How to Make Rabbit Pate
A simple recipe for making rabbit terrine….
Rabbit is a very underated meat in my opinion, once the meat of the masses it has fallen out of favour with the modern generation and I consider that a mild travesty. The only problem with rabbit as I see it is cooking it properly because if it’s cooked too long it’s as dry as a…..
Now I’ve served rabbit in terrines every which way you can imagine, I’ve rolled it, cooked as for confit, with other meats etc, etc but this time I wanted to serve it somewhat more rustic. A simple slab of well made pate ‘in the country style’ as it where. Now some recipes will call for eggs, cream, butter and all of that nonsense, not me. Keep it simple, let the meat do the talking, cook it right and bingo.
Go along to your family butcher (the last one standing in defiance of Tesco) and ask for two rabbits put through the mincer along with a couple of slices of belly pork. Ask the butcher to put the liver and kidneys from the rabbit in as well because that is going to give the pate moisture and flavour but not in an offal overdose kind of way. Now finely chop one medium sized white onion and two cloves of garlic. Add a teaspoon or so of chopped thyme leaves (savory is even better) place in a shallow pan and cover with madeira. Add two or three crushed juniper berries and a teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds, bring to the boil and simmer until the onion is cooked and the madeira has evaporated. Leave to cool.
Season the rabbit mix well with salt and pepper, add the onion mix. Add a tablespoon of lightly crushed and peeled pistachio if you wish. Pan fry a little piece and leave to cool. Taste and check the seasoning. Take a terrrine mold and line with cling film/wrap. Fill the mold with the mix and smooth the surface. Place thin strips of streaky bacon on top and overlap with the cling film. Place in a tray half filled with hot water and bake in a medium oven for about 90 minutes or until the centre is pipng hot, remember the pork must be cooked through.
Allow to cool and refrigerate for at least two hours before slicing. I’ll show you what I’ve done with mine in another post….
Rabbit Pate
Chef,
new on on me this - never heard of it before.
What about something like juniper berries or such like in it - little time bombs of taste
Best
Rod
July 1, 2010 @ 7:42 am
Rod,
Thanks for the tip but read the recipe….typical engineer….never reads the instructions
Miles
July 1, 2010 @ 7:56 am
Add two or three crushed juniper berries
Thing is, I don’t look stupid do I ?
Granted I missed it but my suggestion is now proven valid !
I should have been a chef
Cheers
Rod
July 1, 2010 @ 7:43 pm
Rod,
Sorry, well done!!
Miles
July 1, 2010 @ 10:19 pm
Miles,
I’m willing to bet my lot around here, by that I mean the butchers, have never been asked to mince a rabbit or anything else. I found out recently that the free range chicken fillets they’ve been selling for some time are ‘probably not exactly free range but something a bit like it’ …. ! In a world where the small independent shops are folding fast you’d think they’d be more careful. Anyway back to the rabbit….. sounds excellent as ever and I already spotted the flecks of green pistachio running through. Madeira though isn’t something everyone has hanging about at home so would you recommend a different fortified wine?
On the deli front, I took a shipment of flavoured oils by Ferran Adria yesterday…. this must be where he’s going in the business sense.
Cid
July 2, 2010 @ 10:31 am
Cid,
Ah, the old free range chicken number….don’t get me started. Don’t worry about the Madeira, use sherry or white wine instead. Sage or tarragon can replace savory or thyme too. Feel free to experiment.
Good luck to Adria, it was only a matter of time really.
Miles
July 2, 2010 @ 10:30 pm