Country Pate Christmas Meatloaf Recipes

COUNTRY PATE

Steps:

• Trim veal or chicken and pork of excess fat and tendons. Skin fatback. Cut into 1 inch cubes and pass through largest hole of a meat grinder. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in salt, pepper, and applejack. Cover with plastic wrap touching the mixture and refrigerate at least 1 day or as long as 3.
• After marinating, heat oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Saute livers until well browned, about 1 minute per side. Remove from pan and set aside to cool. Add garlic and cook about 1/2 minute, being careful not to let it color. Reserve garlic with liver.
• Add brandy and bay leaves to same skillet. Scrape bottom of pan to loosen brown bits and cook over low heat until warm, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool and remove and discard bay leaves.
• Dip white bread in warm water to soften. Squeeze out excess moisture. Add to the liver and garlic along with 2 cups marinated ground meat, allspice, nutmeg, and brandy. Stir to combine.
• Transfer to a food processor, add eggs, and puree until a smooth paste is formed. This paste will bind the pate. Place puree in a large bowl, add remaining ground meat, and combine well. (We recommend using your hands, not a spoon, to combine this dense mixture.)
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Line a 9 by 5 by 3 inch glass or ceramic loaf pan with bacon slices so they overhang lengthwise, about 3 inches on each end. Slice ham and tongue into 4 by 1/2 by 1/2 inch julienne strips.
• Spread about a cup of pate evenly over the bacon to cover the bottom. Arrange alternating strips of ham and tongue lengthwise, over the pate. Repeat this procedure, alternating pate with strips
• of ham and tongue, until pan is filled and top layer is pate. (When the loaf is sliced you will see a regular pattern of solids and pate.) Fold overhanging bacon over the top. (The pate may rise slightly over the top of the pan. That's OK.)
• Tap pan against a counter to firmly pack. Garnish top with bay leaves and garlic cloves. Cover with 2 layers aluminum foil, tucking edges under to completely seal. Place inside a larger pan and pour in boiling water until it rises halfway up the sides of the pate. Bake 2 hours 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Place cooled pate on a baking sheet and cover with another baking sheet. Top with some 3 pounds of weights (canned goods or milk cartons are good) and refrigerate overnight or as long as 2 weeks. This compacts the pate and makes it easier to slice.
• To serve, remove and discard the bay leaf and garlic garnish. To loosen, dip pan's bottom in warm water and run a knife along inside edges. Invert onto a serving platter. Cut into 1/2 inch slices and serve on lettuce leaves.

RUSTIC FRENCH MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475°F with rack in middle.
• Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl.
• Cook onion, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in oil in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly.
• Purée livers in a blender, then transfer to a large bowl. Add pork, veal, prunes, pistachios, thyme, eggs, bread-crumb mixture, onion mixture, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and gently mix with your hands until just combined.
• Transfer meatloaf mixture to an 81/2- by 41/2-inch glass loaf pan (see cooks' note, below) and bake, covered with foil, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 165°F, 50 to 55 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes. Cover top of meatloaf with parsley before slicing.
• Serve with:
• buttered boiled potatoes

COUNTRY PâTé

Steps:

