Terrines: Cold Pressing and Layering

Ingredients

• 1 kg pork shoulder or mixed pork and game, ground or finely chopped, fat content must reach 25–30% of total weight
• 250–300 g pork back fat or fatback, ground or diced fine; adjusted to bring total fat to 25–30%
• 200 g chicken livers, trimmed, roughly chopped; optional enrichment
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 15 g fine sea salt, seasoned 25–30% more aggressively than for a hot preparation
• 4 g black pepper, freshly ground, seasoned 25–30% more aggressively than for a hot preparation
• 2 g ground allspice or quatre-épices
• 60 ml dry white wine or Cognac
• For the bain-marie
• as needed boiling water, to fill roasting pan to half the depth of the terrine mould
• For pressing
• 1–2 kg weight (canned goods or a heavy board loaded with tins), fitted board cut to the interior dimensions of the mould

Method

1. 1
   Combine the ground meat, fat, livers if using, eggs, wine or Cognac, salt, pepper, and spice in a bowl. Mix firmly until the mass coheres. Pinch off a small piece, flatten it, and cook it in a dry pan until cooked through. Taste it cold — not warm. The seasoning must be assertive and fully present on a cold palate. Adjust salt and spice, then test again cold. The terrine is seasoned correctly when the cold test piece tastes vivid rather than flat.
2. 2
   Pack the seasoned farce tightly into the terrine mould, pressing down firmly with the back of a spoon or wet hand to eliminate air pockets. The surface should be level and compact. Tap the mould sharply on the work surface two or three times. The top is smooth and shows no cavities.
3. 3
   Set the filled mould in a deep roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the mould. Place in the oven at 160–170°C. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted at the centre reads 68–72°C. The surface will have shrunk slightly from the mould walls and a thin layer of rendered fat will be visible at the edges.
4. 4
   Lift the mould from the bain-marie immediately. Cut a board to fit the interior of the mould and lay it directly on the surface of the terrine. Place 1–2 kg of weight on top. The pressing must begin while the terrine is still hot; pressing a cold terrine will crack rather than compact it. Leave weighted at room temperature until the mould is no longer hot to the touch, then transfer — still weighted — to the refrigerator.
5. 5
   Refrigerate under weight for a minimum of 24 hours. The terrine is ready when it is completely and uniformly cold throughout, firm to the press of a finger, and resistant — it does not yield or spring back. Cutting before this point produces crumbling rather than clean slices.
6. 6
   To serve, remove the weight and board. Run a thin knife around the interior walls. Invert briefly to release if required, or serve directly from the mould in slices of 1–1.5 cm. Each slice should hold its shape cleanly on the blade and show a dense, uniform cross-section without fracture.