Makes one 9-inch loaf. You can make this terrine in just about any mold, but traditionally the French use a long skinny loaf pan with a fitted top. The top has a small hole in it that vents steam produced by the cooking meat. You can easily jury-rig this by using a 9-inch loaf pan. Cover with aluminum foil, and poke a small hole in the foil, about the diameter of a chopstick tip. You need a meat grinder or a food processor to make this terrine.
Note: You can use pork liver if you prefer. You can also increase the amount of liver by up to 6 ounces in this recipe — both adaptations are more typically French.
Ingredients
2 pounds pork shoulder with lots of fat on it (50 percent fat is ideal!)
10 ounces calf liver (see note above)
1/2 cup brandy
1 egg
5 teaspoons finely chopped flat-leafed parsley
3 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons finely chopped thyme
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons finely chopped basil (optional)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Adjust your oven rack to the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Coarsely chop the pork shoulder, fat and liver. It’s normal if you find the fat hard to chop. It is, and a very sharp knife helps.
Place a batch of the chopped pork in your food processor or meat grinder. Do not overfill the food processor, as the blade will have to work hard at first to grind up the meat. Pulse (or crank) to grind. The texture should be like sausage meat. It will be heavy and thick. It is OK for there to be little clumps of fat, but it is not OK for there to be strings of fat. These you must be sure are ground up. Dump the ground pork in a bowl, and process the remaining pork. Pulse (or crank) to grind the liver. It will liquefy some. It’s OK. It should be like a chunky mud: That liquefied liver will create the smooth interstices in the terrine.
Combine the meat and the remaining ingredients in a big bowl, and mix well. Use your hands — they are the best tools. When the ingredients are combined it will smell aromatic and tasty. You can do a taste control at this point: make a small patty of the mixture and fry as you would a slider, and taste for seasoning. Absolutely add more garlic or salt or herbs if you like.
(You may wonder, why not simply add all the ingredients to the food processor? It’s not a good idea because the herbs get mucky and the flavor is not as intense and fresh tasting.)
Pour the mixture into the loaf pan. You don’t have to grease it — there is enough fat in the terrine. With a spatula, poke the mixture, pushing it into every corner of the pan, popping any air bubbles and condensing the mixture. Smooth the top, and place on the lid or aluminum foil punctured with a small hole. Place the terrine in a baking pan large enough to hold it, and add enough hot water to come halfway up the side of the loaf pan. Place in the oven, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until a thermometer slipped into the vent hole shows 165 degrees.
Turn off the oven, and let the terrine rest in the oven for 15 minutes. Take the terrine out of the oven, and tip the loaf pan to allow the excess fat to dribble out — it is golden, and there may be up to about 1/4 cup.
The terrine will be very soft at first, so you must allow it to cool thoroughly. Gently flip it over onto a cutting board. Wrap the terrine in tin foil to freeze or refrigerate. Serve in slices.
