Pâté en Croûte Recipe: Classic French Charcuterie Pie 2026

Pâté en croûte is one of the great showpieces of French charcuterie: a savory terrine of seasoned meats and liver wrapped in a golden pastry crust and finished with a shimmering wine gelatin. It looks like a project, and it is, but every stage is simple on its own. The reward is a sliceable, deeply savory centerpiece that feels straight out of a Parisian charcuterie window.

This version layers a fine chicken-and-rabbit muselina forcemeat with a rustic turkey-and-liver country forcemeat, studded with pistachios and dried cranberries. The crust is a buttery pâte brisée made with a mix of butter and lard, and the gelatin is built from Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso Sherry with a touch of soy sauce instead of a clarified stock.

Plan ahead: the forcemeats macerate for 8 to 24 hours and the assembled pâté needs a long chill before baking and glazing. Serve it in neat slices with cornichons, whole-grain mustard, and a handful of green leaves.

Ingredients for Pâté en Croûte

Makes 12 servings.

• 680 g wheat flour
• 6 g salt
• 220 g very cold butter, cubed
• 220 g very cold lard, cubed
• 60 g very cold water
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 25 g cured ham bacon
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 30 g finely chopped shallots
• 120 ml Pedro Ximénez wine
• 170 g skinless, boneless chicken thighs, diced small
• 170 g rabbit meat, diced small
• 225 g streaky bacon, diced small
• 22 g salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 100 g turkey tenderloin, cut into thick strips
• 150 g chicken livers, cleaned and whole
• 120 ml brandy
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
• Salt
• Black pepper, to taste
• 120 ml crème fraîche
• 75 g egg
• 100 g shelled pistachios
• 85 g dried cranberries
• 10 g powdered gelatin
• 3 tablespoons water
• 180 g Pedro Ximénez wine
• 180 g Oloroso wine
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons milk

How to Make Pâté en Croûte Step by Step

1. Mix the flour, salt, and fats

Mix 680 g of wheat flour with 6 g of salt, then add 220 g of very cold cubed butter and 220 g of very cold cubed lard.

2. Rub in the fats

Work the fats in with your hands — a bench scraper works too — until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. To keep it from warming up, dip your hands in very cold water and dry them now and then; neither the fats nor the dough should get too warm.

3. Add the vinegared water

Mix 60 g of very cold water with 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar and add it gradually while working the dough, just until it is moist enough to form a ball — you may not need all of the vinegared water. The vinegar gives the dough elasticity and helps it take shape in the mold.

4. Form a ball and chill the dough

Work the dough with your hands just until it comes together into a ball, without overworking it or warming it too much. Put it in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and let it rest for 6 to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

5. Fry the bacon, garlic, and shallots

To make the muselina forcemeat, fry 25 g of cured ham bacon in a skillet, then add 1 tablespoon of finely chopped garlic and 30 g of finely chopped shallots.

6. Add the Pedro Ximénez and cool

Add 120 ml of Pedro Ximénez wine and let it boil for a couple of minutes. Take it off the heat and let it cool to room temperature.

7. Combine the meats with the reduction

Put 170 g of boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into small dice, 170 g of rabbit meat cut into small dice, 225 g of streaky bacon cut into small dice, and the Pedro Ximénez reduction with shallot and garlic into a bowl.

8. Season and macerate the muselina forcemeat

Keep adding 22 g of salt, 1 1/2 tablespoons of freshly ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme, 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary, and 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley. Mix, cover with plastic wrap, and let this mixture macerate for 8 to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

9. Start the country forcemeat

Make the country forcemeat by putting 100 g of turkey tenderloin cut into thick strips, 150 g of cleaned whole chicken livers, 120 ml of brandy, 1 cinnamon stick broken in half, and salt and black pepper to taste into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it macerate for 8 to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

10. Chop the muselina forcemeat

Once the country forcemeat has finished macerating, drain the chicken with the rabbit and the streaky bacon, and chop the forcemeat with a mezzaluna. If you have a powerful blender, you can skip this step.

11. Blend to a fine paste

Put the mixture into a food processor and blend until it forms a fine paste.

