Classic Duck Foie Terrine Food

DUCK TERRINE

Steps:

• Freeze all your grinder and food processor blades, and put the bowls you will use in the fridge.
• Slice your duck meat (not the breast) and pork fat into chunks small enough to fit into your grinder and mix well with the Instacure, the salt, black pepper and quatre epices and set in a bowl in the fridge, or, if it is warm out, the freezer.
• Tear the bread into pieces and jam it into a coffee mug or some other cup. Pour the milk over it and set the cup in the fridge.
• Get the duck fat hot in a pan and pat the duck breast dry with a paper towel. Sear the duck breast over medium-high heat. You want a serious sear fast, so you get a crust but the inside is still raw. This should take 2 to 3 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the breast.
• Remove the duck breast and set it aside, and turn the heat down to medium. Add the shallot and sauté for 1 minute, then add the garlic. sauté this, stirring often, until it begins to brown. You don't want a lot of color, just a little.
• Add the brandy and sherry to the pan and turn the heat to high. Boil this down by half, then turn off the heat. Pour the mixture into a bowl and, when it stops steaming, set it into the freezer to chill fast.
• Put the duck breast into the fridge as well.
• Meanwhile, grind the sliced duck meat and pork through the fine die on your grinder (4.5 mm) into one of the bowls you put in the fridge. Once it is ground, return it to the refrigerator and clean up the grinder.
• Wait until the sherry-brandy-shallot mixture is at least room temperature before proceeding.
• While you are waiting, wet the inside of a a terrine pan or loaf pan with water, then line it with plastic wrap. Leave a long end of wrap outside the pan so you can use it to cover the pan afterwards.
• Preheat oven to 300°F, and find a large roasting pan -- the kind you do the Thanksgiving turkey in.
• Get your food processor ready; do not use a blender here. Working quickly, put the meat, shallot-brandy mixture, minced sage, and bread-milk mixture into the food processor and pulse it until it is a smooth paste. It took me about 12 pulses to get there. Don't over work the mixture, or it can break and it'll be cat food.
• Thwack down the paste into the terrine using a rubber spatula. Lay down enough to go about halfway. Smooth it out, then lay in the seared duck breast halves, end to end. If they are too wide, trim them. Press them into the paste.
• Thwack down the rest of the forcemeat and smooth it out. Cover with the plastic wrap and then with a layer of foil, or with the lid to the terrine pan.
• Put the pan into the roaster, then fill the roaster up about halfway with the hottest tap water your tap will produce, or get a half gallon or so steaming hot on the stovetop. Gently put this in the oven and cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes. You want an internal temperature of about 150°F.
• Remove and set the terrine pan onto a cutting board or other heat-proof place. Take the foil or lid off and put the cardboard top on it. Weigh down the top with cans or a brick. Let this cool.
• Once it is room temperature, put the whole thing, weights and all, into the fridge overnight. To eat, slice thickly and serve with mustard and a green salad.

CLASSIC TERRINE OF FOIE GRAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200°F and line a small roasting pan with a folded kitchen towel or 6 layers of paper towels (this provides insulation so bottom of foie gras won't cook too quickly).
• Sprinkle each lobe and any loose pieces of foie gras on both sides with kosher salt and white pepper. Sprinkle one third of Sauternes in terrine and firmly press large lobe of foie gras, smooth side down, into bottom. (Wedge any loose pieces of foie gras into terrine to make lobe fit snugly.) Sprinkle with another third of Sauternes. Put smaller lobe of foie gras, smooth side up, into terrine and firmly press down to create a flat surface and snug fit. Sprinkle with remaining Sauternes. Cover surface of foie gras with plastic wrap, then cover terrine with lid or foil.
• Put terrine (with plastic wrap and lid) in roasting pan and fill roasting pan with enough hot water to reach halfway up side of terrine. Bake in middle of oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted diagonally into center of foie gras registers 120°F, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or 160°F (for USDA standards), about 3 1/2 hours.
• Remove terrine from pan. Discard water and remove towel. Return terrine to roasting pan and remove lid. Put wrapped cardboard directly on surface of foie gras and set weight on cardboard (this will force fat to surface; don't worry if fat overflows). Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes.
• Remove weight and cardboard and spoon any fat that has dripped over side of terrine back onto top (fat will seal terrine). Chill, covered, until solid, at least 1 day.
• Unmold foie gras by running a hot knife around edge. Invert onto a plate and reinvert, fat side up, onto serving dish. Cut into slices with a heated sharp knife.

CLASSIC DUCK FOIE TERRINE

Steps:

• Three to five days ahead, preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Gently separate the lobes and pick out and discard large veins and greenish bile, if any. Try not to break the liver up. (If not at room temperature, it will fall apart.)
• Place first lobe in a terrine large enough to hold the foie gras snugly. Sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. Splash on 1 tablespoon of the wine, layer the other lobe and any small pieces on top and add the remaining wine. Season with the remaining salt and pepper. Cover the terrine snugly with plastic wrap.
• Line the bottom of a roasting pan with a kitchen towel and place the terrine on top. Pour in enough hot (not boiling) water to come an inch or so up the sides of the terrine. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the foie gras reaches 115 degrees. (The U.S.D.A. recommends an internal temperature of 160 degrees.)
• Remove from oven and take the terrine out of the roasting pan. Place a weight on top and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Pour off any juices that have accumulated and use a gravy separator to separate the juices from the fat. Pour the fat back on top of the terrine. Discard juices.
• Refrigerate 3 to 5 days. To serve, slice thinly or use for French kisses and Gascogne sushi. Terrine keeps, refrigerated, up to 15 days.

ARIANE DAGUIN'S FRENCH KISSES AND GASCOGNE SUSHI

Steps:

• Two to three weeks ahead, soak the prunes in Armagnac, checking frequently and adding more Armagnac if necessary (prunes absorb it quickly).
• Place the duck terrine in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until smooth and spreadable (do not overpulse). Reserve 10 tablespoons for the Gascogne sushi and put the rest in a pastry bag fitted with a large tip.
• Pipe the foie gras into prunes (use your finger to make the center larger) to create French kisses.
• For Gascogne sushi, spread 1 tablespoon of mousse onto each duck prosciutto slice and roll up.