Ray's Pâté

Having got everything unpacked and safely in the fridge. The next job was to make the Pâté while the liver was still fresh. It was a large liver and enough to double up the quantities in Ray Smith's Pâté Recipe from the River Cottage Cookbook p228.

  • 1kg very fresh pig's liver
  • 500g fat pork belly 
  • 1 onion
  • 2 tbsp chopped sage
  • 100g fresh breadcrumbs
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 1 wine glass port (or brandy)
  • 1 big pinch ground nutmeg or mace
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 8-10 rashers rindless, unsmoked streaky bacon, stretched out with the back of a knife (optional)

Put the pork, onion and liver through a mincer and add the breadcrumbs. I make my own breadcrumbs by blitzing up part of a day or two old homemade loaf. 


Grate in a good pinch of fresh nutmeg 


Finely chop a handful of newly picked sage
 from the herb garden, crush the garlic, and grind
some black pepper and add to the mixture
together with a glass of port


Give everything a good mix together (except the bacon) 



Fry off a little of the mixture to test the seasoning



fill a bacon lined terrine with the mixture


Place the terrine in a bain-marie and cook in the middle of a pre-heated oven at gas mark 3 for an hour to an hour and a half or until it pulls away from the side of the dish and is firm to touch. Chill in the fridge while compressing with weights to ensure a sliceable texture. I have a piece of wood cut to fit inside the dish which I have vacuum packed. I can then stack what ever comes to hand on it to compress the pâté.