UFO Terrine

This is a gorgeous and very simple recipe for any birds leftover in your deep freeze at end of the season….

Ingredients

• Meat from 3 pheasants, minced

• Same quantity of sausage meat

• A handful of parsley

• 2 onions finely chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, crushed

• A generous sploosh of sherry or brandy

• 1 heaped tablespoonful green peppercorns (pickled)

• 2 eggs – beaten

For the terrine mould

• bacon rashers

• 2 x bay leaves

• sprig of thyme

Method

1. Gently fry the onions and garlic in a little olive oil until they are softened – set aside to cool.

2. Remove the flesh from the pheasant and chop roughly. Place in a food processor with the parsley and mince coarsely.

3. Mix together with the sausage meat, onions and all the remaining ingredients.

4. Flatten and stretch the bacon rashers on a board with a knife.

5. Grease a loaf tin or ceramic terrine mould and line with bacon rashers.

6. Pack the pheasant and sausage mixture into the tin. Fold over any overhanging bacon and press the bay leaves and thyme neatly into the top. Cover with foil and a lid if your mould has one.

7. Place the terrine in in a roasting dish and pour boiling water up to half its depth.

8. Bake in the oven for 2 hours. Test with a skewer at the end of this time and, if juices run clear, the terrine is cooked. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

9. With a sharp knife, slice it thickly and serve with warm crusty bread and home made chutney

Top tips

For the best texture and easy slicing, your terrine should be pressed as it cools. Place a 900g/2lb weight on top until cold. Refrigerate for at least three days, to let the flavours develop.

This recipe works just as well with partridge, grouse or even a mixture of birds.

The terrine is best eaten fresh and isn’t suitable for freezing.

Find more inspiration in our recipes section.

_{By JPS68 (Own work) <CC-BY-SA-3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons}