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Terrine of Ham and Veal
Finely chop a half pound raw lean veal with half pound of fresh raw fat pork, place in a mortar with two egg yolks, two tablespoons sherry, one teaspoon rum, half teaspoon salt, saltspoon cayenne, saltspoon grated nutmeg and saltspoon ground mixed spice; thoroughly pound five minutes, then press through a sieve and keep on a plate. Procure three slices quarter of a pound each from a leg of veal; neatly flatten them. Season with half teaspoon salt and two saltspoons white pepper; place in a frying pan with tablespoon melted butter, fry three minutes on each side, and keep on a plate. Have three slices cooked ham same thickness as the steaks and place on plate with the veal. Line interior of an oval cocotte tureen with thin slices larding pork, arrange a layer of the preparation at bottom and all around sides of the tureen, quarter of an inch thick. Place a slice veal at bottom, spread a little force over the veal, then a slice of ham, a little more force, another slice of veal, etc., until finished. Arrange a bay leaf on top. Cover with thin slices larding pork; pour in half gill sherry, cover tureen, then place in a small braising pan, pour in hot water up to half the height of tureen, set in oven one hour. Bring tureen to oven door, lift up cover, pour in two tablespoons brandy, re-cover, set in oven and bake half an hour more. Remove, place tureen in a cool place, lay a board, oval shape, of same size as tureen, over the pate, place a pound weight on top until thoroughly cold, lift up board, remove fat from top, pass a clean knife all around edges so as to detach it. Turn on a cold dish with a folded napkin, remove lard from top and all around. Cut in quarter-inch pieces four tablespoons jelly, arrange around the tureen. Finely slice lengthwise twelve medium vinegar pickles, arrange them, one overlapping another, on top around as a crown, place a thin slice of truffle in centre and serve.
N. B. A little finely chopped truffle sprinkled over each layer of force in the tureen will improve the flavour considerably, if so desired.
A classic layered pâté en terrine, built from a pounded veal-and-pork forcemeat around whole slices of veal and ham, then cooked in a water bath and pressed cold. The original assumes a professional larder, so a few translations are needed before you start.
- The hinge: press it coldThe board and the pound weight are not optional finishing steps. Pressing while the terrine cools consolidates the layers and drives out air pockets, and without it the pâté crumbles when sliced. Let it press until fully cold, then refrigerate a further day before turning out.
- Saltspoon and gillA saltspoon is a quarter teaspoon. A gill is half a cup, so half a gill of sherry is four tablespoons.
- Oven heatNo temperature is given because the range had none. A terrine in a bain-marie wants a moderate oven, 325-350F; the water in the braising pan should stay below a simmer. The ninety minutes total is about right for a small tureen, but cook to an internal temperature of 160F rather than to the clock.
- "Larding pork" and fat porkThe sheets lining the tureen are barding fat -- thin slices of cured or fresh back fat, which a butcher will cut for you. The half pound of "fresh raw fat pork" in the forcemeat is unsalted fatback or very fatty pork belly, not bacon; it supplies the fat that keeps the pâté from drying.
- "Force"Shorthand for forcemeat, the pounded veal-and-pork mixture. The mortar and sieve can be replaced by a food processor pulsed cold, but keep the meat and the bowl chilled or the fat smears and the texture turns grainy.
- Cocotte tureenAn oval lidded earthenware or enamelled cast-iron terrine; something in the range of 1 to 1.5 quarts will take this quantity. Cut a piece of stiff card wrapped in foil to the interior oval for the pressing board.
- Mixed spiceThe English blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove and ginger, sold as pudding spice. French quatre épices -- pepper, nutmeg, clove, ginger -- is the more usual charcuterie seasoning and works better here.
- Jelly and picklesThe "jelly" is chopped aspic, most easily made by setting a good clarified stock with gelatine. The "vinegar pickles" are gherkins -- cornichons or similar -- sliced lengthwise and fanned.
- YieldA terrine of this size gives ten to twelve slices, enough for eight or so as a first course with bread and mustard. Sealed under its own fat and kept refrigerated, it will hold several days.
The terrine takes its name from the vessel rather than the food: terrine is simply an earthenware pot, and the layered forcemeat baked inside one borrowed the word, as casserole and tagine also did. This one belongs to the French charcuterie repertoire as it was practised in grand American hotel and restaurant kitchens at the turn of the century -- veal and pork pounded together, spirits used both as seasoning and preservative, the whole thing pressed and served cold as a buffet or luncheon piece. The International Cook Book is generally credited to Alexander Filippini, long associated with Delmonico's in New York, and the fussy garnish here -- chopped aspic, a crown of fanned cornichons, a disc of truffle dead centre, the dish lined with a folded napkin -- is restaurant plating of that era written down for a domestic reader who was unlikely ever to attempt it. The brandy poured in at the oven door partway through cooking is a professional's trick: added late, it perfumes the pate instead of boiling away.