Pâté en Croûte—which is pâté surrounded by pastry—is a showstopper and takes considerable attention to detail to do well. It’s not a beginner recipe and it’s for sure out of my current skill zone. But I wanted to learn more about the difficulties of making pâté en croûte and share them with you. I hope this article will inspire you to go bravely into this crusty world. And now, let’s get to all the crusty things that can go wrong with pâté en croûte and how to mitigate these risks.

17 crusty mistakes that can happen when you make pâté en croute (and how to avoid them):  

• Crusty mistake #1: Using the wrong type of terrine.
• Crusty mistake #2: Using the wrong size of terrine.
• Crusty mistake #3: Choosing the wrong type of pastry.
• Crusty mistake #4: Measuring instead of weighing your flour.
• Crusty mistake #5: Rolling the dough unevenly.
• Crusty mistake #6: Using a bad technique to get the dough into the corners of the terrine.
• Crusty mistake #7: Ignoring the seams.
• Crusty mistake #8: Not brushing the pastry with fat.
• Crusty mistake #9: Forgetting the moisture barrier.
• Crusty mistake #10: Forgetting the egg wash.
• Crusty mistake #11: Leaving air pockets.
• Crusty mistake #12: Not creating an escape valve and chimney.
• Crusty mistake #13: Cooking it at the wrong temperatures.
• Crusty mistake #14: Forgoing the aspic.
• Crusty mistake #15: Applying the aspic at the wrong time.
• Crusty mistake #16: Serving the pâté en croûte at the wrong temperature.
• Crusty mistake #17: Going for design over flavour.

What I love about pâté en croûte is its beauty and craftsmanship. For example, the Pâté en Croûte recipe on the Meilleur du Chef website has 126 steps!

Of course, my style of cooking leans towards extreme simplicity so making a pâté en croûte isn’t my thing. But perhaps I’m researching this article to see if I too can overcome these crusty obstacles—one day—and feel the deep satisfaction that, I imagine, comes with making and serving a pâté en croûte. Let’s get started talking about the many ways pâté en croûte can go wrong (and how to avoid them).

Crusty mistake #1: Using the wrong type of terrine

There are a variety of terrines available for making pâté (also called pâté en terrine, terrine and pâté en croûte). The most common terrines are made of enamelled cast iron, enamelled stoneware and metal. The heavy terrines are for making pâtés cooked in a water bath in the oven. These are not for making pâté en croûte.

To make pâté en croûte, you need to use a metal terrine because the thin metal conducts the heat better which helps the dough cook more evenly. Fortunately, these are much less expensive than cast iron terrines.

Terrines for pâté en croûte are made of:

• Tinned steel – Tinned steel is steel covered with a thin coat of tin to prevent rust. Tinned steel conducts heat well and it’s not expensive, but you do have to be diligent about drying it or it will rust.
• Metal with non-stick coating – Pâté en croûte molds with a non-stick coating can be made of tinned steel or “fine” steel.
• Stainless steel – Terrines made of this material are less common and more expensive. But stainless steel doesn’t rust and it doesn’t contain poisonous non-stick ingredients so if that’s important to you—and you start making pâté en croûte regularly—you might want to explore this option.

Crusty mistake #2: Using the wrong size of terrine

Even a hobbit would use a full-sized terrine so don’t go tiny at the beginning of your adventures in pâté en croûte. According to the book Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen, Fourth Edition, The Culinary Institute of America says, “It is becoming more common to make terrines in smaller molds that are one-half to one-third the size of traditional molds. The smaller terrines require more time and precision and are more difficult to execute, so they can demonstrate the skill level of a chef.”

They also say small molds can up the presentation value and encourage hesitant diners to try the pâté because of the small portion size.

But if you’re like me, an amateur home cook slowly working through the world of forcemeat dishes, you will not need the extra challenge of a tiny pâté en croûte.

Stick with a traditional pâté en croûte mold which is around 8 cm x 8 cm (width x height) and can range from 30 cm to 50 cm long.

Crusty mistake #3: Choosing the wrong type of pastry

Not all pastries will give you the results you desire but—there’s also disagreement on what type of pastry is acceptable for pâté en croûte. For example, in her book, French Regional Cooking, Anne Willan says, “The crust itself can be a pie crust, but the French like to make it into pâte à pâté by adding whole eggs so that the dough is more pliable and holds its shape better during cooking. Lard is often used instead of butter, particularly when the filling contains pork. Puff pastry is another alternative, but this rich dough is wasted around a moist filling, as it goes soggy instead of rising.”

