Mettwurst Pâté

This recipe came about by combining the recipe for Mettwurst Sausage from Ellen Brown’s, The Sausage Cookbook Bible, with the pâté cooking method described in Charcuterie, by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn.

A country-style pâté, or pâté de campagne, such as this is really nothing more than a meatloaf that has been compressed and chilled. It’s packed with flavor and is best served as an appetizer with Saltines or water crackers.

The first time I made this I thought, “My dad would have loved this.” It has such an old world quality to it. For anyone who grew up knowing Braunschweiger or Underwood Deviled Ham, the taste and texture will tickle the hippocampus with pleasant memory.

According to an article in Smithsonian Magazine, Underwood’s Deviled Ham is the oldest trademarked logo still in use.

I’m more familiar with the one from my childhood.

If I ever go commercial I think this will be my logo.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Ground Beef
1 lb. Ground Pork
⅔ cup Onion, finely diced
3 cloves Garlic, finely diced
2 tsp. Yellow Mustard Seed
1 tsp. Celery Seed
2 tsp. Kosher Salt
1 tsp. Black Pepper
¼ tsp. White Pepper
¼ tsp. Nutmeg, ground
¼ tsp. Ginger, ground
¼ tsp. Cloves, ground
½ tsp. Liquid Smoke
2 tbsp. All-Purpose Flour
2 large Eggs
½ cup Heavy Cream

Directions:

Step 1: Whisk together the flour, eggs and heavy cream.

Step 2: Process the ground beef and ground pork through the fine grind plate of a meat grinder. Add the spices and mixture of flour, eggs and heavy cream. Mix well and continue working the mixture in order to develop a smooth emulsion.

Step 3: Preheat oven to 300°F. Lightly coat a standard 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ inch loaf pan with oil or non-stick spray and pour the meat mixture into the pan. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake in a bain marie for 1 hour and 45 minutes until the internal temperature is 165°F.

Add hot water until half-way up the side of the pan.

Step 4: Drain the excess liquid and cover with plastic. Place a brick wrapped in foil on the meat and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator – at least 12 hours. This will compress the loaf to a dense texture.