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Homemade Baked Pâté

Name: Homemade Baked Pâté
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 160 min
Total time: 200 min
Cuisine: kuchnia polska
Ingredients: 300 g pork shoulder (cut into 3 cm (1¼ inch) cubes); 350 g chicken leg quarter (1 piece, weight with bone, about 220 g meat); 150 g raw bacon without skin or jowl; 150 g chicken liver (cleaned of membranes and veins); 120 g onion (1 piece, cut into thick slices); 2 pcs bay leaves; 3 pcs allspice (whole berries); 100 ml water; 0.5 pc stale kaiser roll (or 1 small stale bun, about 40 g); 2 pcs eggs (size M or L, yolks separated from whites); 1 tsp salt (flat, about 6 g, to taste); ½ tsp black pepper (freshly ground); ¼ tsp nutmeg; 1 tsp dried marjoram (not necessarily); ground ginger (a pinch, not necessarily); 1 tsp lard or butter (for greasing); 1 tbsp breadcrumbs; 80 g bacon in thin slices (not necessarily, for lining the bottom)

Homemade pâté made from pork shoulder, chicken, bacon, and chicken liver, cooked, ground, and baked in a small loaf pan for 4 servings. Includes tips on checking doneness with a thermometer, what to look for in stores abroad, and how to store it.

Servings: 4 servings
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 2 h 40 min
Total time: 3 h 20 min
Difficulty: Medium

Pięć aluminiowych foremek ze świeżo upieczonym domowym pasztetem z paskami słoniny na wierzchu, obok części maszynki do mięsa

The story behind the recipe

The word "pâté" comes from the German Pastete, which is derived from the Old French pasté, related to the Italian pasta, meaning dough. The National Center for Culture cites dictionaries stating that in old Polish, it was also referred to as "ta paszteta," "ten paszt," and "past," indicating that the dish likely came to Poland from Germany in the 16th century. Back then, pâté was a filling baked in dough, made from meat, fish, or vegetables. Lind's dictionary from the 19th century defines it as "Various meats or dishes baked in dough."

Polish Wikipedia states that pâtés were known in ancient Rome, and from the 16th century, French pâté makers worked at royal and noble courts, including in Poland. Today's homemade pâté is derived from that dish. According to the NCK, it is often served at Easter; Smaker lists it among Easter dishes alongside żurek and mazurek, and Ania Gotuje mentions that it is made for Easter and Christmas. The same word gave rise to the saying "niezły pasztet," meaning a troublesome situation.

The ordinary homemade pâté is not on the Ministry of Agriculture's List of Traditional Products, but there is "Goose Pâté" from the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, registered in 2014. It is made from goose, bacon, goose liver, onion, dried mushrooms, eggs, and soaked bread, topped with marjoram. The recipe was brought by former residents of Kashubia and was maintained by a family that settled in Szczecin in 1947. In 2009, the pâté won first place in the "Our Culinary Heritage" competition.

Ingredients

Meat for Cooking

300 g pork shoulder (cut into 3 cm (1¼ inch) cubes)
Abroad: USA: pork shoulder or pork butt (Boston butt); UK: pork shoulder; Germany: Schweineschulter or Schweinenacken
350 g chicken leg quarter (1 piece, weight with bone, about 220 g meat)
Abroad: USA: chicken leg quarters or thighs; UK: chicken legs or thighs; Germany: Hähnchenschenkel
150 g raw bacon without skin or jowl
Abroad: USA: fresh pork belly (not smoked bacon) or pork jowl; UK: unsmoked pork belly; Germany: frischer Schweinebauch
150 g chicken liver (cleaned of membranes and veins)
Abroad: chicken livers; Germany: Hähnchenleber or Geflügelleber
120 g onion (1 piece, cut into thick slices)
2 pcs bay leaves
Abroad: bay leaves; Germany: Lorbeerblätter
3 pcs allspice (whole berries)
Abroad: whole allspice; Germany: Piment
100 ml water

Filling

0.5 pc stale kaiser roll (or 1 small stale bun, about 40 g)
Abroad: USA: kaiser roll or regular white bun; UK: white bap or crusty roll; Germany: Kaiserbrötchen or Semmel
2 pcs eggs (size M or L, yolks separated from whites)
1 tsp salt (flat, about 6 g, to taste)
½ tsp (2.5 ml) black pepper (freshly ground)
¼ tsp (1.3 ml) nutmeg
Abroad: nutmeg; Germany: Muskatnuss
1 tsp (5 ml) dried marjoram (not necessarily)
Abroad: dried marjoram; Germany: Majoran
ground ginger (a pinch, not necessarily)

Loaf Pan (about 20×9 cm, or 8×3½ inches, about 1 l)

1 tsp (5 ml) lard or butter (for greasing)
Abroad: lard or butter; Germany: Schweineschmalz or Butter
1 tbsp (about 7 g) breadcrumbs
Abroad: plain dry breadcrumbs (not panko or seasoned); UK: dried breadcrumbs; Germany: Paniermehl
80 g bacon in thin slices (not necessarily, for lining the bottom)
Abroad: USA: thinly sliced pork belly or unsmoked bacon; UK: unsmoked streaky bacon; Germany: Bauchspeck in Scheiben, grüner Speck