However, in their recipe, Pâté in a Pastry Crust, the Saveur website calls for a pound of frozen puff pastry so they don’t have the same reservations as Anne Willan.

In their book, Pâté, Confit, Rillette: Recipes from the Craft of Charcuterie, Brian Polcyn and Michael Ruhlman say, “The amount of fat affects the texture of a crust more than anything else … The traditional ratio for a standard pie crust, 3 parts flour to 2 parts fat to 1 part liquid, is often referred to as 3-2-1 dough.”

However, they suggest three types of crust:

• Hot water dough – This is 15% fat, crisps up nicely and is good for decorative elements on a pâté en croûte and for raised meat pies (which are tall British meat pies)
• Decker dough – This is 33% fat and “the perfect pastry crust for savory preparations.”
• Pâte brisée – This is 40% fat and is “great for raised pies, quiches, and tourtes.” (Can you feel the butter melting in your mouth already?)

[By the way, Brian and Michael’s book is awesome and even though it’s got some intimidating (to me) recipes in it, it’s taught me how to make a perfect chicken liver mousse so I can’t say enough about it. If you’re looking to buy your first forcemeat cookbook, make it Pâté, Confit, Rillette: Recipes from the Craft of Charcuterie by Brian Polcyn and Michael Ruhlman.]

Though there’s conflicting advice about crust, I’d recommend starting with the crust suggested in the recipe you’re using—and make sure you’ve got a good recipe.

Crusty mistake #4: Measuring instead of weighing your flour

Crust falls into the realm of baking, even when we use it for savoury applications. Baking is a precision activity, far more than cooking is. When it comes to crust, flour is the main ingredient and measuring it by volume—such as with a measuring cup—is much less accurate than by weight.

Factors that influence how much a cup of flour weighs include humidity, how you scoop it (scoop the measuring cup into the sitting flour or pour the flour into the measuring cup) and how compacted your flour supply is.

Brian and Michael—in their book mentioned above—say, “In our experience a cup of flour has weighed as little as 4 ounces/110 grams and as much as 6 ounces/170 grams.” That’s quite a difference for a precision activity!

Your crust recipe will be designed to work as written so even if it gives the ingredients in volume and weight, go by the weight measures. And with this in mind, it’s probably best to start with a recipe that includes measurements by weight.

Crusty mistake #5: Rolling the dough unevenly

The dough must be even all over and not too thick or too thin. If you roll it out unevenly, the thin parts will be in danger of breaking as you put the dough into the terrine and/or as the pâté en croûte starts to cook.

By the way, the dough should be as thin as possible but still sturdy enough that you can lift it off your dough surface and place it into the terrine without damage. The Garde Manger recommends rolling your dough until it’s 1/8 to ¼ inch thick (3 mm to 6 mm).

Crusty mistake #6: Using a bad technique to get the dough into the corners of the terrine

Getting a flat piece of thin dough into a terrine that has 90-degree angles in multiple places seems tricky, and based on advice for achieving this, it is tricky!

In the book, Professional Cooking, College Version, Seventh Edition, Wayne Gisslen tells his students how to prepare the dough for the terrine (in the chapter called, Pâtés, Terrines, and Other Cold Foods.). Wayne’s instructions for this part of the pâté en croûte process are a little long but filled with details, which is perfect for students like us!

He says, “Mold the pastry so it is of even thickness, has no seams, and fits the mold perfectly. First, work the pastry with the hands for a few seconds to make it pliable. Then shape it into a rectangle and roll it slightly with a rolling pin to flatten it, keeping it quite thick. Make an indentation down the centre of the dough with the fingers. Gradually make the dough into a sort of boat shape. Dust the inside of the dough shape well with flour (to keep the two layers of dough from sticking together) and fold the dough along the indentation to make a pocket. Gently roll out the dough to make a rectangle the size of the mold. Be careful not to roll the dough too thin, which would make it fragile. Open up the pocket. Fit the opened pocket into the mold. Carefully mold the pastry to the shape of the mold by pushing the dough with your fingers. Make sure there are no air bubbles between the dough and mold. A ball of dough dipped in flour is useful for pushing the dough into the corners of the mold without tearing it.”

