407 replies to this topic

[racheld]

I've just now devoured this thread, from beginning to end, and this is just amazing. All the different combinations, the colours, the slices which fall perfectly from the knife---I'd be SURE to put in something which was just a little stronger than the other bits and it would fight the blade and give me raggedy presentation. I've longed to make one of these since I saw Julia Child demonstrate "turning the case" on her longago PBS series.

She stuck those big hands into that hunk of pastry like a laundress turning a skirt to iron, maneuvered it a bit like a stubborn puppet, and it turned into a neatly-formed pillowcase fitted into the pan, a perfectly-behaved outer shell for a lovely terrine. I could not fathom at the time why she didn't use perfectly good air time to demonstrate a new sauce, a saute' or a braise---that too-much demonstration which would not fit into a viewer's home kitchen seemed a bit of frivolity, just at that moment. I did not reckon on the power of the appetites to come to the fore in just a few short food-years, nor those lurking in front of other screens in other places, hungry for the creating as much as for the eating.

I read too many historical novels, in which the housemistress always had a decorated pye ready for even the finickiest, most jaded of guests, who were always informed that it was from her own hand. Those pheasant molds and faded loaf-pans and lids shaped like graceful rabbits, all the arsenal of terrine-making---they're part of the special cookware, drawn down like a pudding-mold or an ice-cream shell, just for haughty occasions, and bespeaking great care and honor done a guest.

These are all just perfect, and shine like jewels on the plate. It's nice to see that some jewels can be had by anyone with the time and will, and soon that's gonna be me.

[MobyP]

Moby, your terrine is lovely. I'm especially enamoured with the cabbage exterior, which I think would be more appealing to my American, unsophisticated friends than caul fat. Did the cabbage give you any troubles in the slicing/presentation?

No. I just pulled off the first few layers of leaves, cut out the central ribs, and blanched for about 1 - 2 minutes.

I forgot to mention, I lined the terrine mold with about three layers of cling film (saran wrap?). As the temperature was kept low, and would never go above 110, it was in no danger of melting. It makes it much easier to remove at the end.

Also, the foie has so much fat, you really don't need any caul.

[MobyP]

Those pheasant molds and faded loaf-pans and lids shaped like graceful rabbits, all the arsenal of terrine-making---they're part of the special  cookware, drawn down like a pudding-mold or an ice-cream shell, just for haughty occasions, and bespeaking great care and honor done a guest.

These are all just perfect, and shine like jewels on the plate.  It's nice to see that some jewels can be had by anyone with the time and will, and soon that's gonna be me.

Exactly. There's something very primal, old world and satisfying about making a terrine. It's really cooking, rather than just frying or baking.

I'd love to find one of those old pate en croute molds. None of the shops seem to have them anymore; which is our loss.

[ulterior epicure]

Great thread guys! Moby, now I see where all of the fabulous terrines I've been seeing on your flickr site have been posted!!

Three questions, thus far (as I am looking for a terrine mold):

1. If you line the terrine mold with cabbage or some other leafy green, then you need not use plastic wrap, right? Or, do you butter/oil the terrine mold?

2. Any advantages of unhingeable v. iron/enameled over the other?

3. When doing an exclusively cold aspic terrine (like the asparagus one shown above), (a) how does one ensure that the aspic actually encases the filling, and (b) how does one cut through the terrine without it tearing, collapsing, etc. What kind of knife? Should I warm the knife? Should I put the terrine mold in warm water before unmolding?

Thanks guys! Hopefully, I'll be buying and making my own terrine soon!!

[MobyP]

1. If aspic, you won't need plastic. Otherwise it helps you get the thing out at the end, cabbage or no.

2. Unhingeable good for pate en croute (in pastry). The other is good for all other types.

3. here's the best aspic terrine I've ever come across. Girardet's rabbit and foie. He lines the terrine with leek.

[ulterior epicure]

1. If aspic, you won't need plastic. Otherwise it helps you get the thing out at the end, cabbage or no.

2. Unhingeable good for pate en croute (in pastry). The other is good for all other types.

3. here's the best aspic terrine I've ever come across. Girardet's rabbit and foie. He lines the terrine with leek.

Thanks, Moby.

Just to clarify - even if I'm using a cabbage/leafy green wrapping, I should use plastic - right?

As for the question on the unhingeable v. regular terrines, I guess I should have been more specific: Is there a difference in cooking times/methods since the unhingeable is metal and the other kinds are cast iron/ceramic?

Thanks!
u.e.

[Joisey]

Yes, you want to use plastic wrap. Not only will it help you when removing the terrine from the mold, but when you are doing your final assembly before cooking you can press down slightly on the plastic-wrapped farce to ensure that the meat is evenly distributed into the corners of the mold.

I use a hinged mold and I can say that cooking times will vary for each individual terrine, there is no set time for the type of mold you are using. Just one of those things you have to stay on top of. Remember, low and slow.

