Venison & Duck Terrine with Pear Chutney

It amazes me sometimes how I still get so excited to get a new kitchen Gadget or piece of crockery. I've been looking forward to this one for a few weeks now. It's not in my budget to buy a new Le Creuset cast iron terrine, but I have been bidding for them on ebay and finally got one!
My next trip is to Nice in France and in anticipation I am creating this little luxury meat feast Terrine today. Of course I will have to wait until tomorrow to see how it turned out. I don't know if you share my sentiment, but I get as excited about these things as a child with a new toy.

Ingredients:

140g Dry Cured Ham, thinly sliced

450g good quality Pork Sausages (casing removed)

450g Venison Haunch Meat, cut into small chunks

1 skinless Duck breast, cut into small chunks

1 thick slice White Bread

60ml Brandy

1 Garlic Clove, minced

1/2 tsp Green Peppercorns

1 tbs fresh Parsley, chopped

1 tsp fresh Thyme, chopped

1 tsp fresh Rosemary, chopped

a pinch of ground All Spice

a grating of Nutmeg

a few grinds of Black Pepper

Mix together the sausage meat, herbs, spices and seasonings.

Marinate the Venison and Duck pieces in the Brandy and Garlic for a couple of hours, then remove and add to the sausage mixture. Soak the bread in the Brandy Marinade and crumble it into the mixture also.

Line a Terrine with clingfilm and arrange the Cured ham equally around the edges, leaving some overhanging to fold over the top.

Tightly fill the meat mixture into the terrine and fold over the Ham and clingfilm. Cover with a lid or 2 layers of tinfoil and bake at 180C in a bain marie (fill a large high sided roasting tin with water coming half way up the sides of the terrine) for 1 1/2 hours.

To test it is cooked through press the top and see that it is firm to the touch. Or use a meat thermometer which should read 78C.

Now the Terrine needs to chill overnight. Weighing it down with something suitable while chilling, helps it stay together when cut later on.

The Pear Chutney:

Ingredients:

650g Pears and Apples, cored and peeled and cut into chunks

a handful of Raisins

1 red Onion, diced

120g Natural brown Sugar

250ml White Wine Vinegar
a pinch of ground Cloves

a pinch of Cinnamon

a pinch of All spice

a pinch of Cayenne Pepper

Simply place all the ingredients into a pan and simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Keep the Chutney in sterilised jars for use later, or tomorrow with the Terrine.

To keep for longer sterilise your Jars by running them through a hot cycle of the dishwasher or washing thoroughly then dipping in boiling water. 

Add the hot chutney, close the lid and it will seal shut by itself.
So, now we have to wait until tomorrow to see the final result :-)

Update:
Well, I could not wait until the morning and when I woke up at 3am I just had to have a peek.
Then a peek wasn't enough and I decided I might as well have a whole portion with all the trimmings.
I toasted some hearty bread and had a thick slice with Chutney.
The Terrine cuts very well, it could even be sliced thinly for sandwich fillings. The green Peppercorns give a little ping every now and then and as it's quite a lean Terrine it's flavoursome but not too rich.