Matthew's Country Terrine

by Matthew Shipman
(Austin, Tx)

Country Terrine…this is an adaptation of several terrine recipes I have used over the years.

1 cup shallot, roasted and minced
2 large cloves garlic, roasted and minced
1 T, chopped fresh Marjoram (or favorite herb)
1 T. kosher salt
1 t. fresh white pepper
½ t. fresh allspice
¼ t. fresh grated nutmeg
1 bay leaf, dried
½ C. heavy cream
2 FRESH eggs
2ozs. Decent brandy
½ lb. chicken livers, trimmed well-slight chop if you like
1lb. pork shoulder, ground
½ lb. pork fatback, ground
½ lb. turkey, ground
½ lb. roasted pork, turkey, ham or some kind of meat that can be cut into small cubes
Handful of your favorite nuts-pistachios are good-TOASTED
12 to 15 slices of bacon

Mix the first three ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Take the spices-salt to bay leaf-and put in the bowl of a spice grinder and grind until you have a fine powder. Set aside.

Separate the ground pork and the ground turkey.
Mix ¼ of the fatback in with the pork and ¾ of the fatback in with the turkey.

Mix the diced meat in with the pork and the chicken livers in with the turkey.

Mix the shallot, garlic and herb mix split between the two.

Mix the seasoning mix split between the two.
Mix the eggs, cream and brandy split between the two.

Mix the nuts into both layers.

Note: All this can be done very quickly, it is not necessary to do it step by step OR you can mix it all together for one single layer of terrine. Sometimes I will hard cook eggs and slice them between the layers but this will definitely cause a separation and make it tricky to handle.

Layer a terrine pan or a loaf pan with the pieces of bacon. Put them in sideways, where the pieces of bacon will hang out the sides of the pan. Then fill the pan with the terrine mixtures/mix. Fold the ends of the bacon back over the top to completely wrap the terrine.

Cover the terrine for 8 hours so it can marinate.

To Bake:
Pull the terrine from the refrigerator and let it come to room temp for at least an hour. Place your oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat your oven to 325*.

Unwrap the terrine and wrap with aluminum foil if using a loaf pan.

Place in oven in a water bath for about 2 hours, until a thermometer reads 155*, turn off oven and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Weighting the terrine:
Place a piece of parchment of wax paper over the terrine and place a brick, maybe 2 or some other heavy item on top of the terrine and leave in refrigerator for 24 hours.

To serve:
Run a knife around the perimeter of the mold and pop it out. Wipe away any excess “jelly”.
Serve with toast points, crackers, cornichons, mustard, on top of a salad, etc.

If you enjoyed this Terrine you may enjoy this recipe, also.

Chicken Livers Recipe

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