You can sometimes have problems with product distribution in aspic terrrines, due to the effect of gravity on the internal product before the aspic sets. Sometimes you'll see terrines that are "bottom heavy" (it happens with headcheese also). The easiest way to solve this is to make sure that you are using a good amount of product so there is no place for it to settle. When you are ready to cut, you may need to run the mold under some warm water to release it, but many times it will come out quite happily on its own. Use a nice sharp slicing knife with long, even strokes (don't "saw" it) and you'll get a good even slice. If any of the garnish pops out, it's easy to put it back in and nobody will be the wiser.

[MobyP]

Once again a terrible pic in terrible light.

But it's xmas time which means dinners which means terrines. This is a foie and confit terrine, with lightly pickled vegetables. The sauce is the reduced liquid from the confit process.

Edited by MobyP, 16 December 2006 - 11:58 PM.

[Joisey]

Moby...that's a really nice looking terrine. I love the reduction sauce. At the restaurant I work at, I made a Duck Galantine (using chicken skin, duck skin is too fatty). With the leftover duck bones and chicken meat I made an amazing Duck/chicken consomme, let it gel, then served cubes of it with the galantine slices. It's all about total utilization.

[MobyP]

Moby...that's a really nice looking terrine.  I love the reduction sauce.  At the restaurant I work at, I made a Duck Galantine (using chicken skin, duck skin is too fatty).  With the leftover duck bones and chicken meat I made an amazing Duck/chicken consomme, let it gel, then served cubes of it with the galantine slices.  It's all about total utilization.

I'd love to see a picture of that, if you had time. Do you had any calfs foot or pig's trotter for gelatine, or just allow the light reduction to take care of itself?

p.s. I don't know if you saw this galantine upthread, with the problem you speak of.

Edited by MobyP, 17 December 2006 - 02:27 PM.

[Joisey]

Moby..The consomme gets reduced by about a third and then I pour it onto a half sheetpan with a silpat. When it's cool I use a plastic knife and cut cubes. I wish I had thought to take pictures, maybe next time. It looked like a standard galantine, with a duck breast inlay and duck farce studded with balsamic onion and diced apple. The only thing I will do differently next time is cold smoke it for a bit after it is cooled, I still am not completely fond of plain, cold chicken skin. Your duck terrine looks excellent (awesome pistachio crust!) but you do have the thick fat outer layer I was talking about. Try it with Chicken skin next time and make the stock afterwards, you'll have a great soup to go with a killer galantine.

[Peter the eater]

Bump again!

Just read this thread through, fantastic education for me, thanks you all. I think this way of preparing meats and offal has almost limitless possibilities. What I have seen here is a very far cry from the "mock chicken loaf with green olives and macaroni" I remember seeing at the grocery store as a kid. I did not grow up in France.

So, at the risk of riling up the haute cuisine traditionalists and the culinary Luddites out there . . . why not replace the bain marie with a sous vide approach. I could image a vacuum bag of delicious flavours coming together over time, and then maybe rolled into a crust or something. A well-evacuated bag would transfer lots of pressure to the cooking mixture, even afterward as it cools.

Just a thought.

[FoodMan]

Terrine of pork and veal flavored with vin de noix and a little brandy. I made this to snack on while cooking for thanksgiving last week. The definition is made of soaked cranberries, pistachios and strips of veal. I wrapped this one with blanched leeks.

BTW, Peter the sous vide idea is good, but not exactly new. Many traditional emulsified sausages (a terrine is more or less that) are cooked by gentle poaching. A galantine or ballotine comes to mind as does mortadella.

[Peter the eater]

BTW, Peter the sous vide idea is good, but not exactly new. Many traditional emulsified sausages (a terrine is more or less that) are cooked by gentle poaching. A galantine or ballotine comes to mind as does mortadella.

When it comes to food, I'll take good over new any day.

There aren't many truly new ideas in the kitchen, I don't think. New ingredients are rare; show me a plant or animal nobody has tried to eat! That leaves equipment and technique. Electricity, plastics, refrigeration, lasers . . . thats what leads to a food revolution.

I feel a new thread coming on . . .

BTW FoodMan, your pork and veal terrine looks delicious. I love the cross section, with leek on the outside.

I made this duck liver pate last week:

[MobyP]

Bump again!

Just read this thread through, fantastic education for me, thanks you all. I think this way of preparing meats and offal has almost limitless possibilities. What I have seen here is a very far cry from the "mock chicken loaf with green olives and macaroni" I remember seeing at the grocery store as a kid. I did not grow up in France.

So, at the risk of riling up the haute cuisine traditionalists and the culinary Luddites out there . . . why not replace the bain marie with a sous vide approach. I could image a vacuum bag of delicious flavours coming together over time, and then maybe rolled into a crust or something. A well-evacuated bag would transfer lots of pressure to the cooking mixture, even afterward as it cools.

Just a thought.

My understanding is that the Troisgros boys first started using sous vide (I mean that they were literally the first non-industrial commercial kitchen to use it) as a way of controlling fat loss from their foie terrines.

[ianeccleston]

Thanks for the bump! Three years after posting in this thread that I bought a hinged terrine mold, I finally made my first pâté en croûte: ground pork, pistachios and a pork tenderloin a la Ruhlman's Charcuterie.

