This recipe, featured in Hot Topics Vol. 62, Summer 2019, comes from Chatham Squire in Chatham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Recipe yields one 3-lb. (1.36 kilograms) loaf.
Ingredients:
- 12 oz. (317 g) ground pork
- 1 oz. (30 ml) brandy
- 6 oz. (158 g) duck livers
- 12 oz. (317 g) ground veal
- ¼ c. (30 g) walnuts
- 2 pears cut in half
- 4 oz. (120 ml) Madeira wine
- 2¾ oz. (78 g) sun-dried cranberries
- 1 egg
- 2 oz. (60 ml) heavy cream
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 2 cloves
- 6 oz. (109 g) onions chopped
- Dry thyme
- ½ clove garlic
Fresh ground dry herbs (ground spices may be substituted):
- ½ tsp. (1/4 g) fennel seed
- 3 each whole allspice
- ¼ stick cinnamon
- 2 bay leaves
Other spices:
- ½ tsp. (1/4 g) onion powder
- ¼ tsp. (1/8 g) coriander
- ¼ tsp. (1/8 g) ground thyme leaves
- ¼ tsp. (1/8 g) curry powder
- ¼ tsp. (1/8 g) fancy mace
- ½ tsp. (1/4 g) ground ginger
- ¾ tsp. (3/8 g) marjoram
- ½ tsp. (1/4 g) celery seed
- 2 tsp. (1 g) parsley flakes
- 1 tbsp. (14 g) unflavored gelatin
- 1 tbsp. (15 g) kosher salt
Instructions:
Mix wine with cranberries, and sweat until liquid is gone. Put aside.
Mix dry herbs and spices together. Puree one-half of duck livers and blanche other one-half by sautéing in oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook three-quarters through, cool, then dice. Put aside.
Mix together egg and heavy cream. Cut two pears in half, core and remove stem. Poach in equal parts wine and water, ½ cinnamon stick and two cloves. Oven roast onions in oil, dry thyme and ½ clove garlic.
Mix all ingredients together, except walnuts and cranberries. Pour one-half of mixture into loaf pan, then place pears (sliced in half) on top. Mix walnuts and cranberries into other half of mixture and add to the loaf pan. Cover top of pan with parchment or wax paper. Place in pan of water and bake at 400°F (204°C) for 1 hour. Remove from oven to cool. Place brick wrapped in plastic wrap on top of pâté and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Serving suggestions:
Serve with crackers, good quality Pommery or Dijon mustard, cornichons, and pickled pearl onions. It also makes a hearty sandwich meat.
