Last deer season I was invited with a friend on a hunt. They had too many deer and as part of the wild life management responsibilities they take on from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Management the herd needs to be culled to maintain a healthy one. The deer I shot was a four or five year old buck. He was lean and mostly tough. The meat is also very dense and lacks almost any fat. I made a lot of recipe from that deer with varying degrees of success. This terrine was one of the excellent dishes.
Impatient? Skip to the recipe.
I wrote a pretty detailed post about making terrines/pates here. I suggest you read through it to get a good idea for how to successfully make one of these classic charcuterie preparations. Keep everything cold, use a good bit of fat, grind your own meat, cook gently and weight the cooked terrine down while chilling.
I wanted some good robust flavors to complement the gamy venison. So, I decided on primarily ruby Port along with dried cherries. Pistachios here look great of course but also are a classic pate garnish that adds a lovely flavor and texture.
I opted to peel the pistachios to get rid of those papery skins they have and to get the bright green color. To do that, soak them in very hot water and drain. Then rub them well between kitchen towels. Most of the skins should come off. Pick the remaining skins with your fingers. It sounds like too much work, but really it’s not and also kind of relaxing to do. Another option is to by already peeled pistachios if you can find them. Either way soak them in hot water before using.
For fat, you need to include pork with the venison. From making a few batches of sausage with this deer, I knew that pork belly would be the best option. I felt it worked better than just pork back fat for the texture. To also emphasize the venison here, I included a small percentage of seared venison chunks to the interior garnishes. These are the pinkish pieces of meat you notice if you look closely at the photos.
I’m hoping to get to hunt another deer or two this year as well. A terrine like this would certainly be part of the rotation. It is delicious, lasts a good week in the fridge and makes for a very refined appetizer or full meal with bread, salad and some condiments.
Venison Terrine with Port and Cherries
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Season the venison and pork with the salt, spices and curing salt. Ideally let this sit in the fridge overnight.
- Soak the pistachios in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain and peel the papery membrane off them unless you bought ones that had that already removed. You can skip this peeling step if you prefer. Keep chilled.
- Mix the cherries and Port in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer, turn the heat off, cover and allow to cool completely. Chill the mixture well.
- Melt the butter over medium high heat. Sear the venison chunks very well on all sides to get a deep brown color on them but inside will remain raw. Add the shallots and sauté for a few more minutes. Dice the seared venison into small cubes, about 1/2 inch. Add the thyme and parsley and chill the mixture.
- Grind the meat and keep chilled. In a small bowl, mix the bread, cream and eggs very well. Let it soak for 15 minutes and then use a fork to mash to a paste. Mix the panade (the bread, cream and egg mixture) into the ground meat very well. You want this to become a cohesive mass. We are not making burgers so mix and knead away. I use my KitchenAid paddle attachment for this.
- Add all the cooled garnishes (pistachios, cherries and their liquid, dices venison). Knead for a few minutes to make sure you have a good bind.
- If you have a sous vide setup, heat your water to 75 C (167 F). Make sure the container with the water fits the terrine mold with water coming at least ¾ of the way up the mold but does not get inside the terrine when circulating. Test it out before filling the mold with meat!
- If you do not have a sous vide setup, heat your oven to 300 F. Place a baking dish or roasting pan filled with hot water that comes up ¾ of the way up your terrine mold of choice.
- Line a terrine mold or loaf pan with plastic wrap (for a cooler presentation you can shingle thinly sliced bacon or pancetta or prosciutto in the mold instead of plastic wrap). Fill the mold with the meat mix. Fold the plastic wrap (or bacon or prosciutto or pancetta) over the top.
- Cover the terrine mold with its top or with aluminum foil. Cook for 2 hours in the sous vide bath or about 1 hour in the oven bath. Start taking the temperature of the terrine about 45 minutes after starting to cook. When it hits about 64 C (147 F) in the center it is done.
- Let it cool for about 30 minutes, place weights on the meat and put it in the fridge. What works well for me is a rectangular piece of cardboard that fits on the surface of the terrine. Wrap that in a couple of layers of aluminum foil. Now, lay a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the cooked terrine then the aluminum rectangle and then add some weights. A couple of tomato cans usually work well.
- When ready to serve. Unmold it, slice and enjoy with mustard, bread and various pickles.