Method, step by step

Rinse the liver, dry it, and clean it of membranes and veins, then cut it into pieces. Store it in the fridge until step 4.
Place the bacon or jowl at the bottom of the pot, then add the pork shoulder and chicken leg quarter, and top with the onion. Add bay leaves, allspice, and 100 ml of water. There should be little water, as the meat will release its own juices.
Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for about 1.5 hours, until the meat is very tender. Check occasionally to ensure nothing evaporates or sticks.
In the last 5–10 minutes, add the liver to the pot. Do not cook it longer.
Remove the pot from the heat, take out the bay leaves and allspice, and debone and skin the chicken. Push the bread into the hot broth to soak it. Cool everything completely, preferably overnight in the fridge, in the broth.
Grind the meat, liver, onion, and bread together with the broth two or three times through a fine sieve of the grinder.
Season the mixture with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and, if desired, marjoram and a pinch of ginger, then mix in the yolks. Taste now: the mixture is cooked, and pâté is eaten cold, so season it clearly. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks and gently fold them into the mixture.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), top and bottom heat. Grease the loaf pan with lard or butter, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and line the bottom with bacon slices. Transfer the mixture, pressing it down firmly to avoid air bubbles, and smooth the top. If desired, place a dish of hot water on the lower shelf.
Bake for about 60–70 minutes, until the top is deep golden and the edges pull away from the pan. If the top browns too quickly, cover it with foil after about 40 minutes. Check the thermometer in the center of the pâté: it should reach 74°C (165°F).
Cool the pâté in the pan, then place it in the fridge overnight. Remove from the pan and slice only when completely cold.

Tips

Little water. Ania Gotuje stews almost 3 kg (6⅔ lb) of meat in just 50 ml (3⅓ tbsp) of water. The meat releases its own juices, the flavor stays in the pot, and the bread absorbs it later.

Fatty on the bottom. Place bacon or jowl at the bottom of the pot: it won't burn, and the fat will render.

Overnight in the broth. Cooked meat with bread is best left overnight in the broth. Cold meat and fat grind cleanly, and the mixture won't smear.

Smooth pâté. Grinding two or three times through a fine sieve gives a smooth slice.

Liver briefly. In recipes, it is cooked from 30 seconds to 15 minutes, always at the very end or separately.

Egg whites. Beaten and gently folded in at the end make the pâté lighter. Ania Gotuje advises not to overbeat them; slightly deflated foam will also work.

Dry, crumbly pâté. There was too little fat, or the pâté baked too long. Stick to the bacon proportions in the recipe, line the pan with bacon slices, place a dish of water in the oven, and check the center with a thermometer instead of adding time.

Falls apart when cutting. It was cut while warm. It should only be sliced when completely cold, preferably after a night in the fridge.

Dull taste. The mixture wasn't tasted before adding the eggs. Season it clearly, as pâté is eaten cold, and salt is less noticeable when cold.

Burnt top. After about 40 minutes, cover the pâté with foil or bake in two stages, as Smaker suggests: with a dish of hot water on the lower shelf, for 30 minutes at 190°C (375°F), and then 40–50 minutes at 160°C (325°F). Smaker also brushes the top with egg yolk mixed with milk at the end for shine.

Internal temperature. According to Health Canada, ground pork and beef must reach at least 71°C (160°F) internally, and ground poultry, egg dishes, and reheated leftovers 74°C (165°F). This pâté contains poultry and eggs, so insert the thermometer in the thickest part, in the center, and wait for 74°C (165°F). If serving warm, reheat it to 74°C (165°F) as well.

Larger portion. For a standard loaf pan measuring 30 cm (12 inches) long, double the ingredients. Kwestia Smaku bakes two such pans at 190°C (375°F) for about 1.5 hours.

Variations. Pâté can be made with pork and beef (Ania Gotuje, Kwestia Smaku), with just poultry and dried mushrooms (Kwestia Smaku), with turkey and root vegetables (Smaker), with dried porcini, marjoram, and Maggi seasoning (SBS, Gosia Bojanowski from Australia), and in West Pomerania with goose.

What to serve with. Cold, in thick slices on a platter with cold cuts or on bread. Ania Gotuje writes that it can also be eaten warm. Gosia Bojanowski serves it with bread, pickles, and horseradish sauce.

Storage. Ania Gotuje writes that cooled pâté will last in the fridge for up to 10 days, or even longer; it's safer to eat it sooner and keep it well wrapped. Pâté can be frozen in an airtight container or bag (Ania Gotuje, Kwestia Smaku). Ania Gotuje mixes leftovers with fried onions and uses them as a filling for pierogi, pancakes, or croquettes.

Abroad. In the USA, instead of bacon for the pâté, buy fresh pork belly, as American bacon is smoked and will change the flavor. Pork shoulder is pork shoulder or pork butt (Boston butt) in the USA, pork shoulder in the UK, and Schweineschulter or Schweinenacken in Germany. Raw bacon: unsmoked pork belly in the UK, frischer Schweinebauch in Germany. Livers: chicken livers, in Germany Hähnchenleber or Geflügelleber. Kajzerka: kaiser roll, in Germany Kaiserbrötchen or Semmel. Breadcrumbs: plain dry breadcrumbs, not panko or seasoned "Italian," in Germany Paniermehl. Allspice is ziele angielskie, in Germany Piment, and dried marjoram is majeranek, in Germany Majoran. A loaf pan is an 8½×4½ inch loaf pan, about 1 liter (1 quart) in the USA, a loaf tin in the UK, and Kastenform in Germany. In Australia, Gosia Bojanowski makes pâté from gravy beef, pork shoulder, and pork belly from the supermarket. Instead of a meat grinder, you can use a planetary mixer attachment.

Photos

Cały pasztet wyjęty z foremki, z mocno przyrumienioną skórką w bułce tartej, na półmisku z koronkową serwetką

Dwa grube plastry gładkiego pasztetu na białym talerzu z sałatą, pomidorem i natką pietruszki

Wielkanocny półmisek z plastrami pasztetu ze śliwkami, szynką, korniszonami i sałatą, przygotowany w domu w Brisbane

Easter Meat dishes Polish cuisine Substitutes abroad

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