I have never been a fan of liver. Therefore, I haven't attempted pate until now. Let me just say, this recipe appeals to lovers of liver and non-lovers. Give it a try to expand your culinary horizons. I did, and am grateful for the effort. There are a lot of different spices in the recipe. Take the effort to make sure you have them all on hand. Each one adds some complexity to the pate.
The recipe below is adapted from the Olympia Provisions American Charcuterie cookbook. If you every see Olympia Provisions brand charcuterie at your local deli/butcher get some. Its worth it. I love their Salami Cotto.
Ingredients:
3 lbs. Boneless pork shoulder
1/2 lb. pork liver
3 slices of non crusty bread cut into ~1 inch square pieces
1/8 cup skim milk
1/8 cup cream (we don't drink whole milk at home, hence the skim milk and cream)
Olive oil for the frying pan
1/2 head of garlic chopped
1 shallot minced
1 small onion minced
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp. cognac
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
Pinch of cloves
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of ground ginger
2 tbsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. Prague powder #1
2/3 cup whole shelled pistachios
6 slices of prosciutto
Steps:
1. Chill your meats together in the freezer while you setup your grinder with the coarse dia and make your panade.
2. Make the panade by mixing in a bowl the bread, milk and cream with your hands. Put in the refrigerator for 40 minutes to allow the liquid to soak into the bread.
3. In a small frying pan over low heat, cook the onions, shallots and garlic in olive oil until they soften, about 6 minutes. Add the thyme, parsley and cognac and cook for another 4 minutes. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and allow to chill for 5 minutes. Then mix in with the panade from step 2. Return this to the refrigerator.
4. Mix all the remaining spices, and prague powder (not the pistachios) together so is well mixed and then hand mix this into the meat that was in the freezer chilling.
5. Grind the meat and liver into a large bowl. Then using your hands mix in the bread panade with the meat for about 2 minutes. Ensure the the bread, meat and spices look evenly mixed. Finally mix in the pistachios and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours to all the cure to work.
6. The next day preheat the over to 300 Degrees F. Get a large teapot boiling with water and leave simmering.
7. Spray a 4x12 inch terrine pan with cooking spray. Cut a piece of cardboard slightly smaller than the top of terrine so it fits into it. This will be used help press down on the pate.
8. Use your prosciutto slices to line the terrine bottom and sides. Add the pate mixture and press it firmly into the terrine to remove any air pockets. You can also pound the terrine on a strong surface to help get out air. Fold over any prosciutto that overhands on top of the meat mixture. Cover the terrine with tinfoil.
9. Place the terrine in the middle of a large roasting pan. Carefully pour the simmering water from the tea pot into the roasting pan until it comes 2/3s the way up the side of the terrine. Cover the whole roasting pan with a lid or tinfoil and place in the oven. Check the pate temperature after 1 1/2 hours in the oven. The pate is finished when the center is at 155 Degrees F. If it needs more time, check the temperature every 15 minutes. When done remove from the oven.
10. Take the terrine out of the roasting pan and empty the water from the roasting pan. Now fill the pan 1/2 with ice and nestle the terrine in the ice. You need to put a weight on top of the terrine to make sure it stays firm. So take the cardboard cutout that you made earlier and place it on top of the terrine. Then find some heavy cans or weights to keep on it in the refrigerator for the next 3 hours.
11. Your pate is now ready to serve. You can cut slices, or invert on a serving platter. It should gently slide out of the terrine. Enjoy!