Crusty mistake #7: Ignoring the seams

In a pâté en croûte, the seams are the weakest spots. This weakness can allow the pastry to burst while cooking which lets the cooking juices seep out during cooking and doesn’t allow you to trap the aspic within the pastry after cooking.

Two ways to shore up the seams of your pâté en croûte:

1. Squeeze and glue – Pinch the edges of the pastry together (without increasing the dough’s thickness) and apply an egg wash to act like an edible glue.
2. Turn your pâté en croûte upside down – Many steel terrine molds come apart. After you’ve put your pâté en croûte together, fold the excess dough over the top so it slightly overlaps. Then unhinge the mold so you can remove the bottom plate. Put that bottom plate on the top and flip everything over. This gives you a seamless top, plus the weight of the pâté in the crust presses down on the seams (which are now on the bottom) which secures them during baking.

Crusty mistake #8: Not brushing the pastry with fat

This crusty mistake doesn’t have devastating consequences. But if you brush your pastry with fat such as butter or lard before and after cooking, it creates “an even softer and chewier dough” according to the article What Can I Use Instead of Eggs to Brush the Dough Before Baking? I swear I saw this fat brushing tip in one of my books as I researched this article but when I went to write tip #8, I couldn’t find it. But I did find an alternate source so it’s all good.

Crusty mistake #9: Forgetting the moisture barrier

The pastry in a finished pâté en croûte is supposed to be crispy. A moisture barrier keeps the juices from the pâté from sitting against your beautiful pastry and making it soft. (Though, let’s be honest, it would probably still taste good.)

Foods that act as a moisture barrier in a pâté en croûte:

• Fat, including caul fat, thinly sliced fatback and bacon, stretched until thin.
• Deli meat such as ham or prosciutto so long as it’s sliced thinly.

Some folks think an extra layer of fat is too much. I don’t see how that’s possible, ha ha.

Crusty mistake #10: Forgetting the egg wash

The egg wash has a couple of jobs. It helps you glue the seams together. Plus, when you brush it all over, it gives the pastry colour and adds shine to it.

If you must forget one of these egg washes, make it the one that’s more about style than function. It’s easier to handle a pale pâté en croûte than one that busted open at the seams, I’m guessing.

Crusty mistake #11: Leaving air pockets

Even though air is essential for life, it’s certainly an enemy of many forcemeat concoctions. Once you put your pâté in the crusted terrine, you’ll want to gently press down to remove air bubbles.

I’ve seen lots of references to the importance of removing air bubbles but haven’t come across the reason why. I’m guessing it’s to create a uniform look throughout the pâté when it’s sliced. If you have some guidance on this issue, I’d love to hear it!

Crusty mistake #12: Not creating an escape valve and chimney

If you don’t want your pâté en croûte to explode all over your oven—or at least crack apart sadly—you need to create an escape valve (or several) and a chimney. The vent hole is cut through the dough and fat layer/moisture barrier. With any leftover pastry, you can form a circle of dough around your hole for support and decorative purposes. Then you take some tin foil or parchment paper and roll it up to create a chimney. Insert the chimney into the vent hole (but I prefer calling it an escape valve).

The hole lets hot air escape the pâté and the chimney prevents pâté juices from bubbling out over the hole and burning the crust (or discolouring the area around the hole).

Make the hole about an inch wide and the chimney about two inches tall.  

Crusty mistake #13: Cooking it at the wrong temperatures

Unlike with most other terrines, there’s no water bath protecting the pâté from direct heat so pâté en croûte needs a low-ish temperature for most of the cooking. Except a low temperature throughout the cooking period wouldn’t work for the pastry.

Instead, for pâté en croûte, you start with high heat for 10 to 30 minutes—to crisp up the pastry—then drop it to a low heat for the rest of the baking time.

Times and temperatures vary so follow your recipe, but I’ve included some examples to give you an idea of the acceptable range. These examples are from the books mentioned above (scroll up to see the complete book names).

The Garde Manger suggests covering the pâté en croûte with tin foil and baking at 450°F for 15 minutes before removing the foil and cooking at 350°F for the remaining time.

