Charcutepalooza August Challenge: Binding–Chicken Liver Terrine

This month’s charcutepalooza challenge is binding. After several months of making sausages, it was nice to make something that is easy and straightforward, and also delicious. I chose to make liver terrine. Making this is fairly easy, as long as all ingredients are kept cold. Another great thing is that most of the ingredients are inexpensive. I used Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s recipe for Chicken Liver and Apple Terrine and substituted the armagnac with brandy because I had brandy at home. The only difficult part is waiting for the terrine to jell in the refrigerator before you can taste it.

This was a lot of chicken terrine for one person, so I shared with several friends. They were all surprised that it tasted just as good as any store-bought chicken liver terrine.

It is nice to serve this with something acidic such as cornichons, and something sweet, such as sweet jam or jelly. Since the chicken liver terrine itself is so easy to make, I decided to make some crackers and apple jelly to go along with it.

I love the texture of Ritz crackers, and wanted to try recreating them at home. Using whole wheat flour and flax seeds gives them an earthy taste. And the thyme and crushed pink peppercorns make them more savory.

Homemade Wheat/Flax “Ritz” Crackers
(Inspired by recipe from Cupcake Project)

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons finely crushed pink peppercorns
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 tablespoons canola oil (or olive oil if you’d like them to taste like olive oil)
2/3 cup cold water
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, for brushing
Flaky sea salt

Procedure:
1. In a bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, ground flax, baking powder, salt, thyme, and pink pepper. Whisk until combined.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour mixture and butter cubes. Pulse until you obtain the texture of coarse meal. Add the oil while pulsing, and then add the water while pulsing. The dough should come together into a ball. Turn out on the counter, press together into a rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
3. Line 2 cookie sheets with a silicon mat or parchment paper and set aside. Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
4. Cut dough into 4 sections. Work with one section at a time while keeping the rest refrigerated. Very lightly flour your work surface and rolling-pin with all-purpose flour. Roll dough out into 1/8 inch thickness. Using a 2 inch round cookie cutter, cut rounds and place on the lined cookie sheet using a small offset spatula. Freeze crackers for 5 minutes. Remove from the freezer and using the back of a wooden skewer make 5 holes in each cracker. Brush crackers with melted butter, sprinkle with flaky sea salt, and bake for 12-15 minutes. Baking time will depend on how thin your crackers are.

Apple Jelly
(Recipe from Mes Confitures)

Ingredients:
3 1/3 pounds Granny Smith apples, stems removed
4 2/3 cups granulated sugar
6 1/3 cups water

Procedure:
1. Quarter the apples, place them in a pan and add the water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes .
2. Pour the mixture through a fine strainer, pressing on the apple solids. Filter liquid through a jelly bag or through several layers of cheesecloth.
3. Measure 4 ½ cups of liquid into a pan, add the sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, skimming as necessary. Pour into prepared jars and seal in a water bath for 15 minutes.

Cracker spread with chicken liver terrine, a bit of apple jelly, sliced cornichon, and crushed pink peppercorns.