Pâté Chaud de Caneton

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1½-quart (1.4-litre) Charlotte mould or straight-sided metal pudding basin
• •Rolling pin
• •Roasting pan fitted with a rack
• •Rimmed baking sheet
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Thin paring knife
• •Warmed serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the pâte brisée

   Pâte brisée (short paste) must be sturdy enough to stand when the mould comes away, but tender enough to cut without a struggle. Mix the flour and salt, then rub in the cold butter until most pieces resemble coarse crumbs with a few flat flakes remaining. Add the egg and 3 tablespoons of ice water, mixing only until the dough gathers; add the final tablespoon drop by drop if dry flour remains. Flatten into a disc, wrap, and chill for 45 minutes. If the dough cracks when pressed, it needs a few drops more water, not more kneading. Ça se rattrape.

   Do not replace the pâte brisée with puff pastry. The short paste is structural: it supports the filling, releases from the mould, and becomes the triangles arranged around the finished pie.
2. 2

   Roast the duck short

   Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Dry the duckling thoroughly and season it inside and out with the salt and pepper. Set it breast up on a rack over a roasting pan and roast for 22 to 28 minutes, until the skin has coloured and a thermometer inserted sideways into the thickest part of the breast reads about 122°F (50°C). Rest for 10 minutes, remove the breast skin, and lift both breasts cleanly from the bone. Cut all the breast meat on a long bias into collops about ⅛ inch (3 to 4 mm) thick. Let them cool only until they will not melt the pastry, then continue directly with assembly. The breast is deliberately underdone now; the pie must later reach 165°F (74°C) at its centre.

   The brief roast leaves the legs underdone. Detach them and finish roasting them to 165°F (74°C) while you prepare the pie, then save them for another meal. Refrigerate the carcass promptly or use it for stock.
3. 3

   Ready the fillings

   Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a wide sauté pan. Cook the sliced mushrooms briskly until they surrender their water and take light colour, then remove them to a plate. Cook the grooved mushroom cap in the same butter until tender and golden at the edges; reserve it for the crown. Cool both completely. Fold the chilled, very reduced demi-glace into the Gratin Forcemeat for Ordinary Hot, Raised Pies (No. 202), preserving the book's ratio of 35 millilitres for 450 grams. If warmth loosens the forcemeat, stop and chill it until it holds a ridge from the spoon. Do not repair it with flour.

4. 4

   Line the mould

   Lower the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter a 1½-quart (1.4-litre) Charlotte mould thoroughly, reaching into the lower edge. Roll two-thirds of the pastry to a scant ⅛ inch (3 mm), cut a circle for the bottom and a strip for the wall, then fit them into the mould with a firmly pinched seam and ½ inch (1.25 cm) overhang. Press a thin coat of forcemeat over the entire pastry-lined interior, including the sides. If the pastry tears, press on a thin patch with cold fingers. A patched shell is sound; an open hole is not. Chill the lined mould for 15 minutes.

5. 5

   Build the layers

   Arrange a close layer of duck collops over the forcemeat, followed by cooked mushroom slices and a few truffle slices. Repeat with forcemeat, duck, mushrooms, and truffle, pressing each layer gently enough to remove air pockets without crushing the slices. Reserve about one-third of the truffle for the crown. Finish with a complete coat of forcemeat, leaving about ½ inch (1.25 cm) for the lid, then sprinkle the powdered thyme and bay evenly over it. Even layering is the dish: every cut portion should carry duck, mushroom, truffle, and forcemeat together.

6. 6

   Seal and gild

   Roll the remaining pastry into a thin circle slightly wider than the mould. Moisten the pastry overhang sparingly with water, lay on the lid, and pinch the edges together firmly. Trim the excess and turn the seam inward so it cannot catch when the pie is inverted. Mix the beaten egg with the teaspoon of water and gild the lid, brushing it with a thin, even coat of egg. Cut a 1-inch (2.5-cm) slit in the centre so pressure can escape.

7. 7

   Bake at moderate heat

   Set the mould on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour. The pastry should be deeply butter-gold, firm at the rim, and beginning to draw slightly from the mould; the centre must register 165°F (74°C) when tested through the slit. If the exposed lid colours before the filling is ready, cover it loosely with foil and continue baking. Pale pastry means the shell is still soft, but darkening too fast is only a question of shielding it. Ça se rattrape. Rest the pie in its mould for 10 minutes.

8. 8

   Invert and open

   Place a warmed serving platter over the mould and invert both together in one confident movement. Lift the mould straight upward. If it clings, wrap the outside briefly with a warm towel, loosen the upper edge with a thin knife, and try again without shaking. The pastry that lined the bottom is now the top: cut around its edge, lift it away intact, divide it into 8 triangles, and arrange those triangles around the foot of the pie.

9. 9

   Sauce and serve

   Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of the heated Madeira sauce over the forcemeat exposed at the top. Set the grooved mushroom cap in the centre and arrange the reserved truffle slices around it as a crown. Bring the remaining Madeira sauce separately, giving each portion another spoonful after cutting. Serve at once, while the pastry remains crisp and the sauce gleams. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A true Charlotte mould gives the pie its tall, clean-sided form. If you do not own one, use a 1½-quart (1.4-litre) straight-sided metal pudding basin. Ceramic holds too much heat and makes inversion needlessly tense.
• •The Gratin Forcemeat for Ordinary Hot, Raised Pies (No. 202) must be completely chilled before it touches the pastry. Prepare it ahead and weigh the finished amount; its texture and its precise half-glaze ratio hold the pie together.
• •Fresh black truffle is splendid when the season gives it honestly. At other times, use a good whole preserved black truffle with a firm texture. Truffle oil cannot supply the slices or the quiet earthy bite this construction requires.
• •Pour a medium-bodied red Burgundy or a mature Cabernet Franc from the Loire. Both have enough earth for the mushroom and truffle, but neither overwhelms the Madeira sauce.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Gratin Forcemeat for Ordinary Hot, Raised Pies (No. 202) and Madeira sauce up to 2 days ahead. Chill both promptly and keep them covered.
• •The pâte brisée can be mixed and chilled a day ahead. Let it stand at room temperature only until it bends without cracking, keeping it distinctly cool.
• •The mould may be lined and chilled several hours ahead. Assemble the complete pie no more than 6 hours before baking so the moist filling does not soften the pastry.
• •For dinner-party service, bake the pie as guests arrive and rest it in the mould. Invert, open, and sauce it just before serving; the final ceremony takes about 10 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 495g)