Duck pâté
Description
Duck pâté is a traditional French dish that has many variations and is prepared differently in different regions. I really liked the version where the pâté is baked in its own skin. To make duck pâté, you will need one medium-sized duck, weighing about 2.5 kilograms, as well as a little ground pork. If the duck is very fatty, you can do without pork. Serve with herbs and sauce.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Rinse and eviscerate the duck. Place it breast-side down, massage the skin vigorously, and carefully cut it off together with the meat.
- 2
Step 2
It turns out that we trimmed the meat with the skin off the bone. You can then use the bones (the brisket) to make broth or soup.
- 3
Step 3
Then remove the skin from the wings and legs, and also cut out the breast meat itself. If a little meat remains on the skin, that is not a problem. But it must not tear, so be careful.
- 4
Step 4
Trim the meat from the legs, and if possible, from the wings.
- 5
Step 5
Grind the meat from the bones into mince using a meat grinder or a blender. You can also chop it by hand, just very finely. By the way, you can also add duck heart and liver to this mince (if you got a farm-raised duck with all the giblets, not one already fully gutted). Add minced pork to this mixture. Crack in two eggs, finely chopped and fried onion, spices, and minced garlic.
- 6
Step 6
Cut the breasts into strips. Pour in cognac (or brandy), add spices. Let the breasts marinate for about half an hour. Then add the marinade to the minced meat and mix it well.
- 7
Step 7
In the mold in which you will bake the pâté, lay out the duck skin, making sure there are no empty air pockets at the bottom. Then lay out a layer of minced meat, then the breasts. Place the pistachios tightly between them.
- 8
Step 8
Put minced meat on top again, tamp everything down and smooth it out, and place three bay leaves on top.
- 9
Step 9
Fold the skin inward and cover the mold tightly with foil. Take a deep baking tray or a large baking dish, pour in enough boiling water to a depth of about two fingers, place the mold with the future pâté in it, and send it to bake in an oven preheated to 175°C for an hour and a half.
- 10
Step 10
Ideally, you should check the temperature inside the pâté with a thermometer: it should be about 70 degrees. Then take the mold out of the baking tray, cover it with a board, and place a weight on top. Do not remove the foil at this stage. Once it has cooled, put it in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Then you can dip the pâté in warm water to make it easier to remove from the mold, and remove the foil.
- 11
Step 11
Slice the prepared duck pâté into portions and serve with cognac or brandy, garnished with herbs.