Swine & Sea — Rustic Pork Pâté Sandwich — French Creole Recipe

Rustic Pork Pâté Sandwich

The Rustic Pâté Sandwich isn’t just a sandwich. It’s a lesson in charcuterie fundamentals: how meat, fat, and spice coexist, and how patience turns raw ingredients into something composed and generous. Making pâté from scratch teaches humility. You start with raw pork, raw liver, and a handful of spices, and slowly coax something civilized from chaos.

Pickles play the counterpoint. They teach restraint — acidity, timing, knowing when enough is enough. Together, pâté and pickles are a study in balance: richness against sharpness, indulgence anchored by clarity.

Recipe

Pâté Spices

  • 1 tsp.

    ground cloves

  • 1 tsp.

    ground nutmeg

  • 1 tsp.

    ground ginger

  • 1 tsp.

    cayenne pepper
Pâté

  • 1 ¼ lbs.

    boneless pork shoulder , cut into 1" cubes

  • 7 oz.

    fatty bacon , rough chopped

  • 7 oz.

    chicken livers , rough chopped

  • 1

    small yellow onion , finely diced

  • 1

    shallot , finely diced

  • ⅓ cup

    Italian flat leaf parsley , finely chopped

  • ¼ cup

    cognac

  • 5 tsp.

    Kosher salt

  • 4

    garlic cloves , minced

  • 1 tsp.

    black pepper , freshly ground

  • ⅛ tsp.

    pink salt #1 (curing salt)

  • ½ cup

    heavy cream

  • ⅓ cup

    bread crumbs

  • 2

    large eggs
Assembly

  • 1

    baguette
  • pickles
  • Dijon mustard
  • arugula
Pâté Spices
    Step 1

  • In a small bowl, combine the cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cayenne pepper and set aside.

Pâté
    Step 1

  • In a large bowl, combine the pork shoulder, bacon, chicken liver, onion, shallot, parsley, cognac, curing salt, garlic, pepper, ¾ tsp. of the Pâté spice. Mix thoroughly until even distributed. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

    • Step 2

  • In the meantime, whisk together the heavy cream, breadcrumbs and eggs together, in a bowl.

    • Step 3

  • Transfer the pork mixture a rimmed baking dish, lined with wax paper. Freeze for 15 to minutes to help with the grinding of the meat.

    • Step 4

  • Grind the pork mixture into a bowl using the meat grinder attachment of a stand mixer.

    • Step 5

  • Add the cream mixture to the meat mixture and fold gently until just combined.

    • Step 6

  • Thoroughly grease a loaf pan with butter. Fill the pan to the top with the ground pork mixture, smoothing the top. Cover with a piece of parchment paper, cut to fit the top of the pan. Wrap tightly with heavy aluminum foil.

    • Step 7

  • Preheat an oven to 350°.

    • Step 8

  • Transfer the pan to a deep pot or baking dish. Pour enough hot water to reach ½ way up the side of the pan.

    • Step 9

  • Bake in the oven until an instant-read thermometer, inserted into the center read 155°, approximately 2 hours.

    • Step 10

  • Transfer the load pan to a towel lined surface. If the mixture has risen above the edges of the pan, press it back down with a heavy pan.

    • Step 11

  • Remove the aluminum foil, leaving the parchment paper on top. Cut out a piece of cardboard to be slightly smaller than the top of the pan. Wrap in aluminum foil and place on top of the parchment paper. Press down with weights such as canned goods or aluminum foil wrapped bricks.

    • Step 12

  • Refrigerate at least 8 hours to chill and compress the pâté

    • Step 13

  • Pour hot water into a bowl. Dip the mold into the hot water for 1 to 2 seconds. Turn it out onto a paper-towel-lined dish. Chill again before slicing.

Assembly
    Step 1

  • Slice the baguette in half length-wise and toast. Smear the top half with Dijon mustard and the bottom half with butter.

    • Step 2

  • Slice the pâté into &frac2;" slices and place on the bottom half of baguette. Top with pickles, arugula and then top half of the baguette. Press together. Slice in half.