Duck Heart Terrine


 It saddens me that very few people know what a terrine is and even fewer have ever made one. I know they may seem difficult but in all actuality they are incredibly simple. They just require the proper equipment and a good amount of patience. I love making terrine's because they are an excellent way to use up some of the less popular bits of the animals I shoot.  This terrine for instance used some duck livers and duck hearts that I had saved from last years duck season.

I have been fascinated by terrines lately and I think I am going to try and make at least one every month. I had a fantastic pheasant terrine at the Surly Brew pub in Minneapolis recently that made me rethink they way I use the game birds I shoot. I also had an amazing beef neck terrine at a place called The Salt Cellar in St Paul that got me thinking about different ways to use off cuts of meat. That beef neck terrine was amazing and had a great texture. I am imagining how good it would be with a deer neck.

This duck heart terrine is a version of a terrine I have made several times. The original recipe is from Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstahl and is fro a wild game terrine. He takes a variety of wild game animals and uses all the part to create a beautiful terrine. I Like to use his force meat recipe and one type of animal instead of a bunch of different animals. For this terrine I used duck livers and pork in the force meat and duck hearts as the inlay. I lined the terrine with and apple wood smoked bacon and the end result was amazing. Served with some grainy mustard,  pickled onions and some nice crusty bread there really isn't a better lunch out there.