Country Lunch

Christine’s sister & Mike visited us on their way back to the city Monday which gave me an excuse to make pâté. I had bought some pork shoulder, fatback, and chicken livers in anticipation, so I ground them all together (after browning the livers and deglazing with Armagnac) with lots of herbs, spices, and garlic. I also added a couple of eggs and a spill of flour for a panade, and green peppercorns for texture and bite. Once mixed and packed into a pyrex dish, I vacuum-sealed it and dropped it into a 71˚C (160˚F) water bath for about 6 hours, then refrigerated it until it was time to eat. Served with a toasted baguette, mesclun salad, cornichons, good mustard, and garlic-stuffed olives, it made for an excellent lunch on the first plausibly springy day of the year. (Though now it’s snowing and dropping back into the teens.)

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4 Comments

  1. cookiecrumb
    February 20, 2008

    Uh oh. If that’s what you have to do to make pate, I’m in trouble. No sous vide, no sir. (We’re sampling it this afternoon; if I don’t blog for a few days, call my mom.)

    Peter, I tagged you at I’m Mad and I Eat.

  2. peter
    February 20, 2008

    You don’t need to sous-vide it; a bain-marie in the oven has worked for centuries. It’s just more of a pain.

  3. Heather
    February 21, 2008

    Is there anything better than a nice pork pâte with cornichons? I didn’t think so.

    Saw your blog at I’m Mad and I Eat, thought I’d say hi. “Hi.”

  4. peter
    February 21, 2008

    Hi Heather, and welcome.

    No, there isn’t. Especially on a sunny day. I’ll be by soon to check your spot out.

Comments are closed.