Professional Cooking suggests starting at 400°F for ten minutes and continuing at 350°F for the rest of the cook time.

Pâté, Confit, Rillette suggests starting at 400°F for 20 to 30 minutes (until the crust is nicely browned) and dropping the temperature to a cool 300°F for the rest of the cook time.

Crusty mistake #14: Forgoing the aspic

The aspic is a flavoured gelatin mix that you pour into the escape valve after cooking. The aspic is meant to fill the gap between the shrunken forcemeat and the crust. It also adds flavour and structure to the pâté en croute. Without a solid level right under the crust, it’s more difficult to cut the pâté en croûte and keep it all together. Plus, it looks so nice!

Crusty mistake #15: Applying the aspic at the wrong time

Now don’t be hasty with the aspic! After you take the pâté en croûte out of the oven, you must let it cool down so the various bits can settle into place. You want any shrinking to be finished before you add the aspic which fills out the empty space between the meat and the crust.

Recommendations vary from letting it get completely cool to letting it cool a bit but making sure it’s still warm. If you’re timing it, give the pâté en croûte about 45 minutes to cool down. If you’re checking the temperature, let it chill to between 90°F and 100°F. Remember, these are general ideas in the absence of a recipe. Your recipe will guide you exactly.

Once your pâté en croûte is cooled down, take your warm, liquid aspic and pour it into the vent hole until the gap has closed. The aspic will come up to the bottom of the hole. Once the aspic is in place, refrigerate the pâté en croûte for anywhere between overnight and three days before serving.

Crusty mistake #16: Serving the pâté en croûte at the wrong temperature

After all this work—and 126 steps if you followed the Meilleur du Chef recipe—don’t sabotage yourself by serving up a stone-cold pâté en croûte. Let the pâté en croûte warm up to room temperature and cut it into generous slices about half an inch to three quarters of an inch thick. If you serve it straight out of the fridge, the flavours will be muted. At room temperature, they come alive!

Serve your slices of pâté en croûte with gherkins, mustard and/or your favourite jam or chutney. [For more ideas on how to serve pâté in general, check out my article, Serving Terrine 101: How to Create a Stellar Spread Easily.]

Crusty mistake #17: Going for design over flavour

Perhaps I should’ve put this one at the top of the list but it’s at the end more as a philosophical approach rather than a make-or-break-your-crust tip. In this fascinating article, Obsessed: The Kitsch and Artistry of Pâté en Croûte on the Serious Eats site, the author interviews Julien Shapiro who’s a chef, butcher and charcutier—and a master of pâté en croûte. [I’ve seen this interview several times during my research—this time I read it but most of the time, I just stare at the pictures of the pâté en croûte, ha ha. Seriously, it’s a good one so, check it out if you’re interested.]

About his first experiences with pâté en croûte, Julien says, “I remember the first one I made was awful, in every sense of the word. And, you know, I didn’t have too much guidance…And I wanted to do it by myself. I started reading books, and just practicing. I screwed up a lot of them.”

Good to know that even a professional chef faces crusty obstacles like a mere mortal!

Anyhoo, this practicing landed him in some major competitions, including the pâté en croûte championship held annually at the Maison Chapoutier in Tain-l’Hermitage, France.

But in this pro world, people can go too far with pâté en croûte. Julien says, “One of the criticisms that I’ve heard from some of the judges now is that people are focusing on the aesthetics more than the actual flavor. People are trying to do a whole bunch of crazy stuff, but first and foremost, it’s got to taste good.”

And this lesson is important for us too. Whether we’re making our first or 100^th forcemeat concoction, much of the joy will come in the eating. Yes, some of it comes in the presentation but that’s a secondary matter.

This means you can take your favourite, most delicious pâté en terrine recipe and give it the pâté en croûte treatment. Brian Polcyn and Michael Ruhlman say (in their book mentioned above), “We give you only one pâté en croûte recipe here, but you can substitute any of the pâtés in this book for the rabbit pâté here. The principles remain the same no matter what kind of pâté you use.”

Flavour then artistry!

Conclusion

So that’s about all I have to say about all the troubles pâté en croûte can lay at your doorstep. I hope this guide to avoiding them inspires you to tackle this formidable project in the near future. May your pâté en croûte be crispy, delicious and mouth-watering! You can do it!