Hot Duck Pâté in Puff Pastry ►
A combination of duck, pork, and veal is marinated, then seasoned and turned into a luxurious pate. The pate, in turn, is tucked into “ravioli” of puff pastry and baked until golden brown. The crisp packages are served with truffle-studded Sauce Perigueux. This is a very elegant appetizer.
Ingredients
- Duck - 1 duck, approximately 4 pounds
- Pork Butt - 1/2 pound, cubed
- Veal Shoulder - 1/2 pound, cubed
- Nutmeg - pinch
- Allspice - pinch
- Thyme - pinch
- Bay Leaf - 1
- White Wine - 8 ounces
- Garlic - 2 cloves, unpeeled
- Eggs - 2
- Truffles - 1 ounce, chopped
- Pistachio Nuts - 1/4 pound, blanched, skins removed
- Duck Glace - 1/4 cup
- Truffle Juice - 1 tablespoon
- Foie Gras - 12 ounces
- Truffle - 1, thinly sliced (optional)
- Puff Pastry - 2 pounds, thawed
- Egg - 1, beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or cream (egg wash)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Sauce Perigueux
- Onion - 1, finely diced
- Carrot - 1, finely diced
- Celery - 3 stalks, deribbed and finely diced
- Unsalted Butter - 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon
- Madeira - 1 quart
- Veal Stock - 1 quart
- Truffles - 1 ounces, chopped
- Madeira - 1 tablespoon (alt. cognac)
- Foie Gras - 2 ounces, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
Remove the meat from the legs and breast of the duck. Remove all skin and fat. Marinate duck meat, pork, and veal with the nutmeg, allspice, thyme, bay leaf, wine, and garlic for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator (the marinade and meats may be put in a large zippered plastic bag with the air pressed out for convenience). Drain all the liquid and whole spices from the meats. Peel the garlic cloves and, with the marinated meat, run through a meat grinder fitted with a coarse blade. Mix the ground meats with the eggs, chopped truffles, pistachio nuts, duck glace, truffle juice, salt, and pepper to make a pate.
Preheat the oven to 425 F. Butter a baking sheet. Form the pate into twelve 2-inch balls. Top each with a small slice of foie gras and thin slice of truffle.Cut the puff pastry into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a 20-by-4-inch strip. Place 6 balls of pate, spaced at 3-inch intervals, on two of the pastry strips. Brush egg wash on the pastry surrounding the pate; cover with remaining sheets of pastry, pressing between the individual balls. Cut around each ball of pate with a large ring cookie cutter, pressing to seal the edges. Place the sealed pates on the prepared baking sheet. Decorate the tops with pieces of leftover pastry, using the egg wash as “glue.” Brush each pate packet all over with egg wash. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.
To make the sauce: Saute the onion, carrot, and celery in 1 tablespoon of the butter until lightly browned. Add the Madeira and cook until the liquid is mostly evaporated and only a glaze remains. Add the veal stock and cook until reduced by one-half. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve. Put the truffle in a small pan, pour in the tablespoon of cognac or Madeira, avert your face, and ignite with a long match. Shake the pan gently as the flames die down. Add the truffle and foie gras to the sauce and keep warm over low heat. Just before serving, swirl in the butter.
To serve: Place a pate packet on each serving plate. Spoon Sauce Perigueux around the servings.
