Terrine de Caneton Rouennais à la Gelée

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Narrow boning knife and poultry shears
• •1.5-liter lidded terrine or snug loaf pan with heavy foil
• •Deep roasting pan for the bain-marie
• •Sturdy fine-mesh sieve and flexible bowl scraper
• •Medium saucepan and fine strainer lined with damp cheesecloth
• •Kitchen twine
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Long serving dish and folded napkin

Instructions

1. 1

   Partially bone duckling

   Set the duckling breast-side down and cut through the skin along one side of the backbone from neck to tail. Keeping the knife against bone, scrape the flesh away from the ribs and back, turning the bird as you work so the blade never points blindly into the skin. Disjoint the shoulders and hips, free the rib cage, breastbone, and backbone as one carcass, and stop where the leg bones begin; the legs remain bone-in. Cut away and discard the tail. Reserve the carcass, neck, and all bony trimmings for the aspic. If the skin is nicked, lay a small flap of loose neck skin beneath the opening before trussing. Ça se rattrape, and the patch will disappear inside the compact bird.

   A butcher may do this partial boning for you, but ask for the bird boned only to the legs and insist that the carcass, neck, and liver come home with it. Without the carcass, the gelée loses its foundation.
2. 2

   Begin carcass aspic

   Chop the carcass and neck into pieces that fit a medium saucepan. Add the strong veal stock and bring it slowly to a bare simmer, skimming away the grey foam as it rises. Partially cover and let it tremble gently for 60 to 75 minutes while you prepare and cook the duckling. A hard boil drives fat into the stock and clouds the gelée; if it begins rolling, lower the heat at once and add a spoonful of cool stock.

3. 3

   Warm the livers

   Heat the diced fat bacon and butter in a wide frying pan until the bacon turns translucent and the butter foams. Season the duck livers with the salt and pepper, then sprinkle them with the ground thyme, ground bay leaf, and chopped onion. Raise the heat, add everything to the pan, and toss over fierce heat for 60 to 90 seconds, just long enough to warm the livers and color their surfaces lightly. Their centers must remain soft and nearly raw because they cook again inside the duck. Scrape the livers, bacon, onion, butter, and every drop of fat onto a shallow tray.

4. 4

   Sieve and chill

   Let the liver mixture lose its surface heat, then rub the entire preparation through a sturdy fine-mesh sieve with a flexible scraper. Discard the sinew left behind. Spread the smooth forcemeat in a shallow bowl and refrigerate until completely cold and firm, about 30 minutes. Fry a teaspoonful to check the seasoning, then adjust the cold mixture if needed. If the forcemeat grows loose or beads with melted butter while you work, stop and chill it for 15 minutes before continuing. Ça se rattrape. Do not stuff it warm.

5. 5

   Stuff and truss

   Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lay the partially boned duckling skin-side down and spoon the cold forcemeat into the space left by the carcass, keeping it in an even mound between the breast meat and legs. Fold the sides over the filling and turn the bird breast-side up. Tie it compactly with four or five separate loops of kitchen twine, the home equivalent of formal entrée trussing, so the filling cannot escape. Place it in a lidded 1.5-liter terrine or snug loaf pan, choosing one with as little empty space as possible. Sprinkle the brandy over the duckling, lay the broad slice of bacon across its breast, and cover tightly.

6. 6

   Cook in bain-marie

   Set the covered terrine inside a deep roasting pan and pour in enough boiling water to reach halfway up its sides. Bake for 40 minutes, then test the center of the forcemeat with an instant-read thermometer without touching bone. The book's forty minutes is the first check, not permission to guess: the center must reach 165°F (74°C). If it has not, cover again and continue in 5-minute intervals. Keep the bain-marie at a quiet tremble. If it boils hard, replace a cup of hot water with cool water before the forcemeat tightens and turns grainy.

7. 7

   Finish the aspic

   Strain the carcass stock through a fine strainer lined with damp cheesecloth, without pressing on the bones. Return it to a clean saucepan and reduce gently to 1⅔ cups (400 ml / 400 g). Taste and correct the salt. Spoon a tablespoon onto a cold saucer and chill it for 5 minutes; it should set to a soft gel that quivers when touched. If it remains liquid, sprinkle the gelatin over 3 tablespoons of cold reduced stock and let it swell for 5 minutes, then whisk it into the remaining warm stock off the heat. Do not boil after adding gelatin. This is the honest home replacement for a stockpot rich enough to set by itself.

8. 8

   Cover with gelée

   When the duckling comes from the oven, leave it covered for 10 minutes while the aspic cools until warm but still fluid. Pour the aspic slowly into the terrine, letting it run around the bird and rise over the bacon-covered breast. A snug vessel matters here because the measured gelée should cover the duckling rather than disappear into empty corners. Let the terrine cool for no longer than 1 hour, then cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, until the aspic is thoroughly set.

9. 9

   Degrease and serve

   Scrape the opaque layer of set fat from the gelée with a teaspoon. Dip a clean spoon into boiling water, dry its underside, and sweep it lightly over the remaining fatty film, repeating as needed; this preserves the book's boiling-water finish without flooding or melting the aspic. Blot the rim dry, remove the twine as the bird is carved, and set the terrine on a folded napkin laid over a long serving dish. Cut generous slices through the boned breast and forcemeat, spooning some clear gelée beside each serving. Never apologize at your own table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Order a small Rouen duckling and the additional livers ahead, and tell the butcher that you need every bone returned. If Rouen duckling cannot be found, a small well-raised duckling will carry the method, but its flavor will be milder and the dish should not be mistaken for precisely the same bird.
• •The forcemeat keeps the source proportions intact: six duck livers against equal three-ounce measures of fat bacon and butter. It looks lavish because it is. We don't apologize for butter.
• •Test your veal stock before beginning. Chill a spoonful and see whether it wobbles. Stock sold in cartons often has flavor but little natural gelatin, so keep the measured powdered gelatin ready and add it only if the carcass-enriched stock fails its saucer test.
• •A deep loaf pan tightly sealed with two layers of foil is an honest equivalent to a lidded terrine. Choose by fit, not decoration; too much open space demands more aspic and weakens the balance set by the source.
• •Serve the terrine cool but not numb, taking it from refrigeration about 10 minutes before carving. A dry Norman cider is a fine companion, its acidity cutting through the liver, bacon, and duck without covering them.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare and cook the complete terrine the evening before serving, then give it at least 8 hours in the cold. The aspic sets fully, the forcemeat firms, and carving becomes far cleaner after this rest.
• •The liver forcemeat may be sieved and refrigerated up to 6 hours before stuffing. Keep it covered and properly cold so its butter remains bound into the liver.
• •The finished terrine keeps for up to 3 days under refrigeration at or below 40°F (4°C). Keep the gelée and duck covered, and carve only what you intend to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 190g)