Polish Homemade Meat Pâté (Pasztet domowy)

Prepare the ingredientsHeat the oven to 175 °C for later. Keep the raw pork and chicken refrigerated at or below 4 °C until cooking. Do not rinse raw meat. Wash hands and sanitize the board, knife and tongs after raw-meat contact. Peel and cut the vegetables as listed, and trim the chicken livers.

Simmer the meat and aromaticsPut the pork shoulder, chicken thighs and pork belly in a 5-litre pot. Add 2.5 L cold water; add up to 500 ml more only if needed to cover the meat by about 2 cm. Bring to a gentle boil, skim the foam, then lower the heat. Add the onion, carrot, parsley root, celeriac, bay leaves, allspice, peppercorns and salt. Partly cover and simmer gently for about 75–90 minutes, until the meat is tender and separates readily. Avoid a rolling boil.

Cook the chicken liversAdd the trimmed livers near the end of simmering. Cook until fully done and the center of each liver reaches at least 74 °C. Lift out the meat and vegetables with clean tongs. Strain and reserve the broth. Retain the cooked carrot and other vegetables for grinding; discard the bay leaves and whole spices. Remove every bone from the chicken and pork, checking carefully for fragments.

Soften the roll and onionPour 100 ml hot strained broth over the stale roll and let it soften. Warm the neutral oil in a small pan and cook the chopped onion gently until soft, without deep browning. Let the cooked ingredients cool enough to handle safely.

Grind and season the mixturePass the cooked pork, deboned chicken, pork belly, livers, retained vegetables, softened roll and onion through a fine grinder plate, or process in batches until evenly ground. Mix in the eggs, ground black pepper and nutmeg until the mixture is cohesive and spreadable, not pourable. Do not add unmeasured broth.

Fill the pans and bakeButter two metal loaf pans, about 20 × 10 cm, and coat them with the breadcrumbs. Divide the pâté mixture evenly between the pans, keeping the depth at or below 5 cm. Set the pans on a roasting tray and bake at 175 °C for an estimated 60–75 minutes. Check the center of each loaf with a clean food thermometer; both must reach at least 74 °C. The tops should be browned and the centers set. If needed, continue baking and recheck.

Cool and chillRest the pans for 10 minutes. Place them in an ice-water bath, keeping water out of the pâté, and monitor the temperature. Cool from 57 °C to 21 °C within 2 hours, then to 5 °C or below within 6 hours total. Cover once cold and refrigerate at or below 4 °C for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, before slicing.