Gordon's rustic pâté
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Gordon's rustic pâté

An impressive starter from Gordon Ramsay, that's surprisingly simple to put together. Make it a few days ahead to allow the flavours to develop

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Makes 1 litre

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 50 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr

Plus marinating
Freezable

Method

  1. Prepare duck and chicken breasts and the pork fillet by trimming off any sinews and fat. Smash the garlic with the back of a knife to crush roughly. Mix the meats in a bowl with the garlic, thyme, Armagnac, oil and pepper (no salt at this stage). Cover and marinate in the fridge for 1-24 hrs, depending on depth of flavour that's required. Drain the meats from the marinade, which can be discarded, and cut into chunks of about 1.5cm. Heat the goose fat or butter in a large frying pan and fry the meats for 2 mins on each side to brown. Discard the garlic and thyme sprigs. Season and cool.
  2. Grease a 1kg terrine or loaf tin well. Arrange strips of bacon on the base and up both sides with enough overhanging to fold over. You will have a double layer of bacon on the base. Set aside.
  3. Soften the sausagemeat in a big bowl with a wooden spoon, then work in the cream and chopped herbs. To check the seasoning, shape a tbsp of the mixture into a patty and fry in a little oil for 2-3 mins, then taste and add more salt and pepper to the bowl, if needed.
  4. Mix the marinated meats into the sausagemeat. Scoop the mixture into the terrine, pressing down well and mounding up on the top. Pull the overhanging bacon strips up and over to cover.
  5. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Double-wrap the terrine top in foil, pressing well into the sides and twisting the ends to seal. Place in a large, deep-sided roasting pan and pour in boiling water to reach halfway up the sides. Bake for 1 hr, until the meat feels firm on top when pressed. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, then chill overnight.
  6. To serve, place the terrine in a pan of just-boiled water and leave for 3 mins to soften the bacon. Loosen the sides with a flat knife and ease the terrine out onto a board. Serve in slices with pear compote, some winter salad leaves and chunks of crusty bread.
Try

Freezing

Leftover pâté can be open-frozen in slices, then wrapped well in freezer film. Use within one month.

Marinating ahead

Marinating the meats ahead gives them an extra-rich flavour. If you have no armagnac, then use cognac, calvados or even dry sherry. Marinate the meats for anything from 1-24 hours. The longer you marinate, the deeper the flavour will be.

The best sausagemeat

Gordon's neat cheat for this one is to use top-quality sausagemeat (at least 85 per cent meat, such as Duchy Original Cumberland sausage), mixed with lots of chopped fresh herbs and double cream.

Using a loaf tin

Gordon used a traditional white-glazed French terrine mould, but a 1-litre metal loaf tin gives the same capacity, although it may be slightly wider.

Know how

The pâté will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. To freeze, allow to cool, wrap well in cling film and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost in the fridge for 24 hours.

Getting the perfect seasoning

You should check the seasoning before baking. Remember that cold foods need a little more flavour than hot ones.

Varying the meats

If you like, you can vary the meats - try spicy Merguez or garlicky Toulouse instead of Cumberland sausagemeat. Or, for a more traditional, smooth pâté texture, ask your butcher to mince together 350g each pork, beef and veal - you could add some finely chopped duck liver, too. And, for the ultimate in luxury, Gordon love to add pieces of foie gras.

With less bacon

For a thinner layer of bacon, use Italian pancetta instead of streaky bacon.

642 kcalories, protein 37g, carbohydrate 9g, fat 49 g, saturated fat 21g, fibre 0g, sugar 1g, salt 3.56 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, January 2006.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 21-25

  • 13 January 2011

    MacyMoo rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this in between Christmas and New year along with the Christmas pie that is also on this Web site. I halved everything as I didn't want that much and it still worked out well. I used a good quality sausage meat (80% meat which I found in Sainsbury on the butcher counter). I did marinate the meat for a day and a half as well. It was easy to make and looked great, also added the Italian pancetta instead of bacon. We found that after cooking it and leaving it in the fridge it got better with age. Tasted it the first day and it was nice, left it for another 2 days and it tasted great.

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  • 08 April 2012

    Nechanis commented on this recipe

    First time terrine maker and this came out perfectly, I made it for a dinner party and unanimously everyone said it was amazing ( they may have been being polite ) but I thought it was good. I didnt have duck so I omitted that but put in some chunks of pancetta instead. I served with a James Martin recipe for beetroot compote and it was a perfect accompaniment !

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  • 29 July 2012

    Fairy Fay rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I have made this time and time again it never disappoints us. Serve on a long oblong serving plate sliced, It looks and tastes Fabulous....

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  • 26 December 2012

    Tony rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very good indeed and please, please, please, go to the trouble of making the Pear Compote it transforms this Pate from "very good indeed" to "out of this world!"

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  • 27 December 2012

    kiki rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    This one did not work out well for me. I made the pate 3 days in advance having marinated the meats for 20 hours first. As we were away for 3 nights over Christmas I planned to serve the pate at a family buffet on Christmas Eve. When I sliced it up the inside was not cooked and it could not be used. I think it needed longer than an hour in the bain marie but it did feel firm when I tapped it. I tasted a bit from the edge which was cooked and it was nice but not great. Disappointed

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Makes 1 litre

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 50 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr

Plus marinating
Freezable

Impressive-looking starter

Ingredients

  • 200g skinless duck breasts
  • 200g skinless chicken breasts
  • 150g pork tenderloins fillet
  • 2 plump garlic cloves , peeled
  • 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3 tbsp Armagnac brandy
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp goose fat or butter, plus extra for greasing terrine
  • about 250g thinly sliced rindless streaky bacon (dry cure is best) or pancetta
  • 1kg best quality sausagemeat (at least 85% meat)
  • 150ml double cream
  • 4 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 2 tbsp chopped tarragon
  • 1 tbsp chopped thyme or rosemary
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642 kcalories, protein 37g, carbohydrate 9g, fat 49 g, saturated fat 21g, fibre 0g, sugar 1g, salt 3.56 g

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