Pate IK

You will need a food processor or sharp knife to make this recipe. You will also need a 9 inch/22cm loaf pan or 4-5 oven safe ramekins, along with a larger baking pan to act as a bain marie, or water bath.

Preheat your oven to 325-350F/160-180C. I find my oven does better at lower temperatures here, but use your judgement.

Place the dried fruits in a small bowl and pour the Cognac over to steep.

The next steps depend on what sort of meat you’re using. I had ground pork, so set it in a bowl while I cleaned the livers. If you have another kind of pork, slice it into pieces that will work in your processor, or, if you are cutting by hand, chop away. Either way, place the pork in a bowl large enough to hold the livers.

Place the chicken livers in a colander in the sink. Run livers under cool water. Carefully remove any green bile sacs and fatty bits–this is fat you don’t want. Pat livers dry with paper towels. Place the livers in the processor.

Return to your steeping fruits. Tip fruit and alcohol into a small pan and turn heat to medium low. You want the alcohol to just simmer a moment or two, a gentle bubble. Turn off heat, and allow fruit and alcohol to cool.

Cut the proscuitto, pancetta, or bacon into pieces your processor can manage–mine is pretty fussy. Add to processor along with garlic and shallot. Pulse 3-4 times. The result will look awful. Add the pork if it’s not ground, and pulse a few times. You want chunky mush, not baby food. Again, it will look awful but smell good. Be reassured. Tip contents back to the bowl. I like to wash processor at this point, as it’s a hated kitchen task.

Add thyme, salt, pepper, and the dried fruit alcohol mixture to bowl. Stir in the mustard. Mix everything well with a large fork, spoon, or your clean hands.

If you wish, form a small test patty and fry it in the pan you cooked the fruit in, to ensure you like the seasoning. Adjust accordingly.

At this point you can allow the mixture to rest overnight in the refrigerator, covered, and finish cooking the next day. If you go this route, turn your oven off.

If you continue cooking, pour paté mixture into the loaf pan/ramekins, placing the bay leaf in the middle. If using ramekins, either forgo the leaf or break it up, dividing it amongst the ramekins; up to you.

Place the loaf pan/ramekins in the larger baking pan. Add water to the halfway mark of loaf pan/ramekins. Don’t overfill, as you don’t want water sloshing into the food or burning you later on. Carefully place the whole thing in the oven and bake for about 90 minutes. The paté is done when it registers 160F/70C on a thermometer or looks and smells done–browned on top, and a tester comes out clean.

Remove paté from oven, minding that hot water. If you live in California, use the water for something else. Remove pan/ramekins to a heatproof surface and allow to cool, scraping any jelly off and saving it in a lidded container. If you didn’t read about jelly in the post, please read in notes, below.

If you decide to weight the top, cover with wax paper or parchment, then foil before weighting with heavy cans, bricks, or rocks.

You can cover your paté with duck fat, clarified butter, or lard, which improves keeping time.

Bring paté to room temperature before eating. Serve with good bread, crackers, savory marmalades, and cornichons.

Do not freeze.

A quick variation: A delicious sandwich may be made by buttering a roll, squirting on a judicious amount of Sriracha sauce (read: lots), adding some Kewpie Mayo, a few pieces of spicy arugula, slivered carrot (pickled if you have the patience, fresh if not), the paté, and some ham or Spam (yes, Spam). This fake-ish Banh Mi is riff on Anthony Bourdain’s recipe, from Appetites, and is delicious.

Notes:

The meats may be switched as you wish, so long as you use adequate amounts of fat. If the pate is dry, it will be unpleasant to eat and the texture crumbly. Other fats to consider are butter, sour cream, cream fraiche, uncured or lightly cured bacon (a heavy cure will make the entire pate taste of bacon), and, best of all, caul fat, which you can lay in the pan, leaving enough overhang in each side to fold over the top of the pate before baking. But caul fat is difficult to find and expensive.

If you don’t have currants, dried figs or any other dried fruit that isn’t overly sweet would work here. I am no fan of fruit in savory food, but find a few currants are fine. If you haven’t any dried fruits or loathe them in savory food, omit them and reduce the liquor to a tablespoon. You can also omit the liquor if you wish.

My oven tends to run on the hotter side, and I find that lower temperatures are better for longer baking times. Hence my giving a range here.

If the paté gives up a lot of jelly while cooling, spoon it off and save it in a lidded container. This flavorful byproduct may be added to bread or crackers when you eat the paté itself, or makes a delicious addition stirred into soups or stews. Unlike the paté itself, it freezes well. If you opt to leave the jelly on the paté, it will shorten the keeping time. Again, this depends on how many eaters are in your home. We’re two modest appetites, but this paté threw off virtually no jelly.