Castaing Duck Terrine with Green Peppercorn 400g Barquette

TAST­ING NOTES FROM THE CURATOR

Castaing’s duck ter­rine blends the fat­ty gami­ness of duck meat with the milder taste of pork. The com­pa­ny has been pro­duc­ing pâtés and oth­er soft char­cu­terie for almost a hun­dred years, work­ing in close col­lab­o­ra­tion with small local farms that use tra­di­tion­al breed­ing and rear­ing meth­ods for their ani­mals. This ter­rine is made with­out preser­v­a­tives, and clear­ly car­ries the mild, fresh spice of green pep­per­corns. The tof­fee caramel hint from a touch of Arma­gnac com­ple­ments the pepperiness.

PREPA­RA­TION OR PAIRINGS

Best served chilled, this gourmet appe­tiz­er makes a fit­ting starter for a small, inti­mate gath­er­ing. Lay out some hefty slices on a tray with cor­ni­chons (gherkins), some chut­ney, crusty bread, and creamy Échiré Salt­ed But­ter AOP, and you’re off to a won­der­ful evening. When you reach for a bot­tle (or three) for your lit­tle par­ty — whether a wine or a cider — choose some­thing ripe and round­ed. Go for a dessert wine like a sweet, crisp Loire or Bor­deaux selec­tion or select a Syrah or Grenache for a soft, fruity, almost pep­pery meal companion.

FORM AND FUNCTION

Ter­rines are reput­ed­ly for­mal and fan­cy, but they come from hum­ble ori­gins and are an effort­less addi­tion to lunch or din­ner. Made at least a day in advance, they can be brought to the table with as much flour­ish or as lit­tle fan­fare as you desire. The name encom­pass­es both the dish and the round, earth­en­ware con­tain­er it is usu­al­ly cooked in. All the way back in the Mid­dle Ages, the ter­rine was a way for the cen­tral and north­ern Euro­peans to use up all parts of the ani­mals they slaugh­tered. It was the French who trans­formed this eco­nom­i­cal cook­ing tech­nique into an art form — and it is now a main­stay of their culi­nary tradition.

Storage Instructions

Store in the refrigerator.