Pâté de Campagne

The ultimate French country terrine — rustic, rich, and perfect with cornichons

Served in every bistro and charcuterie across France. Make it once, keep it a week — the flavour just gets better. Ideal for lunch, picnics, or a stunning starter.

Beautifully marbled, deeply savoury — the pride of every French table.

Makes
1 large terrine

Prep
30 min + overnight

Cook
1½ hours

Keeps
1 week

Ingredients – Classic Version

700 g lean pork, cubed
200 g pork belly, cut into strips
200 g chicken livers, trimmed
100 g streaky bacon, chopped
1½ teaspoons sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
3 tablespoons brandy
2 French shallots, very finely diced
8 juniper berries, crushed
1 egg, beaten
Fresh bay leaves (for base)
8–10 rashers streaky bacon (for lining)

Method – Classic

1. Place the lean pork, pork belly, chicken livers and chopped streaky bacon in a food processor and roughly chop — you want texture, not a paste.

2. Transfer to a large bowl. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, crushed juniper berries and brandy. Mix thoroughly, cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 180 °C.

4. Lightly butter a 20 × 7 × 9 cm terrine or loaf tin.

5. Add the diced shallots and beaten egg to the marinated meat. Mix carefully.

6. Lay bay leaves in the base. Line the terrine with bacon rashers, letting them hang over the sides.

7. Pack in the meat mixture. Fold the overhanging bacon over the top. Cover with buttered baking paper then foil.

8. Place in a roasting tin, pour boiling water halfway up the sides (bain-marie). Bake 1½ hours until the pâté shrinks from the sides.

9. Cool completely (still wrapped), drain excess juices, refrigerate. Best after 2–3 days, keeps up to 1 week.

10. Turn out, slice thickly. Serve with cornichons, mustard and crusty bread.

Pro tip: A little escaped juice is normal and good — it stops the pâté drying out.

Ingredients – Duck Liver & Cognac Luxury Version

All ingredients from classic +
200 g duck livers instead of chicken livers
3 tablespoons Cognac instead of brandy
50 g pistachios (optional, for colour)

Method

Follow classic method exactly — just swap in duck livers and Cognac. Add pistachios with the shallots for beautiful green flecks.

Luxury upgrade: Duck liver + Cognac = the pâté you’ll find in top Paris charcuteries.

Ingredients – Pork-Only (Liver-Free) Version

900 g lean pork + pork belly (total 1.1 kg)
100 g smoked streaky bacon
All other seasonings as classic
Extra 1 tablespoon brandy

Method

Follow classic method exactly — simply omit the livers and increase pork/bacon slightly. Still delicious and great for liver haters!

Perfect for everyone: Same rustic charm, no offal.

The heartbeat of French country cooking — make once, enjoy all week.