French Recipe: Pâté de Campagne de Grand-Mère

There’s a reason French grandmothers made pâté de campagne: nothing went to waste. Odds and ends, scraps of pork, or even wild game from the hunt — all could be transformed into something rich and deeply satisfying. It’s slow food in the best sense, thrifty but luxurious. My version comes from that tradition, and I’ve tested it with everything from boar to venison to mink. If it can make mink taste good, it can make anything taste good.

TLDR: Marinate chopped meat with spices and bread, pack into a loaf pan, bake gently in a water bath, chill overnight, slice and serve.

Grandma's Country Pâté Recipe

Not my Grandma, but somebody’s. As I remember it, my grandmother didn’t cook at all if she could avoid it.

This is actually very simple, but slow.

Simple and rich flavors in this dish make it a French classic and also a problem solver for all kinds of unusual meats, if you have to deal with that. I have used this recipe for unusual game meats, from boar to venison to bear and mink. If this recipe will make a meat like mink work, then anything will.

Yours does not have to be mink. In fact, I’d advise against it - but if this recipe works for mink, it

makes others delicious.

In brief:

• Mix everything together
• Let it sit for 2-24 hours
• Shape it into a loaf
• Cover with foil in a water bath
• Cook
• Let rest
• eat
• with pickles…?

This classic rustic dish ensures that nothing is wasted but made delicious and works well with all game meats.

Message me or leave comments if you would like anything more about this recipe.

K

game meat pâté I made recently.

Pâté de Campagne de Grand-Mère

Makes roughly 10-12 large servings, or more.

Tips:

·      a few simple ingredients work better than trying to put more in.

·      take your time. Marinating makes this amazing. Rushing it makes meatloaf.

• many ingredients can be swapped out or removed altogether

Ingredients:

·      1 lb pork shoulder, cubed

·      0.75 lb pork liver, cubed – I skip this most times, but it’s the classic ingredient

·      0.33 lb veal shoulder, cubed

·      0.33 lb fresh pork belly, cubed

·      0.33 lb pork fat, cubed, or 4 oz heavy cream, which I prefer

o   This is roughly 2 ½ lbs of meat in total. You can lighten the dish by adding lentils, nuts, or fruit (apricots are great). Most times, I use pork shoulder and one other meat.

·      3 shallots, chopped

·      2 cloves garlic, minced

·      2 eggs – for binder, will work without it

·      2 slices of bread, soaked in milk – the staler, the better

·      1 tsp salt

·      3/4 tsp black pepper, but you can go lighter

·      0.25 tsp quatre épices (mix of black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg – use what you have)

·      4 bay leaves

·      1 tbsp parsley, chopped

·      2 tbsp brandy (like Cognac or Armagnac), but bourbon works well

Instructions:

1. Chop all meats and mix in a bowl. Add nuts and fruit, if using

2. Marinate: Add everything else and mix, cover, and let marinate refrigerated for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Later on…

3. Soak bread in milk until mushy. Mix with the eggs in a separate bowl.

4. Combine and Mix: Add egg and bread mixture to marinated meats. Mix thoroughly without mushing your chunks of meat. It works out if you skip steps 3 & 4. I’ve made it without many times.

5. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Line a terrine mold or a loaf pan with plastic wrap or parchment paper, hanging over edges. Fill mold and press down to eliminate air pockets. Fold the wrap over the top of the pâté.

6. Cook  Put the mold inside a large baking dish. Fill water halfway up the sides of the mold for your water bath. Bake for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until firm and internal temperature reaches 160°F (71°C).

7. Cool: Once cooked, remove from oven and let cool. Then refrigerate 24 hours to allow flavors to meld.

8. Serve: Unmold pâté. Slice and serve with bread, cornichons, and mustard. you can try to lift out the plastic, but I just put a plate on top and flip it. Or serve right from the pan.