Author Notes
We promised “unconventional weapons” and here you go. What could be more “recessionist” than a humble meatloaf. Okay we tart it up a bit but stay within the old regulations. It is mind bending but it’s easy. We looked at a lot of old recipes going back almost fifty years and they all summarize almost the same way; fill a loaf pan and bake at 350 for 1 ½ hours. But we decided to go more terrine style. And we are splurging a bit on truffle oil and chanterelles.
I prefer to grind my own meat for a variety of reasons. One is that I’ve driven past Kettleman City, CA quite a number of times. If you’ve seen the film “Food Inc.” you will know what I’m talking about. I’m very troubled by the safety and quality of supermarket ground beef. One pound could incorporate parts of one hundred cows. If you grind it yourself you know that it is coming from one animal. You can also control the fat that way because you can see the marbling. Vegans go avert your eyes now.
—pierino
Test Kitchen Notes
What a fantastic, fun terrine/meatloaf. I found Bricktop meaty, moist, herbal, uncomplicated. Fresh chanterelles were not available here so I reconstituted some dried and, once minced, they imbued the terrine with a wonderful woodsy flavor. I would add that I cut the meats into chunks and then froze the meat, the grinder attachment and blades for 1 hour before grinding. Per pierino's suggestion, I ground the meats twice, adding the garlic and eggs right into the grinder on the second round. I added the breadcrumbs by hand. A small ceramic bottle of pistachio oil proved to fit exactly, so stood in for both the Absolut bottle and the white truffle oil. I served this particular Bricktop cold, with cornichons and mustard, to rave reviews. Incredibly easy, if you have the grinder (and buy the puff pastry.) About twenty minutes total active time. - MrsWheelbarrow —The Editors
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Ingredients
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1 pound
ground rib eye or comparable cut (we like a bit of fat)
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1 pound
ground pork (shoulder or loin)
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3
eggs (hold one egg back for the wash)
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¼ cup fresh pistachio nuts
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1
tablespoon fresh thyme
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6
ounces chanterelle mushrooms (see note to cook)
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1
large garlic clove peeled and chopped
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¼ cup unseasoned bread crumbs (there is a time for panko and a time for not, now is not the time)
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White truffle oil
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Sea salt and pepper
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1
sheet puffed pastry cut to fit your terrine
Directions
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With soft brush clean off dust from the mushroom.
In a large bowl mix the beef, pork and eggs (lightly beaten) with your hands---yes really. Season lavishly with sea salt and coarse ground pepper. Squish in the bread crumbs, and of course include the pistachio nuts and garlic. Make sure everything is evenly distributed.
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Heat up your oven to 350 (no two ovens are calibrated exactly, so work with that). Meanwhile press half your meat loaf mix into a lubricated terrine. On top of this layer your chanterelles. Drizzle with truffle oil. Spread fresh thyme over this and follow with another layer of meat. Yes, I said “meat” vegan horde.
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Press it down as hard as you can. I’ve discovered that a bottle of Absolut vodka wrapped in cling wrap or foil works really well. We are after something like a pate` texture here. Smooth as opposed to coarse. This is why you grind your own meat.
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Drizzle a bit more truffle oil. Top with your puffed pastry sheet. Brush that with an egg wash of one egg and bit of water---you didn’t forget that other egg did you? Child safety warning: do not bake with the vodka bottle on top, something really terrible could happen.
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Into the oven it goes. It will need to cook for at least 1 hour to 1 1/2. The outside “croute” should be brown and crisped and the inside temperature should be about 150 when tested with an instant read.
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This is good either hot or cold. Serving cold, a little dressing works well with some olives or cornichons on the side.
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* Okay, food52 cooks; I know you have your KitchenAids. Go buy the grinder attachment. You will thank me later.
Note you can make this identical dish by substituting dried and reconstituted porcini mushrooms for the chanterelles. For me they were in season and available for a reasonable price.
Standup commis flâneur, and food historian. Pierino's background is in Italian and Spanish cooking but of late he's focused on frozen desserts. He is now finishing his cookbook, MALAVIDA! Can it get worse? Yes, it can. Visit the Malavida Brass Knuckle cooking page at Facebook and your posts are welcome there.
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