French Terrine

• Ingredients for 2 or 3 big terrines (15 to 20 people).
• (For 1 big terrine, you can divide these quantities by two).
• 1 or 2 terrine dish(es) -they must have a lid.
• 1 kilo (2+ pounds) of chicken livers
• 1+ pound of sausage meat
• 1.5 to 2.0 pounds of ground pork (not lean, we need the fat).
• 1 or 2 big slices of bread (preferably whole wheat).
• 2 or 3 onions
• 2 or 3 shallots
• 3 eggs
• A few tbsp butter
• 1 big package of thinly sliced bacon, not smoked, and preferably without nitrates
• (This is the substitute for "caul fat" (crepine in French), which is difficult to find here.
• If you are lucky enough to find it, it is preferable.)
• Black pepper (45 turns of a pepper mill)
• 3 teaspoons of salt
• 1 or 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper (lower these two quantities if the sausage meat is already seasoned)
• 3 teaspoons thyme leaves, slightly ground
• 2 bay leaves, whole
• 2 teaspoons "four spice", or Morrocan rub, or equivalent.
• A small bottle of cognac, or port, or Madeira wine.
• Some flour.

1. The evening before:
2. Marinate the chicken livers overnight in the cognac (or port, or Madeira).
3. If you do not have time to do that, simply saute them lightly with butter and reserve.
4. Saute slowly the shredded onions and shallots in some butter, they must get transparent but not brown. Grind the bread (if no grinder, boil it with a little milk and puree with fork). Put the sausage meat, ground pork, bread, shredded onions and shallots and the eggs in a big bowl and mix thoroughly (it might be useful to use your hands instead of a spoon!). Add the spices and 4 tbsp of the cognac (or port, or Madeira wine).
5. Cover all the sides of the terrine dish(es) with caul fat of bacon slices.
6. Depending on the depth of the dish, you can do three layers or five layers of meat:
7. Start with one layer of the mixture, add one layer of chicken livers, repeat if possible, and always finish with one layer of the mixture. Cover with the bay leaves for decoration. Close the crepine on top, (or cover with a few slices bacon) so as to completely surround the terrine.
8. Make a dough with some flour and a little bit of water, roll it and put it all around the edges of the dish. It must be placed is such a way that when you cover with the lid, no air will be able to get in between the dish and the lid. Push in the lid. It will cause the dough to bulge slightly.
9. Put the terrine dish in another bigger dish filled with water, and cook at high temperature (525 Farenheit) for 1 1/2 hour.
10. Let cool and put in the fridge. Wait at least 12 hours before eating.
11. Enjoy with cornichons.
12. Serves

ingredients, terrine, terrine dishes, kilo, ground pork, bread, onions, shallots, eggs, butter, bacon, if, black pepper, salt, cayenne pepper, thyme, bay leaves, four spice, cognac, flour

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/french-terrine-50118211 (may not work)