A traditional pheasant terrine recipe, marinated in red wine and baked in the oven
A slice of pheasant terrine, a green salad and a few cornichons: you don’t need much more for a festive meal. Pheasant terrine combines the delicacy of game with the richness of pork, all lifted by an aromatic red wine marinade. This charcuterie can be enjoyed hot or cold. It’s made ahead of time, and on the day all that’s left to do is slice it.
What Is Pheasant Terrine?
It’s a game terrine: a forcemeat of ground pheasant and pork, baked in the oven in a mold lined with thin slices of pork fatback. A few strips of pheasant breast, left whole, are laid in the center and end up in the middle of every slice.
A Game Bird Served at Royal Tables
Pheasant terrine comes from the French culinary tradition, where terrines and pâtés have long been used to preserve meat and game.
Pheasant was a prized dish at aristocratic and royal tables, valued for its delicate meat. Terrines made it possible to keep these meats longer: they were cooked slowly, then preserved in their own fat (like the famous rillons from Tours), a method that also gave them flavor.
The Main Ingredients in Pheasant Terrine
The pheasant brings delicacy, while the pork jowl and pork belly give the forcemeat its fat and its moist, tender texture. Choose fresh, good-quality meat. The pheasant should be well cleaned and carefully boned to avoid any hard bits.
The marinade brings together red wine, onions, carrots, a bouquet garni, cloves and pepper. Let the meats marinate in it long enough, ideally overnight, so the flavors can develop and soak thoroughly into the flesh.
Key Techniques for a Successful Terrine
Mix the ground meats thoroughly to get an even forcemeat; a food processor makes this step easier. To check the seasoning, cook a hazelnut-sized piece of forcemeat in a frying pan and taste it. The salt and spices should enhance the flavor without overpowering it.
Cover the terrine for the first part of the baking time to keep in moisture, then remove the lid for the last half hour so that it browns lightly.
Let it cool completely before unmolding it: it will be easier to slice and the flavors will have time to meld.
A recipe shared by Céline
Ingredients
Marinade ingredients
- 2 onions chopped
- 1 bouquet garni
- 2 cloves
- 1 pinch pepper
- 2 carrots thinly sliced
- 600 ml red wine
Terrine ingredients
- 1 kg pheasant
- 700 g pork jowl
- 300 g pork belly
- 3 teaspoons coarse salt
Instructions
- Fully debone the pheasant and dice the meat, setting aside a few nice strips from the fillets.
- Dice the pork belly as well.
- Make the marinade by combining the onions, bouquet garni, cloves, Madagascar pepper, carrots and red wine.
- Leave the pheasant to marinate in this mixture for at least 12 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Grind the pheasant and pork meat (with the marinade), except for the reserved fillet strips.
- Mix the ground meat with the coarse salt.
- In a terrine dish, lay down a layer of thin fatback slices.
- Place the pheasant fillet strips in the center.
- Fill the terrine with the ground meat forcemeat and press it down firmly.
- Cover with thin fatback slices.
- Cover the terrine and bake for 1 hour.
- Remove the lid and bake for another 30 minutes.
- Let cool before serving.
