Pork & Duck Terrine with cranberries & hazel nuts - featured in Group Recipies (12/25/10)

If you are a regular reader, you already know that my hubby loves to cook and most of the western cuisine recipes are from him. He has been the main cook for our Christmas dinners the past several years but due to his back problem this year, he has to leave the cooking to me. However, he just could not stay away from the kitchen. While I was out doing some last minute Christmas shopping, he sneaked into the kitchen and cooked. When I returned home, I could smell the fragrance of food even before I opened our main door. Know what? He made this wonderful dish and he told me he thinks it is worth it even if his back hurts because of all the standing during the cooking. This is truly a dish filled with passion and I am sure this will 'WOW' our guests when served.

Ingredients:

2 deboned duck breasts , about 300g/10oz each, skin on

200 g (approx 8 ounces) sliced bacon (can use pancetta)

700 g (approx 1 ½ pounds) pork shoulder, cubed

120 ml (1/2 cup) milk

3 shallot , roughly chopped

5 slices of day old bread

2-3 whole cloves

200 g pork, duck or chicken livers, roughly chopped

6 black peppercorns

2 teaspoons coriander seed

2 cloves of garlic

Generous pinch of ground cinnamon

1/2 cup Cognac

2 eggs, lightly beaten

75 g shelled nuts (chestnuts, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, etc )

75 g (1/2 cup) dried cranberries

Method

1. Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Put the duck breasts and skin in a shallow dish, then place in the hot oven for 20 minutes. Discard the shriveled bit of skin that remains, then pour the duck fat into a bowl to cool. Roughly chop the cooked duck meat and place in a large mixing bowl.

2. Roughly chop the pork, three slices of bacon, and liver to a coarse texture and mix with the chopped duck in the bowl.

3. Tear up the bread and soak in the milk for 5 minutes. Squeeze the milk out of the bread and put in a food processor with the shallots and garlic. Pulse the processor to get a coarse texture, then add to the bowl.

4. Grind the peppercorns, coriander seeds and cloves to a coarse powder (pestle and mortar works just fine). Stir in the cinnamon. Add the spices to the meat along with 4 tbsp reserved duck fat, the Cognac, the eggs, and 2 tsp salt. Mix together very thoroughly ? the best way is to use your hands.

5. Lightly grease a 1-litre loaf pan. Line the pan with the bacon (or pancetta), slightly overlapping the slices and leaving enough overhanging the edges to cover the top.

6. Press half the mixture into the pan leaving a slight indentation down the middle. Scatter the pistachios and cranberries over all, then cover with the remaining meat mixture. Fold over the bacon strip and augment with more so as to cover the entire loaf. Cover the dish tightly with foil, then place all into a roasting tin. Pour boiling water into the tin to come halfway up the sides of the dish.

7. Bake for 2 hrs, remove foil, then bake for 15 minutes more to brown the top. When completely cooled, remove from pan and wrap in fresh foil and chill. For the best flavor, let the terrine chill in the fridge for at least 2 days before eating. The flavors will mature and blend.