Pâté de Campagne – Finally, Something Complicated

Every once in a while, I get a food wish that has nothing to do with a specific recipe, but rather it’s a request to post something complicated, and challenging to do. Well, this country-style pâté is about as close as we’re going to get.

Calling this recipe complicated is sort of a stretch; "involved” would probably be more accurate. There are many steps, and the ingredient list isn’t short, but none of the techniques are very difficult, or particularly time-consuming.

Coarsely grinding the meat is probably the most crucial step, but as you saw, if the meat is very cold, the attachment on your stand mixer will do an adequate job. If you don’t have one, you can pulse on and off in a food processor, and as long as your meat was partially frozen, this will work.

Another option is just to place your meat order with a real butcher, and ask them to coarsely grind it all together for you, after which you can simply process the rest of your ingredients, and add them to your already ground meat and fat. Speaking of fat, I used some chopped up bacon, but virtually any kind of pork fat will work. 

If you do use bacon, either in the pâté, or to wrap with, I suggest using one that’s lightly smoked, so as not to overpower the rest of the flavors. Anyway, I realize this may seem like quite a production, but if you enjoy charcuterie, this would make for a very fun, beautiful, and quite delicious project. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one Pâté de Campagne (16 portions):

1 1/4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (aka “pork butt”), cut into one-inch cubes

6 ounces duck leg meat (meat removed from 2 or 3 legs)

4 ounces fatty bacon, chopped

4 ounces chicken livers, roughly chopped

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

4 cloves minced garlic

1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley

25 grams kosher salt (about 5 teaspoons)

1/8 teaspoon “instacure” pink curing salt

3/4 teaspoon *pate spice mix

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup cognac or brandy

1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs

2 large eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup dried cherries, optional
1/2 cup pistachios, optional

8-10 sliced of bacon, or a few sheets of caul fat to line the **mold

* For the Pâté Spice:

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

** My bread pan was a little smaller than standard, but a regular 9 x 5 inch loaf pan should work perfectly here.

-- Cook in water bath at 350 F. until internal temp of 155 F. 

Categories: Appetizer, Duck, French Cuisine, Pork