Recipe: Rabbit & Pork Belly Terrine

Experience has taught me that terrines need two solid days sitting in the refrigerator to develop their flavor profile. They hold up a good week or so after that.

Yield: 1 terrine
Active Time: 45 minutes
Bake Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (1 small onion)
  2 teaspoons minced garlic
  1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  1/2 teaspoon ground juniper berries
  1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
  1/2 cup Madeira
  2- 2 1/2 pounds ground rabbit (include livers) and pork belly mixture
  1/4-1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
  1/4-1/2 tablespoon ground pepper
  1/3 cup (shelled) coarsely chopped pistachios
  3 slices bacon
  Terrine
  Parchment paper

*A reputable charcuterie or butcher can provide this for you. I requested two boned rabbits, their livers, and a couple of slabs of pork belly be put into the mincer. This worked out to be about 2 1/4 pounds of total meat.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place onion, garlic, thyme, juniper berries, fennel and Madiera in a heavy bottomed pan. Bring to a boil and cook until Madiera has been absorbed. Let cool.
3. Sprinkle 1/4 tablespoon of kosher salt and 1/4 tablespoon pepper over rabbit and thoroughly combine. Fry a pinch in a sauté pan and taste. Add additional salt and pepper to mixture if desired. (I used 1/2 tablespoon of each.)
4. Thoroughly combine onion mixture with meat mixture and pistachios; make sure pistachios are well-distributed into the meat. Press meat mixture into a lightly oiled terrine. Place bacon lengthwise over meat mixture. Cut parchment to fit over terrine and press into mixture. Wrap tightly in foil and place in another baking dish, larger than the terrine, which is filled 3/4 with hot water.
5. Bake on center rack of oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 160-170 degrees, about 80-90 minutes. (Temping unfortunately causes a bit of flavorful juices to escape. If you're confident your oven temperature is accurate, bake the terrine 80-85 minutes and you should be in fine shape.)
6. When cool enough to handle, remove foil and pour off excess fat. (The flavorful juices may be used later for a sauce or soup.) Recover terrine with foil and weight terrine down with a plate, cans or weights. Refrigerate two days for flavors to combine.

This recipe was written by Peggy Lampman and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on Dec. 12, 2011.