Game Terrine – getting in practice for Christmas

We had fun making terrines on the Big Green Egg over the summer when on holiday in Tuscany.  So now it was time to put some of that experience together as we get ready for Christmas.  Now however we were able to use the Large BGE.  So instead of a tiny Le Creuset dish and an improvised Bain Marie we were able to use a  proper Terrine and the large roasting tin which we save for use on the BGE as the Bain Marie.  Based on our earlier basic recipe – found here and here, we  wanted to try out a couple of ideas with this terrine and so initially used some of our own home made pancetta (more of this later) as the outer wrapper for the terrine – this was sliced at 2mm thick and could still be drawn out with the back of a knife to thin a little and increase its surface area too.  The filling was done in multiple layers.  The first was pork mince taken entirely from the hock and minced coarsely.  This was mixed with sausage making rusk (you could use breadcrumbs), apricot, pistachio, garlic, rosemary, thyme and oregano and seasoned with salt and pepper and a splash of red wine.  The second layer was a game mince made from the drumstick and trimmings from a couple of pheasants together with trimmings from a couple of rabbits we had been preparing, all coarsely minced.  These were just seasoned with salt and pepper and some rosemary.  The next layer was the thigh meat from a series of pheasant legs we acquired, simply boned and then salted and peppered and placed as a layer.  The final layer was the same as the first but also had added onions which had been sautéd till translucent and allowed to cool.  The whole terrine was then closed with the ends of the pancetta, covered with a lightly oiled aluminium foil and closed with the lid.  The whole thing can then be cooked at 120C in a Bain Marie on the EGG or in a domestic oven as described in an earlier post.
Drained of probably 70% of its cooking juices the Terrine was pressed and allowed to cool then refrigerated overnight before opening the following day.  The results were good – each of the layers working well.  On balance I would say the pheasant thigh layer and the Pork Mince with the added onions worked best but it depends how moist or firm you want your terrine.  Each of  the first 2 layers – seen at the bottom of the terrine on the right was more dense and I think less visually interesting than the other layers – but that is the beauty of cooking and preparing food – there are so many wonderful ways to try – I think our definitive Christmas Terrine will have some of these elements on board – but I am guessing some cranberries may just sneak in there too!!!

See here for the basic recipes – here and here