Paté en croute (terrine in a pie crust)
The French classic "Paté en croute" is a terrine of different meats layered and baked in a pie crust. There are many recipes which vary the kind of meat and the seasonings. This is my version with pork, veal and chicken, which is not too difficult, though it does entail quite a lot of work.
6 hours 50 min.
Average
1 paté
22 IngredientsLast modified on: September 7th 2018
For 1 paté, you will need:
- 1
1 1⁄3 cup shortcrust pastry (pâte brisée) - 2
2 tablespoons dried morels - 3
1 1⁄3 cup veal - 4
1 1⁄3 cup pork loin - 5
1 ½ cup chicken breast - 6
1 1⁄3 cup ham - 7
½ cup onion - 8
1 garlic clove - 9
1 bayleaf - 10
thyme - 11
¼ cup Brandy (Cognac or Armagnac) - 12
¼ cup Port - 13
1 shallot - 14
2 tablespoons olive oil - 15
¼ cup cream - 16
2 eggs - 17
½ tablespoon fine (or table) salt - 18
¼ teaspoon pepper - 19
2⁄3 cup Foie gras (optional) - 20
1 beaten egg - 21 salt
- 22 pepper
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 2 hours 30 min.
Resting: 1 hour
Cooking: 3 hours 20 min.
All in all: 6 hours 50 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 10 min.
The day before
Prepare 1 1⁄3 cup shortcrust pastry (pâte brisée) (unsweetened). Wrap in stretch plastic film and leave in the fridge.
Prepare 1 1⁄3 cup shortcrust pastry (pâte brisée) (unsweetened). Wrap in stretch plastic film and leave in the fridge.
Stage 2 - 30 min.
Rehydrate 2 tablespoons dried morels.
Stage 3 - 20 min.
Cut 1 1⁄3 cup veal into strips about 1 or 2 cm ( ½ to 1 inch) thick.
Do the same with 1 ½ cup chicken breast.
Chop 1 1⁄3 cup pork loin into large dice.
Do the same with 1 ½ cup chicken breast.
Chop 1 1⁄3 cup pork loin into large dice.
Stage 4 - 3 min.
Chop 1 1⁄3 cup ham into large dice.
Stage 5 - 40 min.
Prepare the marinade:
Chop ½ cup onion and 1 garlic clove.
Put the pieces of chicken, veal, ham and pork loin into a large bowl.
Sprinkle them with ¼ cup Brandy (Cognac or Armagnac) and ¼ cup Port, add the chopped garlic and onion, 1 bayleaf and thyme. Salt and pepper lightly and mix well.
Cover with plastic film and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight.
Chop ½ cup onion and 1 garlic clove.
Put the pieces of chicken, veal, ham and pork loin into a large bowl.
Sprinkle them with ¼ cup Brandy (Cognac or Armagnac) and ¼ cup Port, add the chopped garlic and onion, 1 bayleaf and thyme. Salt and pepper lightly and mix well.
Cover with plastic film and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight.
Stage 6 - 20 min.
Stage 7 - 2 min.
Pick the parsley leaves off the stalks and only keep the leaves.
Stage 8 - 10 min.
Put through the mincer (coarse setting) the pork loin, ham, parsley, onions/garlic and the liquid from the marinade as well as the mushrooms and cream.
You should now only have the chicken and veal left to deal with.
You should now only have the chicken and veal left to deal with.
Stage 9 - 3 min.
Add 2 eggs, ½ tablespoon fine (or table) salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper to the minced mixture.
These proportions are correct if you are using 300 g of pork loin (the ham is already salted), otherwise use this small calculator:
These proportions are correct if you are using 300 g of pork loin (the ham is already salted), otherwise use this small calculator:
Stage 10 - 5 min.
Roll out the shrotcrust pastry into a large rectangle and sit your paté mould (a loaf tin works well) on top of it. Cut a triangle of pastry out of each corner so that it will fit neatly in the mould.
Stage 11 - 2 min.
Fold the pastry in half.
Stage 12 - 5 min.
Then unfold it into the mould, leaving about 1 cm overlapping all round. Fit it to the inside of the mould, using scissors to snip it if necessary, until you have an even pastry case.
Spread a first layer of minced mixture in the bottom.
Spread a first layer of minced mixture in the bottom.
Stage 13 - 3 min.
Salt and pepper the strips of chicken and veal, then spread these in layers on top of the minced mixture.
You can also weigh the veal and chicken and salt them all at once in a bowl (use the calculator again to know what weight of salt and pepper to use), then spread them in layers after seasoning.
You can also weigh the veal and chicken and salt them all at once in a bowl (use the calculator again to know what weight of salt and pepper to use), then spread them in layers after seasoning.
Stage 14 - 3 min.
You can also make layers of meat and foie gras if you like.
Stage 15 - 3 min.
