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Woodcocks, Terrine of

A terrine made with woodcock halves, truffles, ham fat, hare meat, liver, pork, bacon, and Madeira.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Liver and pork are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,606 recipes. Both carry 1-nonanal, which smells fatty, waxy. The science ↓

Woodcocks, Terrine of

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the forcemeat

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. In a pie dish, place the woodcock pieces, truffles, and ham fat. Season lightly. Baste with Madeira.

  3. Fry hare meat with an equal volume of liver until set. Add the trails of the woodcocks. Let cool.

  4. Chop the mixture with lean pork. Season. Pound the forcemeat in a mortar.

  5. Add chopped bacon and truffle trimmings. Mix in the Madeira from soaking the woodcocks.

Assemble and bake

  1. Mask the bottom and sides of a pie dish with some forcemeat. Layer the woodcock, truffles, and ham in the center, alternating with forcemeat. Fill the pie dish completely. Smooth the top. Cover with bacon slices.

  2. Place in a sauté pan with hot water. Bake for 1.5 hours. Remove from the oven.

Cool and serve

  1. Place a light weight on top as it cools. Once completely cold, slice into oblongs. Arrange in a terrine.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Liver + porktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,606 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-nonanal (fatty, waxy).

  2. Truffle + porktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,380 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethylphenol (must).

  3. Meat + porktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,208 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  4. Truffle + hamtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together516 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  5. Ham + porktop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,638 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Woodcocks
Provide the main game flavour and the meat that forms the centre of the terrine.
Liver
Adds moisture and richness to the forcemeat, helping it stay tender once set.
Lean pork
Adds body and moisture to the forcemeat so it holds together when sliced.
Truffles
Contribute a strong earthy aroma that perfumes the whole terrine.
Madeira
Adds sweetness and aromatic depth to the woodcock and forcemeat.

The step that matters

Baking in a water bath. Cooking the terrine in a sauté pan of hot water gently surrounds it with moderate heat, so the forcemeat sets evenly without curdling, drying or splitting at the edges.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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