C. Place a folded tea towel in the base of a deep roasting tray; set the empty terrine mould on top. Line the mould with the blanched bacon rashers or caul fat, draping them across the base and up the sides with enough overhang to fold back over the top. The lining should be continuous, with no gaps.
2. 2
   Pack one third of the seasoned forcemeat firmly into the mould, pressing it down with the back of a spoon to expel air pockets. Lay the liver strips, pistachios, or ham strips along the centre as the inlay. Cover with the remaining forcemeat, again pressing firmly and evenly. The surface should be level. This is where the terrine lives or dies: every air pocket left in the forcemeat will appear as an unsightly hole in the finished slice; pack with deliberate, sustained pressure.
3. 3
   Fold the overhanging bacon or caul fat back over the surface to cover completely. Place the lid on the mould, or seal tightly with aluminium foil. Set the tray in the oven and pour hot water into the tray until it reaches two-thirds of the way up the sides of the mould.
4. 4
   Bake at 160 °C until the internal temperature of the forcemeat reaches 68 °C, checked through a gap in the lid with an instant-read thermometer. At this point the juices running from the terrine will be clear rather than pink.
5. 5
   Remove the terrine from the bain-marie. Place a board directly on the surface and set a 1 kg weight on top. Cool at room temperature, then transfer — still weighted — to the refrigerator. Leave overnight. The forcemeat will be dense, cohesive, and fully contracted from the mould walls when pressed.
6. 6
   If sealing for extended keeping, pour a thin layer of clarified fat over the cooled surface before covering; this preserves the terrine for up to 10 days under refrigeration. Otherwise, refrigerate uncovered for a minimum of 48 hours and ideally 2–3 days before serving. The flavour will deepen and the aroma will be rounded and fully melded when the terrine is ready.
7. 7
   To serve, bring the terrine to cool room temperature. Slice with a sharp, thin-bladed knife dipped in hot water between each cut. Each slice should show a clean cross-section: caul fat or bacon exterior, dense forcemeat, and the central inlay. Accompany with cornichons, Dijon mustard, and country bread.