Charcuterpalooza September Challenge: Paté Campagne

This month’s charcutepalooza challenge is packing. I was surprised at how easy this was to make, and how delicious the end product was. You basically mix a few ingredients together, pack them really well into the terrine, bake it in a water bath, and refrigerate the weighted terrine overnight to let the flavors develop.

I wanted to try to re-create the delicious paté grand-pere that I tried at Bar Boulud in NYC. This was a coarse ground paté with pieces of foie gras, ham, and truffle.

You can get several different types of paté at Épicerie Boulud, an eat and take out market right next to Bar Boulud.

While in NYC I also had the opportunity to visit New Amsterdam Market. I was lucky to go the day that they hold their ice-cream social. You buy a ticket, proceeds of which go towards the New Amsterdam Market, and you get tickets that are valid for mini-ice cream cones:

I got the main ingredient for my paté at the New Amsterdam Market. I wanted to start with the best pork shoulder I could think of: mangalitsa pork shoulder from Mosefund Farms. I had a chance to meet Michael Clampffer and see photos of his adorable mangalitsa piglets.

How did it come out? Absolutely delicious. The flavor was amazing. I served it alongside a green salad lightly dressed with a simple vinaigrette of toasted walnut oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, and Dijon mustard. I will definitely be making this again and experimenting with different interior garnishes. Next time I will mince the meat in a food processor, or by hand. I would have preferred a coarser texture.

Pate Campagne
(Adapted from Charcuterie)
1/2 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons shallots, separated (2 and 2)
1 tablespoon cognac
1 lb pork shoulder, diced (and very very cold)
4 tablespoons shallots, separated
2 ounces chicken liver
4 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
½ tablespoon thyme leaves, finely minced
3 tablespoons garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ heaping teaspoon paté spice (Bryan Polcyn’s version from Charcuterie plus a dash of cayenne pepper)
Panade:
1 tablespoon AP flour
1 tablespoon cognac
¼ cup heavy cream
Add in garnishes:
2 ounces foie gras
2 ounces ham (cured and smoked), cut into ½ inch pieces
Truffle shavings
1. Sear foie gras and cook part of the shallots: In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Quickly sear the foie gras, and remove to a plate. Place in the refrigerator. Remove most of the fat from the skillet, leaving about 1 teaspoon. Cook 2 tablespoons of shallots until soft, deglaze with 1 tablespoon cognac and let most of the liquid evaporate. Place cooked shallots on a container and put in the refrigerator to chill.
2. Grind the meat: Grind the pork shoulder through the coarse grinding disk. Take about ½ cup of the ground pork and mix in the cooked shallots, raw shallots, chicken liver, flat leaf parsley, thyme, garlic, kosher salt, black pepper, and paté spice. Grind this mixture through the coarse die. Combine this with the rest of the ground pork. Refrigerate for 1 hour or up to overnight.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 300°F.
4. Make the panade: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 tablespoon of cognac, and heavy cream.
5. Mix pate mixture with panade: in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the pate mixture and the panade on low for 1 minute, or until the mixture appears to be very sticky. You can also do this by hand with a sturdy wooden spoon. Take out the foie gras from the fridge and dice into ½ inch pieces. Fold the foie gras, the ham, and the truffle shavings into the pork mixture and ensure that everything is evenly distributed. Do a quenelle test and check for seasoning.
6. Place the mixture into a 3/4 quart terrine mold tablespoon by tablespoon, pressing down as you add it to ensure that there is no air in the mixture. Cover the top of the pate with parchment paper, and then with foil.
7. Place terrine mold into a large roasting pan, and place in the oven. Add hot water halfway up the sides of the terrine. Cook until the terrine is 160°F.
8. Let cool. Place in the refrigerator and place some weight on top of the terrine to compact it for 24 hours.

Some additional notes:
• I added 1/8 teaspoon of pink salt to my pate, a friend’s recommendation. I didn’t think it did much so I omitted it from the recipe. But that is the reason why my pate looks really pink.
• I would definitely let this rest for 48 hours after baking and cooking instead of just 24. I think it would really help to compact it and make neater slices.
• Next time I will cut up the interior garnishes into 1 inch pieces or larger, so that they are better appreciated in the slices.
• When cutting the pate, use a slicing knife if you have one. Clean the knife after each slice to reduce drag.
• Do not skip the quenelle test! I sprinkled the mixture with a little bit more salt after my quenelle test.