The Terrine Topic

[Jensen]

Thanks for the tip (I trust you!); it's under the brick as we speak. Bleudauvergne mentioned that she thought she should have left hers weighted for longer so I put the brick on top of the terrine as soon as it came out of the bath.

[Jensen]

I do have a small question though, shouldn't the ham (great looking marbled ham as well ) be placed right AFTER the chard not before? I would think it will just come off the way you have it.

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I just wrapped the terrine up to go in the fridge and I'm oh-so-happy to report that the ham stayed in place. Phew!

[bleudauvergne]

Jensen, it looks just wonderful. I can't wait to see how it turns out! It's very inspiring. Are you going to eat it right away, or are you going to wait for a couple of days?

[Jensen]

As it's raining right now, it won't be for lunch today. (It really should be eaten outside, shouldn't it? )

The forecast is better for tomorrow so it will likely be eaten then.

[bleudauvergne]

Jensen, any news on your chicken / green garlic terrine? I'd love to see it and hear about how it was.

I want to know if anyone has done the guinea hen / veggie terrine yet. I am considering it as an appetizer for a dinner that will take place this Saturday, but I want to be sure it's really good before I make the decision on the menu.

I have the guinea hen already (got it from a new butcher... He made a big to-do about burning the quill bits off with a torch! ) but have put the bird on ice until I make a decision about when to do that particular terrine.

[Jensen]

The terrine is still wrapped up in the fridge. The Spouse took me out for lunch yesterday for my birthday so it didn't get eaten then. Today is bright and sunny though; check back in four hours or so. I should have photos by then

[emmapeel]

The terrine is still wrapped up in the fridge. The Spouse took me out for lunch yesterday for my birthday so it didn't get eaten then. ...

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Jensen, we share the same Birthday! Happy Birthday. I can't wait to see the terrine... mmmm.

Edited April 25, 2005 by emmapeel (log)

[Jensen]

The terrine is still wrapped up in the fridge. The Spouse took me out for lunch yesterday for my birthday so it didn't get eaten then.

Jensen, we share the same Birthday! Happy Birthday. I can't wait to see the terrine... mmmm.

Actually, you're a day older than I am. (Oh joy! Oh glee! Someone is still older than I am!) My b-day is today but the Spouse had to leave early this a.m. for a business trip.

Please don't bring years into the discussion. Allow me my fantasy...

[Jensen]

Here it is, on the plate:

No cornichons so I went with the next best "vinegar-y" thing: HP Sauce.

And a close-up:

The only thing that didn't work about this was the combination of flavours between the chicken (the thinner meat layer above the green garlic) and the green garlic. The garlic with the pork tasted wonderful but, with the chicken, it was just so-so.

[emmapeel]

Be still my heart! That is something Jen... Sorry it wasn't perfect, but it certainly looks like it is.

[FoodMan]

Jen-

Happy boirthday and this does look great. I actaully love how the ham added that red accent as the bottm/top layer.

Elie

[bleudauvergne]

It does look great! I like the way the chard lines the outside. I'm going to do the guinea hen terrine after all, and this time I'll get good pics of the weigh down process.

[ianeccleston]

By the way, this is how the vegetable terrine mentioned earlier looks... I made this last spring. It really comes out beautifully.

Has anyone tried the green apple and duck terrine from Tom Colichio's book? It looks great, I may give it a whirl this weekend.

Ian

[johnnyd]

Okay I want to play too.

Terrines have hit my radar off and on for years but this thread finally got me to try it. I bought a crueset ceramic mold knockoff this weekend and here's what I did.

Outer layer: proshute, then blanched leek leaves.

Alternating layers of zuchini and yellow squash, cut on my benriner, lightly salted and peppered. The middle layer is one roasted red pepper.

After folding it all up, I poured a reduced veg and herb stock I made this morning, but since I didn't have very much (wasn't paying attention) I mixed in some chicken stock.

I put foil on top and put it in a hot bath and now it's in the oven at 400. I figure half an hour. My brick is ready. I don't quite know what I'm doing, but I guess we'll see if it comes out a glopfest, or after chilling overnight, a thing of beauty.

My fingers are crossed. Anyone want to weigh in with a tip? Should I have left out the stock? Added a bit of white wine? More time in the oven? Thanks!

[Carolyn Tillie]

Okay I want to play too.

My fingers are crossed.  Anyone want to weigh in with a tip? Should I have left out the stock? Added a bit of white wine? More time in the oven? Thanks!

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I think the addition of stock really depends on how gelatanous it is -- the trick to using stock is making it horribly jelly-like to act like gelatine; literally a glue. If your stock was thin, the whole thing might end up watery. Also, I might have added a layer of goat cheese, but that just me...

Let us know!

[johnnyd]

Thanks Carolyn. This was actually a turkey stock that is wa-a-y gelatinous, but that was 40% of the liquid. I thought the veg stock was fragrant but thin... I almost added an envelope of gelatin I had bought, but I've never worked with it and didn't know what would happen in the oven, so I opted for my turkey stock. Shall I use gelatin next time?

The goat cheese idea is making me want to crank out another terrine, good one! I'll serve a ring of it with my terrine slice instead.

There was no bubbling or nothin' when the timer dung, so I logged another 30min on the clock...

Edited May 3, 2005 by johnnyd (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

JohnnyD.... we were waiting to hear back how your terrine worked out!!!!

[Eden]

ooh I just stumbled onto this & am totally inspired to play with terrines again. In my previous attempt the recipe called for leaf gelatine, I could only get powdered & I had some "issues" with the conversion... Time to try again. Carolyn's veggie terrine looks perfect for a vegetarian's birthday party I'm hosting this weekend!

