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Rabbit Pate
Take two young rabbits, bone them, and cut them into pieces. Take half a pound of fresh pork and half a pound of veal fat; chop these ingredients small, and mix with them a laurel-leaf, a shallot, thyme, and some parsley, all finely shredded, and add pepper, salt, and a little powdered cloves. Lay the minced rabbits, etc., in a pie-dish lined with slices of fat bacon, pour a wine-glassful of brandy over the whole, and cover the top with slices of bacon. Place the pate in a moderate oven, and let it remain there for a couple of hours. When done enough, serve the pate in a flat dish garnished round the edges with slices of beetroot sprinkled with vinegar, or pickled capsicums can be used instead, if liked.
A baked terrine in all but name: boned rabbit and fat, seasoned, sealed under bacon and cooked slowly. The instructions assume you know that the meat is to be chopped, not left in joints, and that the finished loaf is better cold than hot.
- The hinge: fat ratioHalf a pound of fresh pork and half a pound of veal fat to two young rabbits is not generous by terrine standards. Rabbit is exceptionally lean and dry, so do not cut the fat back or substitute a leaner cut, or the pate will be crumbly and mealy.
- Chop, do not grind to paste"Chop these ingredients small" and "the minced rabbits" mean a coarse hand-chop, roughly 1/4-inch pieces, or the coarse plate of a grinder. A food processor run too long emulsifies the fat and gives a rubbery, sausage-like texture.
- Laurel-leafBay. One leaf, finely shredded as directed, or laid whole on top and removed before serving; shredded bay leaves in the mixture are unpleasant to bite into if the pieces are large.
- Veal fatHard fat from the veal carcase, most likely kidney fat, which few butchers stock now. Substitute an equal weight of pork back fat or fatty pork belly. "Fresh pork" here means unsalted pork, not cured.
- A wine-glassful of brandyAbout 2 fluid ounces in period usage, sometimes up to 3. Mix it through the meat rather than pouring it over the surface; it seasons better and does not pool.
- Moderate ovenAround 350F. Two hours at that temperature suits a deep dish of roughly 2 1/2 to 3 lb of mixture; set the dish in a roasting tin of hot water to keep the edges from overcooking, and cover once the bacon has coloured.
- Know when it is done"Done enough" means an internal temperature of 160-165F at the centre, and juices that run clear rather than pink. A thermometer is more reliable than time, since dish depth varies enormously.
- Press and restCool it in the dish under a weight (a board and a couple of tins) so the loaf holds together when sliced, then chill overnight. Sliced warm, it will fall apart.
- Yield and servingTwo rabbits plus the pound of pork and veal fat gives roughly 8 to 10 servings as a first course. The beetroot in vinegar and the pickled capsicums are both doing the same job as cornichons: acid against fat.
This belongs to the French charcuterie tradition of pates, where a pate originally meant a filling baked inside pastry and only later came to mean the forcemeat itself; this version has dropped the crust entirely and lines the dish with bacon instead, which is properly a terrine. Rabbit was a cheap and widely available meat in Victorian Britain, and the recipe assumes a kitchen where the labour of boning cost little. The garnish is of its period: beetroot in vinegar and pickled capsicums were both familiar British relishes, capsicums reaching British tables through the trade in imported pickles.