• Prepare ground meat Heat the oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent, stirring constantly to prevent browning, about 6 minutes. Place in a large mixing bowl to cool. Meanwhile, grind the meats on medium speed with the fine die, making sure not to put too much meat into the feed tube at once. Grind the fatback first, before it becomes too warm, followed by the chicken livers, then the raw meats. Grind the cooked ham last (it has the firmest texture and least amount of fat and will be able to grind well even though the grinder parts are no longer as cold).
• Add shallots and garnishes Stir in the shallots, along with all of the garnishes, except the bay leaves. Add 2 teaspoons salt and mix to evenly distribute. To test for seasoning, heat some oil in a small skillet and cook a small amount of pâté mixture thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning, if desired.
• Prepare mold Heat oven to 400°F with rack in center. Line a 1 1/2-quart, 4 by 13-inch terrine with bacon, slightly overlapping the pieces and leaving an overhang of about 4 inches on one side (most likely you will need to use one whole piece and a half piece laid end to end, in order to have a piece long enough to line mold with desired overhang).
• Fill mold Bring a medium pot of water to a boil while you fill the mold. Spoon some of the meat mixture in the bottom of the mold and press firmly into the corners. Continue with remaining meat, making sure to distribute it firmly and evenly as you work so there are no gaps or air bubbles. When all meat is in the mold, press to flatten meat evenly. Fold over bacon, beginning with the long sides first, then the short ends. Arrange bay leaves on top. Cover with terrine lid.
• Bake Place terrine in a roasting pan and add boiling water until the level reaches halfway up the sides of the terrine. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted near the middle registers 165°F, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Compress pâté Cut a piece of cardboard to fit the interior of the terrine mold. Wrap cardboard tightly in aluminum foil. Remove terrine from roasting pan. Remove lid, and place terrine on wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet. Place prepared cardboard on top of the terrine. Weight with canned items or other heavy objects. (This will allow excess fat to spill over the sides of the terrine as the pâté compresses.) Refrigerate terrine for 8 hours. (Terrine can be refrigerated up to 3 days; remove cardboard and weight after 8 hours, then cover tightly with lid or plastic wrap.)
• Unmold pâté Unmold terrine by inverting onto a platter or cutting board. If necessary, dip terrine in warm water and run a paring knife around edge to loosen before inverting.
• Serve With a serrated knife, cut pâté into 1/2-inch-thick slices, and serve with toasted baguette slices, grainy mustard, and cornichons.
• You will need a 1 1/2-quart terrine that is about 4 by 13 inches. The terrine is lined with bacon in the recipe below to add another layer of flavor; be sure there is adequate overhang on one long side of the dish, so you can wrap it over the top of the mixture, covering the entire surface.

COUNTRY TERRINE

Steps:

• Assemble and marinate terrine:
• Cook onion in butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl set in a bowl of ice.
• While onion cools, pulse salt, peppercorns, allspice, nutmeg, and bay leaf in grinder until finely ground. Add to onion mixture and whisk in cream, eggs, and brandy until combined well.
• Pulse chicken livers in a food processor until finely chopped, then add to onion mixture along with ground pork and veal and mix together well with your hands or a wooden spoon. Stir in ham cubes.
• Line bottom and long sides of terrine mold crosswise with about 6 to 9 strips of bacon, arranging them close together (but not overlapping) and leaving a 1/2- to 2-inch overhang. Fill terrine evenly with ground-meat mixture, rapping terrine on counter to compact it (it will mound slightly above edge). Cover top of terrine lengthwise with 2 or 3 more bacon slices if necessary to cover completely, and fold overhanging ends of bacon back over these. Cover terrine with plastic wrap and chill at least 8 hours to marinate meats.
• Bake terrine:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.
• Discard plastic wrap and cover terrine tightly with a double layer of foil.
• Bake terrine in a water bath until thermometer inserted diagonally through foil at least 2 inches into center of terrine registers 155 to 160°F, 1 3/4 to 2 hours. Remove foil and let terrine stand in mold on a rack, 30 minutes.
• Weight terrine:
• Put terrine in mold in a cleaned baking pan. Put a piece of parchment or wax paper over top of terrine, then place on top of parchment another same-size terrine mold or a piece of wood or heavy cardboard cut to fit inside mold and wrapped in foil. Put 2 to 3 (1-pound) cans on terrine or on wood or cardboard to weight cooked terrine. Chill terrine in pan with weights until completely cold, at least 4 hours. Continue to chill terrine, with or without weights, at least 24 hours to allow flavors to develop.
• To serve:
• Run a knife around inside edge of terrine and let stand in mold in a pan with 1 inch of hot water (to loosen bottom) 2 minutes. Tip terrine mold (holding terrine) to drain excess liquid, then invert a cutting board over terrine, reinvert terrine onto cutting board, and gently wipe outside of terrine (bacon strips) with a paper towel. Let terrine stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving, then transfer to a platter if desired and cut, as needed, into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

COUNTRY PATE (CHRISTMAS MEATLOAF)

Steps:

• Combine 11 first ingredients. Add to ground meats, mixing very well. Press mixture into 9" x 5" x 3" pan that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350 F for 1 1/2 hours.
• Let cool slightly and uncover, pouring off drippings. Cover with foil. Put heavy food cans inside another 9x5x3 pan. Place this pan on top of pate and chill overnight.
• Remove weights and foil Loosen sides if necessary and invert onto serving platter. (Can also be wrapped in plastic wrap and chilled 2 days.) Cut pate into thin slices and serve with "Cranberry Toast.".