So I'm wondering if I can combine this with the other cooking interest in my life at the moment: rose petals

(My garden is exploding with roses at the moment)

Does anyone have a terrine like recipe that uses roses? I could just put them in a rose petal pannacotta, which would be the sweet equivalent, but I figure someone here probably has a brilliant idea already tested...

I know the petals lose color & texture when I boil them in milk for my rose pudding , but if I put them into gelatin when it was no longer quite that hot, would they be OK?

Hmm, maybe with something similar to Adam Balic's chicken galantine upthread (what WAS the source for that recipe by the way? I haven't played with 17th c. english stuff in a while so I don't recognize it...) I love chicken & roses together!

[johnnyd]

JohnnyD.... we were waiting to hear back how your terrine worked out!!!!

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umm... weellllll...

Let's just say it wasn't fit to photograph!

There was no gelling effect, so I hafta work on that; after a day under a brick it ended up about an inch high... and after what I thought was plenty of salt and the prosciutto wrap, it wasn't salty!

In the end, I proudly ate it on baguette rounds in spite of my suspicious wife whom I often trick into trying various creations, a-la "it tastes like chicken!" routine. *sigh*

I'm going to go with a meat product next, and maybe find a narrower terrine. Plus I'll use a strict recipe instead of an off-the-cuff/I-read-it-on-the-terrine-thread approach!

[bleudauvergne]

So sorry Johnny that the veggie terrine didnn't fulfil your expectations, but I bet it was pretty good on baguette. You would call that a 'vegetable terrine spread' yes?

Well, weekend before last I ended up doing the guinea hen terrine as individual terrines in ramekins, and took a few liberties here and there, i.e. instead of using gelatine I used veal foot cooked with the stock for the gelatine effect, and instead of dried tomatoes I used a tomato spread that an Italian vendor sells at the market, and I sliced the veggies very thin, which was a mistake. The idea of frying the eggplant and zuchinni slices with thyme and garlic was a great one, and I was all set to do that but my father in law presented me with some herbes de garrigues in flower that he picked while hiking just for me from some mountain trail by the sea somewhere so I used the flowers and some leaves from them instead. It gave it a really great flavor. They turned out tasting alright flavorwise but I would definitely slice the vegetables more thickly the next time for some visual definition. I did not get many pics of the process but here's one of the finished product, which I served with an anchovy vinaigrette.

One other thing, the poached guinea hen (pintade), when following the recipe, turned out to feel rather dry in the mouth in contrast to the vegetables, I just felt like the overall effect could feel much better in the mouth. So what I'd do is to make rilettes from the meat with some duck or goose fat and salt and maybe even some nuts to give it a better texture.

Otherwise it was a nice refreshing first course for a party, nice to serve on a warm day.

[bleudauvergne]

By the way, this is how the vegetable terrine mentioned earlier looks... I made this last spring.  It really comes out beautifully.

Has anyone tried the green apple and duck terrine from Tom Colichio's book?  It looks great, I may give it a whirl this weekend.

Ian

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It looks beautiful Ian! Can you estimate how thickly did you slice the vegetables before cooking them?

[ianeccleston]

By the way, this is how the vegetable terrine mentioned earlier looks... I made this last spring.  It really comes out beautifully.

Ian

It looks beautiful Ian! Can you estimate how thickly did you slice the vegetables before cooking them?

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Thanks! 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch. I can see from the photo that I cut them a bit unevenly... but there's a lot of leeway, I think. The eggplant can be thicker, as long as it's fully cooked, but the zucchini have to be a bit thinner so the terrine cuts without squishing and so that they cook to a nice texture, a bit al dente.

I just got a Matfer terrine mold off of ebay!! Very excited. $9.99. They can go for $80 new. Has anyone used anything like the one picture below? The bottom slides out, and the hinges are removable to release the sides.

Ian

[mrbigjas]

i have a similar pan to that, ian, but it's not an $80 brand name like that. i think it cost about $17--as a matter of fact, this one is the one i have. i've only made pates in it, but i've been reading this thread and am considering a terrine soon. i just gotta get my aspic topping up to speed...

[bleudauvergne]

I just got a Matfer terrine mold off of ebay!! Very excited.  $9.99.  They can go for $80 new.  Has anyone used anything like the one picture below?  The bottom slides out, and the hinges are removable to release the sides.

Ian

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It looks like Ian and mrbigjas are going to be doing some terrines in the near future with great pans! Please tell us how you like this mould, does it have a mechanism for pressing the contents? Ian, Why are the sides ridged?

[mrbigjas]

i do plan on doing one! or more!

so far i have only used that pan to make vegetable-based pates for office parties (i always make vegetarian food for office parties, on the theory that everyone can eat it if it tastes good). it doesn't have a method for pressing the contents, which is why i think it's advertised as a pate pan rather than a terrine--although my mental concept of what each of those is could be way off.

the only funky thing about it is getting the gelatin off/out of the bottom and back on top of your pate (i've used agar in the past, to keep it veg). you have to heat the pan a little with some hot water, and still it doesn't come out with the pate--but then again, also, vegetable pates are, in my experience, looser and harder to deal with than the meat pates i've had.

the only problem is, it really does kind of produce a lot of food, and there are only two of us. so i'd have to experiment on guests. which i'm not averse to doing, if i know things are going to turn out OK. it seems like terrines are a good one-dish (plus condiments) meal, if you can get meat and vegetables all in one terrine.