Baked Pork and Chicken Liver Pâté with Green Peppercorns

A coarse country-style pâté of ground pork and chicken livers with brandy, mustard and green peppercorns, baked in a water bath and glazed with gelatin to keep it moist.

Ingredients

• 2 lb pork shoulder, ground
• 1 lb chicken livers, chopped
• 2 shallots, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
• ¼ cup brandy
• 2 tablespoons green peppercorns OR ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup pistachios, optional
• 2 cups cold water
• 2 ½ teaspoons (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin

Directions

Key ingredients

Black Pepper · Mustard · Salt

1. Prepare your oven and pans. Preheat the oven to 450°F and prepare a bain marie (water bath) by filling a 9” × 13” cake pan half-full with warm water. Butter a 9” x 5” loaf pan and have it ready.
2. Mix the ingredients. Place the pork, livers, and shallots in a large food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the mustard, brandy, peppercorns, salt, and eggs and process again until all ingredients are incorporated. You don’t need a completely smooth, homogenous mixture. Add the pistachios, if using, and pulse to mix.
3. Bake the pâté. Place the meat mixture in the prepared loaf pan and cover with foil. Place it in the bain marie – the water should come at least halfway up the sides of the loaf pan. Bake for approximately 1 ½ hours, until a thermometer inserted in the center reads 160-165°F. Refill the bain marie occasionally with hot water if necessary.
4. Bloom the gelatin. About 5-10 minutes before the pâté is expected to come out of the oven, pour the cold water into a small bowl, then sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over it. Let it sit until the pâté has been removed from the oven and the gelatin has dissolved completely.
5. Brush the pâté. When the pâté is cooked, remove the loaf pan from the bain marie and poke several holes into the loaf with a long skewer or toothpick. Brush the top of the pâté with a generous coating of the gelatin. As the loaf cools over the following 20-30 minutes, pour several thin applications of gelatin over it to let it sink in and to create a protective coating on the outside of the pâté. This keeps it moist and succulent.
6. Chill the pâté. Refrigerate until completely cold, then unmold and wrap in plastic wrap or place in a glass storage container. Store in the refrigerator for up to three days.
7. Serve the pâté. Slice the pâté ½ inch thick. Serve with a selection of mustards, pickles, olives, hard-boiled eggs, or sliced tomatoes, and pair it with other charcuterie, a green salad, or rustic breads.

Notes

If you do not have a food processor, here’s a work-around: mince the chicken livers and shallots as finely as you possibly can by hand, then place all the ingredients (except the water and gelatin) in a large bowl and mix well by squishing and squeezing the mixture with your hands. When the mixture is nearly homogenous, continue with the recipe as stated.

Split from one record This recipe was clipped together with two others in Beef Liver Pâté with Red Wine and Herbs and is now its own record; the clipped record’s 20-minute prep and 1½-hour cook times were this recipe’s. The clipped text gave no source line. The 160–165 °F finish is the source’s; USDA’s minimum for ground pork is 160 °F.

The photo The photograph shows a slice of coarse country pâté from Mont Ventoux on deli paper, not this exact recipe.