Duck liver terrine

Ingredients for 10 servings:

• 600 g liver(s) (fresh duck foie gras)
• 50 ml Cognac or Old Armagnac
• 50 ml port wine, white
• 1 pinch(s) of curing salt
• Spice mix (pie spice): of which 7 g
• 2 tbsp white pepper
• 1 tbsp pepper (Szechuan pepper)
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp mace
• 10 grains of allspice
• 5 juniper berries
• 2 cloves

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest period approx. 2 days; Total time approx. 2 days 1 hour

Duck foie gras

First, prepare the pâté seasoning: grind or crush all the spices in a coffee grinder or similar. (The amount of prepared pâté seasoning does not correspond to the amount used in the duck liver terrine recipe!) Store in an airtight jar in a dark place. This spice mixture can be adjusted according to personal taste. Chill the duck breast thoroughly in the refrigerator for a few hours, then remove it from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before use. The liver should be cool so it doesn’t melt during processing; on the other hand, it shouldn’t be too cold, or the veins and nerves will be difficult to remove. A smooth granite work surface is best; otherwise, place parchment paper underneath. Peel or scrape the skin off the liver (this is quite fiddly). Turn the liver over and carefully push the two liver lobes apart. Remove the veins and nerve strands with tweezers or small pliers (I use my fish bone pliers for this). Beginners in particular should abandon the idea that the two liver lobes can be preserved as a whole. To ensure a liver that is as free of veins and nerves as possible, it is better to divide the liver further than to struggle with threads in the finished terrine afterwards! Lay the trimmed liver out on the work surface and season it. Place everything together in a bowl (or place it in a vacuum-sealed bag), pour over the alcohol, and let it marinate overnight. Prepare a terrine dish with a capacity of approximately 600–750 ml. Saw out a lid from approximately 5 mm thick plywood, which – wrapped in two or three layers of aluminum foil – can be easily clamped into the terrine dish. Press the liver pieces firmly into the terrine dish, smoothing the surface. Preheat the oven to approximately 80 degrees Celsius, and place the terrine in a water bath at approximately 70 degrees Celsius (the cold terrine dish will cool the water bath to approximately 60 degrees Celsius). When the terrine has reached an internal temperature of 50 degrees Celsius, remove it from the water bath and let it rest at room temperature for about 2 hours. Then carefully drain the fat into a narrow, tall container. Very carefully drain the first fat freehand (be careful, the liver mixture will still be very soft, almost liquid), then clamp on the lid and drain off the remaining fat as best you can. Lightly press the liver mixture with a board and place the terrine in the refrigerator. The next day, the drained fat should have solidified. Remove the fat and discard any liquid that has collected at the bottom of the container. Heat the fat in a small saucepan until it stops crackling. Strain it through a filter paper and wait until it has cooled but is still liquid. Remove the board from the terrine, smooth the surface of the terrine with a spatula, and pour the cooled fat over it so that the entire surface is sealed. The terrine tastes best after it has rested for a few days.