Pâté and Terrine: What They Are & Why You Need Them

First time hearing the word Pâté and Terrine? Worry not! Here is a quick guidance containing all the top information about these two excellent ingredients for your dish.

What is Pâté?

Pâté (pronounced pah-TAY) is French for “paste”. Pâté is most associated with French cuisine, but variations on this dish can be found all over the world. It is simply a mixture of seasoned ground seafood, poultry, meat, or vegetables, and often a combination of several different base ingredients. Beef, pork, liver, ham, seafood, wild game, poultry, and vegetables are all candidates for pâté. To cook pâté, you’d need a special vessel called Terrine.

What is Terrine?

Now, terrine is the plate or dish where pate is cooked. But it can also refer to a dish which is also consists of ground meat, organ meat, seafood, vegetables, boiled eggs, herbs and/or other seasonings packed or layered in a ceramic or steel loaf-shaped mold, cooked in a water bath, cooled, turned out and sliced for serving. Today, the terms pâté and terrine are often used interchangeably. But they both generally means a dish made of ground meat.

Eating Pâté and Terrine

A spread made of ground meat (usually liver) that has been cooked and pureed, pâté is a quite yummy. It’s often used as a main ingredient in bread or baguette to make a delicious sandwich. Pâté can also be spread on crackers/toast , served with salad, eggs, stuffed into veggies, as dip, on meat and more.

Meanwhile, terrine is best enjoyed in slices but can still be used as a spread much like pâté. Sometimes an infused gelatin (called aspic) is set on top for a decorative effect that also adds an additional layer of flavor. Terrines can be par-cooked, wrapped in puff pastry and baked for “pâté en croute”.

How to make Pâté and Terrine?

The most popular ingredient in a pâté is liver, and yes you can make your own pâté too. Try this recipe below:

3 cups water
1 pound chicken liver
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons cooking sherry

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground mace

How to Cook :

Prep : 10 m
Cook : 25 m
Ready In : 1 h 45 m

In a medium saucepan, combine water, chicken livers, and sliced onion. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until liver is cooked and tender. Remove from heat, drain, and discard onions. Also remove and discard any hard portions of the liver.
Place cooked livers in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Add chopped onion, sherry, butter or margarine, salt, black pepper, and mace; pulse to blend. With hands lightly greased, form pate mixture into a mound, and place on a serving platter. Chill for 1 hour before serving.