Pate de Campagne avec Canard et Pistaches, originally uploaded by thephotomill.

One of my projects this past weekend was making Pate de Campagne (in addition to Bratwurst. More on that at a later time.) My grinder certainly got a workout. This is a traditional French country pate with a lovely twist – the addition of a bit of Pink Curing Salt to retain a much brighter color and a LOVELY core of pan-seared duck breast. Just to keep the pork-based pate even duckier, there’s duck confit throughout (as well pistachios – another traditional garnish.)

Another additional step I took was to give the chicken liver that goes into it (because I can not get my hands on pork liver) a good long soak in milk…then some Armagnac. I’m generally not a fan of chicken liver (though it’s better than beef liver) but this adds a nice touch.

This is another trip through the pages of Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn’s book, Charcuterie – The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing. If you’re into this sort of DIY gourmand thing (beacause, let’s face it, this is beyond just cooking now) then you must pick up this book. With this book on hand I’ve navigated my way through home-cured salmon, bacon, fresh sausage, and this pate.

I could have stopped there. But since I had extra (yes, extra) pork that had been in the freezer I ground it and added the necessary curing salt and spices so that tomorrow I can stuff it into natural casings for Saucisson Sec. I have an ‘in’ with some people that will hang it for me. This isn’t the end of it either. This might simply be the beginning.

“Honey, have you seen my smoker?”