[MobyP]

That looks really great. I'm trying to do the same thing today (althoguh I still haven't got a stupid mold) except with a torchon of foie down the middle.

[Dieseldrvr]

This is my first post, so please forgive my newbie'ness. I am hoping to start my first really tasty gelatinous stock to make terrine's. Is there any degree of measurement of "reducement"? Or is it just by taste, as in, -however much I would flavor an X amount of liquid with?? I have a very good source in Houston of many different bones and am very familiar with breakdown of animals, just need a little nudging. And, if anyone in Houston or near there needs help with any sourcing I can help with, let me know!

[MobyP]

Take a spoon full of the stock, place on small plate, put plate in fridge. After several minutes, when cold, examine to see if stock has begun to gel or if it's still just thin and runny.

Add experience plus gelatinous things to your stocks like pig trotters and you'll get there in no time.

[MobyP]

p.s. Ian - where's the croute in the serving picture?

[MobyP]

This worked out well, although the tube of foie collapsed slightly in the cooking. It enabled me to add a game bird gelee (pigeon, grouse, partridge, woodcock) which was great.



http://farm4.static...._5ff8abdcdb.jpg

ETA: again adapted Culnary Bears gibier farce (posted above somewhere), substituting some chx livers for pigeon and a little foie. Also I approximated a quatre epice with some nutmeg, cloves and a little ginger.

Also his pastry recipe:

pastry :

570g bread flour
45g milk powder
7g baking powder
15g salt
100g lard (I used duck fat)
75g butter
2 eggs
tbsp vinegar
250g milk

Put dry ingredients in food processor, blitz, add fats, blitz to rub in, add eggs and vinegar, blitz for a few seconds to combine. Add milk slowly until dough forms - you may need a little more.

Roll out pastry to 4mm thick and line terrine. Line with backfat. Fill with mix, fold fatback over, place pastry rectangle on top and tuck in. Eggwash and cut vents.

Cook in 150C oven for an hour and fifteen minutes. If you're using a probe, it should be about 72C internally.

Edited by MobyP, 27 October 2008 - 02:42 AM.

[ulterior epicure]

Gorgeous, Moby.

[menuinprogress]

That looks really, really good!

[MobyP]

served with pickled figs.



http://farm4.static...._d4a9ca22ab.jpg

[Matthew Grant]

Fantastic!

[adey73]

That is glorious!

What ever happened to Culinary Bear, he's from my part of the world but don't see him around anymore. Have wondred where he works in Lancashire, anyome know?

[Abra]

This past week I've been making a "the devil made me do it" terrine full of wild ingredients. Guinea fowl, pork throat, chestnuts, and a secret chocolate ingredient which I am loathe to disclose lest you all kick me out of eG. The recipe is long but not complicated, and you can find it here.

[nibor]

This past week I've been making a "the devil made me do it" terrine full of wild ingredients.  Guinea fowl, pork throat, chestnuts, and a secret chocolate ingredient which I am loathe to disclose lest you all kick me out of eG.  The recipe is long but not complicated, and you can find it here.

Abra, this seems like a perfect excuse to do some baking. I have a question about one of the other ingredients though. I may be wrong, because I certainly have never looked for it before, but I have a hard time imagining that I will find pork throat at my grocery store here in southern California. And I have no idea what type of meat it is. Can you recommend a substitute?

[Abra]

Oh dear, Nibor, I really don't know. The throat is just that, not the inside where you swallow, but the outer portion that hangs under the jaw of the pig. It's very fat, maybe as much as 85% fat, supposedly very flavorful, and from what I've read it's a principal ingredient in most French patés and sausages. It adds fat to the mixture that doesn't melt out in the cooking, thereby producing a creamy texture. Now that I have access to it I realize why terrines and patés I made in the US never had the "right" texture or mouthfeel.

That said, American pigs all have throats, and that meat must be available somewhere. I'd start by asking a good butcher, and if you have no luck there, maybe make the rounds of some ethnic markets.

[nibor]

Oh dear, Nibor, I really don't know.  The throat is just that, not the inside where you swallow, but the outer portion that hangs under the jaw of the pig.  It's very fat, maybe as much as 85% fat, supposedly very flavorful, and from what I've read it's a principal ingredient in most French patés and sausages.  It adds fat to the mixture that doesn't melt out in the cooking, thereby producing a creamy texture.  Now that I have access to it I realize why terrines and patés I made in the US never had the "right" texture or mouthfeel.
That said, American pigs all have throats, and that meat must be available somewhere.  I'd start by asking a good butcher, and if you have no luck there, maybe make the rounds of some ethnic markets.

Fat! Yum. OK, I will start looking. I used to make 2 duck terrines every other week, on the day before my cleaning lady came (what a mess). I froze slices and then could have one, sauteed in a little butter, for breakfast or a snack. I am feeling inspired, so maybe I will start up by terrine routine again.

In the meantime I am watching my red wine + mother, hoping to get vinegar. You were right, of course - it does not smell bad.