Pate Food

COUNTRY PATE

Steps:

• Trim veal or chicken and pork of excess fat and tendons. Skin fatback. Cut into 1 inch cubes and pass through largest hole of a meat grinder. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in salt, pepper, and applejack. Cover with plastic wrap touching the mixture and refrigerate at least 1 day or as long as 3.
• After marinating, heat oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Saute livers until well browned, about 1 minute per side. Remove from pan and set aside to cool. Add garlic and cook about 1/2 minute, being careful not to let it color. Reserve garlic with liver.
• Add brandy and bay leaves to same skillet. Scrape bottom of pan to loosen brown bits and cook over low heat until warm, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool and remove and discard bay leaves.
• Dip white bread in warm water to soften. Squeeze out excess moisture. Add to the liver and garlic along with 2 cups marinated ground meat, allspice, nutmeg, and brandy. Stir to combine.
• Transfer to a food processor, add eggs, and puree until a smooth paste is formed. This paste will bind the pate. Place puree in a large bowl, add remaining ground meat, and combine well. (We recommend using your hands, not a spoon, to combine this dense mixture.)
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Line a 9 by 5 by 3 inch glass or ceramic loaf pan with bacon slices so they overhang lengthwise, about 3 inches on each end. Slice ham and tongue into 4 by 1/2 by 1/2 inch julienne strips.
• Spread about a cup of pate evenly over the bacon to cover the bottom. Arrange alternating strips of ham and tongue lengthwise, over the pate. Repeat this procedure, alternating pate with strips
• of ham and tongue, until pan is filled and top layer is pate. (When the loaf is sliced you will see a regular pattern of solids and pate.) Fold overhanging bacon over the top. (The pate may rise slightly over the top of the pan. That's OK.)
• Tap pan against a counter to firmly pack. Garnish top with bay leaves and garlic cloves. Cover with 2 layers aluminum foil, tucking edges under to completely seal. Place inside a larger pan and pour in boiling water until it rises halfway up the sides of the pate. Bake 2 hours 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Place cooled pate on a baking sheet and cover with another baking sheet. Top with some 3 pounds of weights (canned goods or milk cartons are good) and refrigerate overnight or as long as 2 weeks. This compacts the pate and makes it easier to slice.
• To serve, remove and discard the bay leaf and garlic garnish. To loosen, dip pan's bottom in warm water and run a knife along inside edges. Invert onto a serving platter. Cut into 1/2 inch slices and serve on lettuce leaves.

BEEF PATE

Steps:

• For the dough: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and vegetable shortening together in a bowl using your hands or a pastry blender. Add up to 1 cup water, a little at a time, until dough pulls away from the bowl. Let dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes or up to overnight (see Cook's Note).
• For the filling: Meanwhile, add pickle juice, if using, to a 6-quart pot on medium-high heat. Add ground beef. Cook, using a wooden spoon or spatula to crumble ground beef until fine. As meat is browning, add parsley, green onions, tomatoes, garlic, onions, hot pepper, sweet pepper, bell pepper, thyme, salt and black pepper. Cook until all meat is brown, approximately 5 minutes.
• Remove meat mixture to a colander to drain excess oil. Let sit approximately 5 minutes.
• Return pot to medium heat. Add tomato paste and 1/4 cup water. Stir to thin tomato paste. Add drained meat mixture back to the pot. Mix in tomato paste mixture. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool until meat is room temperature.
• Heat oil to 350 degrees F in a 6-quart cast-iron Dutch oven.
• Cut a 2 1/2-inch piece of dough from the rested dough. Flatten into an approximate 3 1/2-inch disc using your fingers. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough to 1/8- to 3/16-inch-thick by 7 inches in diameter.
• Fill the dough with 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup filling. Fold over and press with a 6-inch bowl or empanada press to seal the edges. Dust off excess flour, and gently place in the hot oil. Wait for pate to rise to the top of the oil, then flip it over. Let cook for about 1 minute, then flip again.
• Continue cooking and flipping every minute until the pate is golden brown on both sides, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel on a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

PATE A CHOUX

Steps:

• Bring butter, sugar, salt, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir in flour. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from sides and a film forms on bottom of pan, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until slightly cooled, about 1 minute. Raise speed to medium; add whole eggs, 1 at a time, until a soft peak forms when batter is touched with your finger. If peak does not form, lightly beat remaining egg white, and mix it into batter a little at a time until it does.

CHICKEN PATE

Steps:

• Combine chicken (which has been finely chopped), Neufchatel, onion, sherry, mayonnaise, lemon juice, hot sauce, and nutmeg in container of electric blender; process until smooth.
• Transfer mixture to a 2 cup mold coated with cooking spray (Pam).
• Cover, and chill overnight.
• Unmold onto a serving plate.
• Sprinkle with paprika.
• Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired.
• Serve with Melba toast rounds or unsalted crackers.

CHICKEN LIVER PâTé

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp of the butter in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. When the butter is foaming, add the chicken livers and fry for 2 mins each side.
• Stir the crushed garlic, some of the thyme and Madeira into the pan with the livers. Fry for 2 mins, letting the Madeira simmer. Transfer the mixture to a food processor, reserve 200g of the butter and add the rest to the processor. Blend everything to a smooth paste. Season to taste, then spoon into 4 x 70ml clip-top jars.
• Melt the reserved butter in a medium frying pan and add the sliced garlic. Turn the garlic in the butter until slightly golden. Pour into the 4 jars of pâté, ensuring a few slices of garlic and the remaining thyme leaves go in each jar, and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hrs, or until set. Can be made up to 2 days in advance.
• Before serving, toast the brioche, then cut into triangular quarters for serving. Stir the diced apple through the chutney. Serve the pâté on small wooden boards with the toasted brioche, cornichons and chutney.

LIVER PATE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine water, chicken livers, and sliced onion. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until liver is cooked and tender. Remove from heat, drain, and discard onions. Also remove and discard any hard portions of the liver.
• Place cooked livers in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Add chopped onion, sherry, butter or margarine, salt, black pepper, and mace; pulse to blend. With hands lightly greased, form pate mixture into a mound, and place on a serving platter. Chill for 1 hour before serving.