Terrine 101

This Terrine Mold Has Cooked a Lot of Terrines

My good friend Mike inspired this post. I see from his social media posts that he’s really cooking some good stuff and now he wants to learn terrines. I’ve made many hundreds in my life from the simplest to the most intricate, and here’s a little of what I have learned.

Terrines are simple!

If you can make a meatloaf, you can make a terrine. Why? Because at the basic level, they’re very similar! You’re not scared to make meatloaf, so you shouldn’t be scared to make a humble terrine.

Terrine Mold

Terrines are baked in loaf pans and after chilling are sliced and served cold to room temperature. You might recognize the Latin root terra (earth) in terrine. The original terrine molds were earthenware and like a lot of dishes, terrines ultimately ended up named for the pan in which they were cooked.

Although you can use just about anything for a mold, most of us in the trade use the pretty much industry standard enameled cast iron Le Creuset mold that holds about 3 lbs of forcemeat. If you use a different size mold, you’ll have to experiment a bit with the quantities of forcemeat and seasonings.

Before you run out and buy a $175 Le Creuset terrine, use a loaf pan or something else that you have on hand until you’re sure you want to make the investment. In a super pinch, I have used a disposable aluminum pan from the grocery store. Talk about ghetto!

A Primer on Ingredients

There are four ingredients-related things to think about:

Forcemeat

Fat

Interior Garnish

Flavorings

Forcemeat. This is the meat paste that forms the body of the terrine. While I’m a big fan of duck terrine with green peppercorns and orange zest, it’s best to start with store bought ground pork. It’s cheap, forgiving, and damn near impossible to mess up.

Once you have a few terrines under your belt, you can start custom grinding meats, producing layered terrines, and other fancy things such as putting bacon-wrapped rabbit loins down the center of the terrine. Then you can branch out to seafood, mousseline, and vegetable terrines.

Fat. Fat makes the terrine. Commercial ground pork has enough fat that you don’t need to worry. Otherwise, think about a 70:30 ratio of meat to fat or even 2:1. I also will often add a bit more fat in the interior garnish plus a bit of heavy cream in the flavoring mix. Professional charcutiers weigh the meat and the fat and grind them together in their own unique formulas, but you don’t need to be that technical.

Interior Garnish. This is the visual aspect that comes into play when you slice the terrine. For example, cubes of ham stay pink and cubes of fatback (or even raw chicken breast) stay white and contrast with the surrounding forcemeat.

Interior garnishes can also offer textural contrast in addition to visual contrast. Consider green peppercorns or pistachios which add crunch as well as a contrasting green color. Or dried fruit or other nuts. Dried morel or porcini mushrooms. Olives. Sun-dried tomatoes. Stay simple at first; play later.

Flavorings. Because terrines are generally intended to be served cold and cold numbs our sense of taste, they want to be highly seasoned. [Ooh, but grill extra thick slabs of terrine on a smoky fire and serve them warm for a special treat!] Flavorings break down into three categories: liquid seasonings, herbs and spices, and cooked alliums.

Liquid Seasonings. It is common to use small amounts of highly concentrated stock to amplify the meat flavors. It’s also extremely common to add some kind of alcohol, such as a splash of Port or red wine. Imagine a shot each of brandy and Grand Marnier in that duck terrine I’ve already mentioned. I also use some heavy cream in which to disperse my dry ingredients.

I will also include an egg in the liquid flavorings to help the terrine bind (but in the case of most red meat with high protein content, an egg isn’t necessary). Eggs or other binders are necessary in low protein (for example, vegetable) terrines.

Liver often enters the equation at the liquid stage. If I’m adding liver, I usually blend it with some of the liquid to smooth it out. At other times, I chop the liver for a texture effect and add it as an interior garnish. But most of the time, I don’t add liver: in the restaurant business, I found Americans to be skittish of liver in terrines. For family, however, I am well known for my chicken liver terrine that contains no other meat. My peoples can eat some chicken livers.

Herbs and Spices. All terrines will need some salt, though if you’re using a highly salted interior garnish such as smoked bacon or ham, you’ll want to tread lightly. For pork terrines, I like to include a little sweet spice such as allspice, cinnamon, and/or cardamom. Ground bay and ground thyme are wonderful as well. Have some dried mushroom crumbs laying around? Put them in a spice mill and add the mushroom powder to your terrine. Fresh herbs rarely feature in terrines (but then, there’s jambon persillé, a classic aspic-bound terrine featuring lots of fresh parsley).

Cooked Alliums. Most non-seafood terrines will include some onion, garlic, shallots, leek or some combination. I always sweat alliums in butter or olive oil such that they give off their water while sweating and not into the forcemeat of the terrine, which could weaken the terrine a little and cause the slices to break.

Basic Procedure

Mix the liquid seasonings with the dried seasonings, then add the interior garnish. You’re trying to get even distribution in the liquid of all the seasonings before adding the meat.

Add the ground meat and mix well. I use my hands because I want to feel the texture of the forcemeat. You can use a paddle mixer if you like.

Taste the forcemeat and adjust seasonings. You can fry a little forcemeat and taste it, but I prefer to poach it. Frying the forcemeat caramelizes the surface and doesn’t give as true an idea of the flavor of the final product as poaching. But, who am I kidding? I’ve made so many terrines in my life, that for home use, I don’t taste them. But if you’re starting out, taste the forcemeat. And remember, you’ll be tasting it warm. Your guests will be tasting it cold and cold requires a bit more seasoning.

I coat my molds with pan spray but it probably isn’t necessary. Make sure you press the forcemeat into the mold well to eliminate any air pockets. This is super-critical if you are adding large-sized interior garnish.

Cook the terrine low and slow (300-325F) until a thermometer in the center registers 145F. Final temperature should be at least 155F. Terrines will continue to climb another 10 degrees out of the oven.

Cooking at high heat forces the proteins to bind hard, to shrink, and forces a lot of the fat out of the matrix. Fat is what keeps the terrine from being rubbery, not to mention what makes it taste great. Along these lines, if you’re using a thin metal mold, you may want to use a water bath to moderate the temperature of the terrine in the oven. I only use a water bath with terrine de foie gras, not wanting to screw up $250 of raw product.

Refrigerate the terrine overnight to solidify the fat and give it maximum structure. To unmold, run a knife blade around the sides of the mold and pop the terrine out.

A Sort of Recipe

Remember the line from the original Pirates of the Caribbean: “…the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules.”? So go all my recipes, this one included. Learn the procedure, understand the ratios, and let your palate guide you. Mistakes are still edible and not costly, and there’s always next time.

The following “recipe” is for three pounds of ground pork forcemeat, about as simple a terrine as possible.

½ medium yellow onion or two shallots, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

Canola or olive oil or butter

½ cup heavy cream

¼ cup Port, red wine, or brandy

1 extra large egg

1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon per pound of mix)

½ teaspoon ground black pepper (or ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper)

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 pinch cayenne

½ cup shelled pistachios

¼ pound diced ham

¼ pound diced bacon, fatback, or guanciale

2-1/2 pounds ground pork

Procedure

Sweat the onion and garlic in fat until translucent. Add to large mixing bowl.

Add the liquid ingredients including the egg and mix well.

Add the remaining spices and mix well.

Add the pistachios, ham, and fatback. Mix well.

Add the pork and mix until all ingredients are thoroughly distributed.

Cook a little of the forcemeat and adjust seasoning to your palate.

Place in mold in a slow oven and cook until the thermometer reads 145F.

Remove from the oven and cool.

Refrigerate overnight.

Unmold and slice.

OK, Mike. A little long-winded and I hope that doesn't put you off. Your turn. I expect photos!