This Ardennes pâté is perfect with crusty bread and French butter for a filling lunch, snack or appetiser.
With its coarse, chunky texture enriched with cream and brandy, this pâté is also flavoured with smoked bacon and juniper berries for a delicious treat.
Perfect for make ahead entertaining and it freezes well too.
Bon appétit!
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While most French people eat their main meal at lunchtime, lunch for us in the summer months when we had visitors was normally baguette, pâté, (or rillettes), ham, cheese and tomato and cucumber.
Just like trying every new type of cheese, there are plenty of pâtés to choose from. I absolutely love the smooth French duck liver versions, but there is something different about the smokiness of the bacon in Ardennes pâté that sets it apart from other flavours.
Whilst Ardennes pâté has its origins in Belgium, countries that share borders often share cuisines and similar coarse country pâtés are found throughout France.
Traditionally, this would have been made with a mixture of pork fillet, shoulder and belly, all minced up first. To make this easier I've used pork mince, which is about 12% fat. You need a certain amount of fat to flavour the pâté and to keep it moist.
So, forget shop bought and have a go at making this pâté yourself. It's nothing more than blitzing the meat, mixing everything together and baking.
The hardest bit is leaving it for a couple of days to let the flavours develop!
We served this to friends as a rustic starter with stuffed peppers, olives and some very garlicky snails. Trust me, they are delicious too.
❤️ Why you will love this dish
- Prepare ahead for fuss free entertaining.
- Really easy to make - just chop, mix and bake.
- Makes at least 10 generous servings.
- Great for picnics, lunches, snacks and as an appetiser.
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🥘 Ingredients
A full list of ingredients and quantities is in the recipe card, but here are a few notes.
- Pork - use pork mince (12% fat approx.), or mince some pork shoulder meat yourself. Don't be tempted to use a leaner cut of pork as the texture won't be the same and may make it dry and crumbly.
- Bacon - you will need smoked streaky bacon from the pork belly.
- Juniper berries - these are the main flavouring in gin and add great flavour to rich stews and game dishes as well as terrines and pâtés. You will normally find them in the spice section.
- Butter - the butter needs to be really soft to mix with the other ingredeint.
The printable recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of the article.
🍽 Equipment
- 1 litre or 2 lb loaf tin
- kitchen foil
- baking parchment
- deep roasting dish
- food processor - or just finely chop
- mixing bowl
🔪 Instructions
Rinse the liver and roughly chop. Chop the bacon.
Use some kitchen paper to remove excess moisture from the liver before cutting.
Place the liver in the food processor and pulse until it is chopped but not pureed. Transfer to the mixing bowl.
Repeat with the bacon and add the pork mince.
Add the dried herbs, seasoning, butter, brandy and cream.
Lightly crush the juniper berries with the back of a spoon and add them to the bowl.
Mix well.
Line the base and the long sides of the loaf tin with the parchment paper, leaving enough of an overhang to fold up to seal and to use as a handle for easy removal.
I used a couple of pegs to hold it in place.
Place the fresh herbs along the bottom. If you don't have these to hand in your garden you can leave them out or use dried bay leaves.
Add the meat to the tin, pressing into the edges and corners with the back of a spoon, leaving the surface level.
⏲️ Cooking Time
Preheat the oven to 160 C / 310 F / 140 FAN / Gas 2.5.
Fold the paper and add a piece of foil to loosely cover the top.
Place the loaf tin in the roasting tin and enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides.
Bake for 2 hours.
Remove from the water bath and cool for 2 hours.
Add a few tins to the top, (rectangular fish tins work well), and refrigerate for 2 days. This will help the flavours develop.
Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before serving.
Use the parchment paper to lift from the tin and remove any excess fat or jelly with knife.
Turn over the pâté so that the herbs are uppermost.
Slice and serve with crusty bread and cornichons.
🥗 Serve with
- crusty bread
- toast
- crackers
- cornichons - these are small pickled gherkins
- selection of cheeses
📖 Variations
- chicken - try swapping the pork for chicken mince and chicken livers
- flavours - add a chopped shallot and garlic clove for extra flavour
🍣 Storage
- Refrigerator - keep for up to 4 days in total.
- Freezer - wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
🍱 Prepare in Advance
- Make up to 2 days in advance.
Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais
More French appetisers
📋 Recipe
Ardennes Pâté
Equipment
- 1 litre or 2 lb loaf tin
- kitchen foil
- Baking parchment
- deep roasting dish
- food processor or just finely chop
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 500 g pork mince 16% fat
- 250 g smoked bacon streaky
- 300 g pork liver
- 100 ml cream double/heavy
- 40 g butter very soft
- 1 egg
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ tsp pepper black
- 4 tablespoon brandy
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160 C / 310 F / 140 FAN / Gas 2.5
- Rinse the liver and roughly chop. Chop the bacon.
- Place the liver in the food processor and pulse until it is chopped but not pureed. Transfer to the mixing bowl.
- Repeat with the bacon and add the pork mince, dried herbs, seasoning, butter, brandy and cream.
- Lightly crush the juniper berries with the back of a spoon and add them to the bowl.
- Mix well.
- Line the base and the long sides of the loaf tin with the parchment paper, leaving enough of an overhang to fold up to seal and to use as a handle for easy removal.
- Place the fresh herbs along the bottom.
- Add the meat to the tin, pressing into the edges and corners with the back of a spoon, leaving the surface level.
- Fold the paper and add a piece of foil to loosely cover the top.
- Place the loaf tin in the roasting tin and enough boiling water to come over halfway up the sides.
- Bake for 2 hours.
- Remove from the water bath and cool for 2 hours.
- Add a few tins to the top (rectangular fish tins work well), and refrigerate for 2 days.
- Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before serving.
- Use the parchment paper to lift from the tin and remove any excess fat or jelly with knife.
- Turn over then slice and serve.
Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Detailed instructions for this recipe, including step by step photographs, hints and tips, can be found in the main article.
French Appetisers
- Duck Croquettes2 Hours 20 Minutes
- Pâté Forestière15 Minutes
- Caviar Canapés7 Minutes
- Chicken Rillettes2 Hours 15 Minutes
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using gas.
Do you have a question or did you make the recipe? Please leave a rating as it helps other readers to discover this dish. Your name and email are required to avoid spam comments; they are never used for any purpose or shared with third parties.
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Amanda
So easy to make.