Smoked Salmon Terrine with Choupique Caviar
Pretty in pink, this lovely terrine layers smoked salmon, pale salmon mousse, and black choupique caviar. It is highly perishable; Chef Kearney suggests cutting it in half immediately and rewrapping and refrigerating one half until needed, then slicing the other half for service. The 5-cup narrow terrine mold will make 10 to 12 servings. Choupique caviar is a Louisiana specialty, small black eggs. Other small dark-egg varieties may be substituted.
Ingredients
- Smoked Norwegian salmon - 1 1/2 lbs, thinly sliced
- Clarified Butter - 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1/2 cup
- Chives - 8, chopped
- Dill - 1 frond, chopped
- Salt
- Ground white pepper - 1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly, to taste
- Lemon Juice - Juice of 2 lemons
- Choupique caviar - 4 oz (1/2 cup)
- Sour Cream - 1 cup
- Lemon Juice - Juice of 1 lemon
- Frisee - 10 to 12 pieces
- Dill - 10 to 12 sprigs
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons
Instructions
Trim any dark areas from the salmon and check over for bones. Wrap half of the salmon and refrigerate. Put the other half of the salmon in a food processor and roughly chop. With the machine slowly running, add the clarified butter in a thin stream, then slowly pour in the heavy cream. Process as little as possible, just until each is incorporated.
Remove the mousse from the processor and place in a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice. Stir in the chives and dill. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the lemon juice. Leave the bowl sitting in the bowl of ice.
Oil a narrow 5-cup terrine mold and line with plastic wrap, leaving extra wrap hanging out of the top. Take the reserved salmon from the refrigerator and use to line the bottom of the mold, curving slices up the sides to the top. Gently press half of the salmon mousse into the bottom of the terrine. Spread half of the caviar on top of the mousse, being careful not to break the eggs (they will discolor the mousse if broken). Place a thin layer of salmon fillets over the top of the caviar; this is a good place to use small pieces, fitting them together. Spread the remaining mousse over the fillets, pressing gently, and top with the remaining caviar. Place a final layer of salmon fillet over the top, pressing very gently. Fold the plastic wrap over the top to seal. If the terrine has a cover, put the cover in place; if not, place a flat dish, piece of plywood, or similar flat top on the dish. Refrigerate for 8 hours.
To serve: Stir the sour cream and lemon juice together. Take the terrine out of the refrigerator and take out of the mold by lifting on the plastic wrap. Unwrap and slice into 10 to 12 slices. Place a slice in the center of each serving plate. Add a large dollop of seasoned sour cream and one sprig each of frisee and dill to each plate. Drizzle the tops of the terrine slices very lightly with olive oil and spread it over the slices with your finger, making the slices shine. Serve immediately.
