Venison Terrine
I've learned far more working as a chef than I ever did in culinary school, but one thing school did give me was an appreciation for French cuisine. Now that I'm deep into wild food cooking, I often find myself looking back at those early days, searching for ways to elevate what I'm working with.
Take this terrine, for example. Venison—or any red meat, really—isn't typical for a terrine. Traditionally, they're made with duck, rabbit, white meats, or sometimes offal. But with the right approach and technique, this venison terrine came together beautifully.
The first step was balancing the fat-to-lean ratio. Too much lean and not enough fat, and the terrine won't hold—it'll crumble when you unmold it. Too much fat, and you've got jello. I went with about 70% lean to 30% fat here. It's not pâté, and it's not meatloaf—it's what you might call a rustic terrine.
Next is moisture, which is crucial with venison. Venison holds a lot of moisture, but it also loves to dump it once it starts cooking. If you've ever tried to fry ground venison, you've seen this—the pan floods with liquid. There are several ways to manage moisture in a terrine. First are the binders—these tie back to that fat-to-lean balance and help hold everything together. In this case, the binders are egg, liver, fat, and potato starch. The prosciutto wrap is the next line of defense. It creates a barrier that traps the juices inside while adding extra fat, which helps with both structure and richness.
Finally, there's cooking and pressing. The key is a low-temperature water bath—around 150-160°F (65-70°C). Low and slow keeps those juices from releasing too quickly. Once it's cooked through, you press the terrine while it cools, using a light weight for several hours or overnight. This compacts the forcemeat and helps it set into a clean slice, but press too hard and you'll squeeze out all that moisture you worked so hard to manage.
Venison Terrine
Ingredients
- Meat & Fat
- Aromatics
- Salt & Cure
- Liquids
- Binders
- Texture
- Lining
Method
- Sweat the diced shallots gently in butter until translucent (no browning). Cool completely and stir in the chopped parsley.
- Combine the Marsala and cognac in a small pan. Simmer until reduced to ⅓–½ volume and lightly syrupy. Cool fully.
- Chill venison and pork belly until firm for easier grinding. Lightly sauté chicken liver until just barely cooked, then cool. Partially freeze all meats for 15–20 minutes before grinding.
- Coarse grind half the venison and half the pork belly (6–8 mm plate). Fine grind remaining venison and chicken liver (3–4 mm plate).
- Combine the ground meats with shallots, parsley, thyme, tarragon, juniper, black pepper, and the correct salt + curing salt for your region. Add the cooled Marsala–cognac reduction, egg, and potato starch. Mix vigorously until the mixture becomes tacky. Fold in the pistachios gently.
- Line a terrine mold with overlapping prosciutto slices, leaving enough overhang to fold over the top.
- Pack the forcemeat into the mold in layers, pressing down to remove air pockets. Fold the prosciutto over the top. Cover with parchment or foil.
- Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F). Set the terrine into a roasting pan and fill halfway with hot water (bain-marie). Bake until the internal temperature reaches 68–70°C (155–158°F).
- Cool for 30 minutes. Place parchment on top and add a 500 g (1 lb) weight. Refrigerate 12–24 hours to tighten the texture.
- Unmold and slice with a hot knife, wiping between cuts. Serve with mustard, cornichons, pickles, and toasted bread.
