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.
Last modified on: September 7th 2018
Keywords for this recipe:PâtéTerrineCrustPie crustMeatsSlow cookingFor 1 paté, you will need:
- 1
300 g Shortcrust pastry (pâte brisée) - 2
30 g dried morels - 3
300 g veal - 4
300 g pork loin - 5
300 g chicken breast - 6
300 g ham - 7
100 g onion - 8
1 garlic clove - 9
1 bayleaf - 10
thyme - 11
50 ml Brandy (Cognac or Armagnac) - 12
50 ml Port - 13
1 shallot - 14
2 tablespoons olive oil - 15
50 ml cream - 16
2 eggs - 17
6 g fine (or table) salt - 18
1 g pepper - 19
150 g Foie gras (optional) - 20
1 beaten egg - 21 salt
- 22 pepper
- Total weight: 2,105 grams
How long does it take?
Time required for this recipe:
| Preparation | Resting | Cooking | Start to finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours 29 min. | 1 hour | 3 hours 20 min. | 6 hours 49 min. |
At what time:
- When will I finish if I start the recipe at ... ?
When should I start for the recipe to be ready at ... ? - Work this out...
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 10 min.
The day before
Prepare 300 g Shortcrust pastry (pâte brisée) (unsweetened). Wrap in stretch plastic film and leave in the fridge.
Prepare 300 g Shortcrust pastry (pâte brisée) (unsweetened). Wrap in stretch plastic film and leave in the fridge.
Stage 2 - 30 min.
Rehydrate 30 g dried morels.
Stage 3 - 20 min.
Cut 300 g veal into strips about 1 or 2 cm ( ½ to 1 inch) thick.
Do the same with 300 g chicken breast.
Chop 300 g pork loin into large dice.
Do the same with 300 g chicken breast.
Chop 300 g pork loin into large dice.
Stage 4 - 3 min.
Chop 300 g ham into large dice.
Stage 5 - 40 min.
Prepare the marinade:
Chop 100 g onion and 1 garlic clove.
Put the pieces of chicken, veal, ham and pork loin into a large bowl.
Sprinkle them with 50 ml Brandy (Cognac or Armagnac) and 50 ml 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 100 g onion and 1 garlic clove.
Put the pieces of chicken, veal, ham and pork loin into a large bowl.
Sprinkle them with 50 ml Brandy (Cognac or Armagnac) and 50 ml 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, 6 g fine (or table) salt and 1 g 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.
Nutritional information
| Whole recipe | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Energetic value | Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats |
| 3,858 Kcal or 16,153 Kj | 280 gr | 155 gr | 421 gr |
| 193 % | 108 % | 15 % | 64 % |
| Per 100 g | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Energetic value | Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats |
| 183 Kcal or 766 Kj | 13 gr | 7 gr | 20 gr |
| 9 % | 5 % | 1 % | 3 % |
| Per paté | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Energetic value | Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats |
| 3,858 Kcal or 16,153 Kj | 280 gr | 155 gr | 421 gr |
| 193 % | 108 % | 15 % | 64 % |
How much will it cost?
Source
Home made.
This recipe uses (among others)
 | Pork loin: You can check-out other recipes which use it, like for example: Pâté de campagne, Rabbit terrine, ... All |
 | Shortcrust pastry (pâte brisée): You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: French custard tart, Salmon and leek fondue tart, Mexican tart, Potimarron and Parmesan tart, Gisèle's Pasties, ... All |
 | Chicken breast: You can check-out other recipes which use it, like for example: Chicken nems, Chicken pie, Pan-fried chicken breast on mozzarella, Coq au vin, Chicken and avocado bagels, ... All |
 | Ham: You can check-out other recipes which use it, like for example: Potato and two ham gratin, Ham à la Russe, Welsh (French Welsh Rarebit), Croque-monsieur, Mini Mont d'Or fondue with "spuds in blankets", ... All |
Other recipes you may also like
Pâté de campagne
Here is a personal version of the famous country pâté. It's an interesting recipe to prepare in large quantities because it keeps well and freezes easily. The secret of a good pâté is of course the ingredients, but also how it is cooked.1.9M 23.7 7 hours 54 min. October 3rd 2019
How to cook Morteau sausage well
This is, in my opinion, the best smoked sausage. You can cook it in a number of ways, here are three of the best known.2.4M4 40 min. November 15th 2018
French croissants
In this famous and highly technical recipe from a piece of yeast-based flaky dough we are going to cut and shape ("roll") croissants.563K 24.3 2 hours 34 min. June 26th 2019
How to bake blind
This method allows you to cook a tart case, and then fill with a preparation which may or may not need further cooking (fruit, chocolate, crème patissière , etc...).826K5 1 hour 40 min. May 6th 2017
Walnut paste
Very similar to marzipan (almond paste) in method, walnut paste is very tasty.265K 63.7 14 min. February 21th 2011
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2022-07-03)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Follow this recipe (as 6 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.
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.