Chef's Recipes

Duck confit and potato terrine

A Gourmet Traveller recipe for duck confit and potato terrine by Serge Dansereau of Sydney's Bathers' Pavilion.

  • Serves 8
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Duck confit and potato terrine
"I remember when I worked in Montréal I would often go out with a few colleagues for lunch. My favourite place was a little shop that only served crisp baguettes with your choice of cut terrine or pâté, maybe 30 types - for me it was just heaven." - Serge Dansereau
This recipe is from the book <em>Bathers’ Pavilion Menus and Recipes</em> (ABC Books) by Serge Dansereau.

Ingredients

  • 5 duck legs
  • ½ apple, chopped
  • ½ onion, chopped
  • ½ bunch rosemary
  • ½ bunch thyme
  • 1 litre olive oil (4 cups)
  • 200 gm fresh pork belly or sliced bacon, thinly sliced to layer the terrine
  • 300 gm chicken mince
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp juniper berries
  • For cooking: duck or cooking juices (these will accumulate at the bottom of the pot when the confit duck legs are cooked), strained and reserved
  • 2 tbsp picked and chopped thyme, rosemary and flat-leaf parsley
  • 250 ml pouring cream (1 cup)
  • 5 medium potatoes, peeled, trimmed into rectangles and thinly sliced
  • To serve: French cornichons, Dijon mustard and baguette

Method

Main
  • 1
    Preheat oven to 120C. To make the confit duck legs, place the duck legs in a wide pot, add the apple, onion, whole rosemary and thyme and cover with the olive oil. Place in the oven for 3-4 hours or until the meat comes off the bone. Drain off the fat, strain and store in a jar in the refrigerator. This oil can be re-used over and over again for confit. Any dark cooking juices gathering at the bottom should be kept to add to the terrine. Cool duck to room temperature. Separate the fat and bones from the meat and discard. Cut half the meat into small dice, combine the other half with the chicken mince (after it has been pressed between paper towel to remove as much of the oil as possible).
  • 2
    Line a terrine mould, 25cm in length and 10cm high and wide, with baking paper cut to size, and then layer with the pork or bacon with a lot of overhang; the overhang will close the bottom of the terrine and become the base. Place the chicken mince mixture, eggs, and any pork belly or bacon trimmings left from lining the terrine in a food processor and pulse until it is well blended. Add the juniper berries, diced duck meat and juices and pulse further. Add the herbs and finally the cream, salt and pepper. Remove immediately from the blender and refrigerate. The mixture should not be wet whatsoever and it is better for it to be more rustic in appearance than finely blended.
  • 3
    Place the potatoes in a shallow container and pour boiling water on top of them until they are submerged. Season with salt and allow to sit for 7 minutes until the potato has lost its raw edge, transfer to paper towel and pat dry both sides. Reserve.
  • 4
    Preheat oven to 170C. Place a layer of filling in the mould followed by a layer of the potato slices, more filling, another layer of potato and finally the rest of the filling, wrap the top of the terrine with the overhanging pork or bacon and press firmly. Bake the terrine for 45 minutes in a water bath or until an internal temperature of 36C is reached. Set on a wire rack and cool for at least 2 hours under weights by placing a flat board on top of the terrine and a couple of cans for weight. Slice and serve at room temperature with French cornichons, Dijon mustard and baguette.