Add layers of meats like this, adding salt and pepper each time, alternating with layers of the minced mixture. Finish with a layer of the minced mixture.
Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F).
Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F).
Stage 16 - 5 min.
Roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid.
Make a hole in the centre (the chimney) to allow steam to escape during cooking.
You can cut decorations out of left-over pastry if you like.
Make a hole in the centre (the chimney) to allow steam to escape during cooking.
You can cut decorations out of left-over pastry if you like.
Stage 17 - 2 min.
Glaze around the top of the pastry case.
Stage 18 - 3 min.
Place the lid on the pie and press down around the edge to seal it.
Glaze all over the top with beaten egg, stick on any pastry decorations and glaze them too.
Glaze all over the top with beaten egg, stick on any pastry decorations and glaze them too.
Stage 19 - 3 hours
Bake in the oven for 3 hours. This long cooking allows the paté to cook the middle without burning the crust.
The paté will shrink as it cools, leaving a space between the lid and the top of the meat filling. If you wish, you can fill this space with jelly by pouring it in through the chimney hole (though personally, I don't see that this adds anything).
The paté will shrink as it cools, leaving a space between the lid and the top of the meat filling. If you wish, you can fill this space with jelly by pouring it in through the chimney hole (though personally, I don't see that this adds anything).
Stage 20 - 1 hour
Leave to cool, then leave in the fridge, ideally for 3 or 4 days, to allow the flavours to develop fully.
Cut into slices and serve with mustard or mayonnaise, and gherkins in vinegar.
Cut into slices and serve with mustard or mayonnaise, and gherkins in vinegar.
Remarks
You can vary this recipe a thousand ways: use different meats, vary their proportions, the marinade, with or without mushrooms chopped or whole, foie gras, etc. Use your imagination, but keep to the basic idea: alternate layers of minced meat and morsels in a pastry crust.
It is important not to make the pastry crust too thick, unlike the very stodgy versions available commercially with their 1 cm or more of pastry.
It is important not to make the pastry crust too thick, unlike the very stodgy versions available commercially with their 1 cm or more of pastry.
And to drink?
An Arbois red wine, made with the Trousseau (Bastardo) grape variety.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge protected with plastic film.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 520 RDI=200 % | 1,230 RDI=120 % | 1,530 RDI=230 % | 5,680 RDI=280 % | 23,780 RDI: 280 % |
| Per 100 g | 30 RDI=10 % | 60 RDI=6 % | 80 RDI=10 % | 290 RDI=20 % | 1,220 RDI: 20 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 1 paté : 30.30 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Shortcrust pastry (pâte brisée)
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Deep leek and potato quiche, Sorrel and potato quiche, Potato and cheese pie, Black sesame flan, Gisèle's Pasties, ... See them all 16
Chicken breast
Like these other recipes: Vol-au-vent, Tex-Mex chicken burger, Chorba, Coq au vin, Shiro-goma salad, ... See them all 29
Ham
Like these other recipes: Escalope cordon bleu, Hearty potato and ham gratin, Croque-monsieur complet, Mushroom buckwheat pancakes, Ham "friand" pie, ... See them all 30
Veal
Like these other recipes: Spring veal sauté , Saltimbocca, Sliced veal with leeks and mushrooms, Escalope of veal in a cream sauce, Veal with mushrooms and green asparagus, ... See them all 9
Other recipes you may also like
Stock-pot fish
A julienne of vegetables (small sticks) mixed with choice morsels of fish, slowly cooked in vegetable stock. December 31th 2013324 K4.3 2 hours 40 min.
New tiramisu
This new version of tiramisu is easier, and in my opinion much better. You will certainly appreciate, like me, the light creamy taste, this time presented in brandy goblets. January 19th 2015409 K3.3 55 min.
Franche-Comté sticks
Thin baguettes made with Morteau sausage and cancoillotte cheese. The cancoillotte is added in the form of crumbled metton curds (normally melted in milk to make the creamy cancoillotte). Sliced thinly, these sticks make an ideal aperitif snack for sharing with friends. October 24th 2017121 K4 5 hours 30 min.
Pancake batter
Here is a pancake batter that is a little more sophisticated than the traditional version. The pancakes will be tastier with a softer texture. February 2nd 2020365 K3.8 15 min.
Seven-hour lamb
Seven-hour lamb is a good old country recipe and very simple. There's really not much to do, just long, slow cooking and the result is always amazing: the lamb is so tender it can be cut with a fork. April 20th 2014241 K3.9 7 hours 35 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-09-21)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Follow this recipe (as 5 people already do)
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.
The 13 comments already posted on this recipe
I am making it with turkey in lieu of veal. It's a fantastic recipe. Thanks
1) As you plan it, run a knife around the edges, then upside down the baking dish to get the terrine.
2) Yes, it can be frozen
3) you're welcome !
Yes probably, I think you should cook them before.
2) It's quite the same texture, but better in taste.