12. Finish the muselina with crème fraîche and egg

Mix the chicken and rabbit paste with 120 ml of crème fraîche and 75 g of egg. Keep it in the refrigerator until it is time to assemble the pâté en croûte.

13. Hydrate the gelatin

For the Sherry gelatin, put 10 g of powdered gelatin in a small glass and add 3 tablespoons of water. Mix and let it sit for 5 minutes to hydrate.

14. Warm the Sherries and soy sauce

In a saucepan, combine 180 g of Pedro Ximénez wine, 180 g of Oloroso wine, and 3 tablespoons of soy sauce. Warm it without letting it boil, then take it off the heat. If it does come to a boil, remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly — gelatin can lose its setting power at very high temperatures.

15. Add the gelatin and reserve

Add the hydrated gelatin, mix, and keep it liquid until you are ready to use it. You can strain it to make sure the gelatin has dissolved. This gelatin can be made 1 or 2 days ahead and warmed until liquid when needed, but it must never boil.

16. Roll out the pastry

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Roll it out to a 50 x 30 cm rectangle between 3 and 6 mm thick. Chill it for at least 20 minutes, but not so long that it becomes too hard. It is easiest to roll it out on a sheet of parchment paper.

17. Line the mold

Carefully line the bottom and sides of the mold with the pastry. If it cracks a little, press it back together with your fingers — it handles like any pâte brisée. The pastry should always overhang the mold by 1 to 2 cm. Trim the excess with a knife and keep it in the refrigerator; it will be used for the lid later.

18. Add the first layers

Cover the bottom of the mold with one fifth of the muselina forcemeat. Drain the turkey and chicken livers from the country forcemeat and lay the turkey strips along the length of the mold.

19. Add pistachios

Cover with another layer of muselina forcemeat and 80 g of shelled pistachios.

20. Add the livers

Continue with another layer of muselina forcemeat and cover it with the chicken livers from the country forcemeat.

21. Finish the filling and fold the pastry

Finish with a final layer of muselina forcemeat mixed with 85 g of dried cranberries — which can be soaked in brandy first — and the remaining 20 g of pistachios. Fold the overhanging pastry inward so it covers the filling a little. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour; ideally, let it mature for about 6 hours.

22. Cut the lid and rings

Roll out the reserved pastry and cut a 30 x 8 cm rectangle for the pâté lid, plus 2 pastry rings that will form the 2 chimneys. Chill for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is firmer.

23. Make the egg glaze

Make the glaze by mixing 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, and 2 tablespoons of milk, then brush the pastry edges that cover the filling with this mixture.

24. Put on the lid

Cut 2 circles in the pâté lid — these will act as chimneys to release steam during baking — and cover the entire surface of the pâté.

25. Seal the edges

Seal the edges with the help of a fork — you can also crimp them in a way similar to empanadas.

26. Add the chimney rings and glaze

Brush glaze over the whole surface, stick on the two rings to form the chimneys, and brush them with glaze too. Refrigerate so the lid firms up and can be scored more easily.

27. Score the lid

Score the lid with diagonal lines in several sections and, in others, lines perpendicular to the diagonals. It is best to use a very sharp knife and to have the pastry very cold.

28. Make the foil chimneys and preheat the oven

Heat the oven to 200 °C. Make 2 strips of aluminum foil, roll them into two short tubes, and place them inside the holes you made in the pâté lid. These chimneys help the evaporated liquids from the forcemeat escape during baking instead of pooling inside the pâté.

29. Bake the pâté

Brush the surface with glaze again, set the pâté on a baking sheet, and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the surface is golden. Then lower the heat to 150 °C and keep baking until a thermometer reads an internal temperature of 65 °C — about 1 hour. Take the pâté out of the oven and let it cool on a rack for 45 minutes.

30. Fill with gelatin

Pour the Sherry gelatin through the chimneys until they are full. Let the pâté rest for half an hour — the chimneys will be empty by then — and pour in more gelatin. Repeat this process at least 4 or 5 times at 30-minute intervals, or whenever you see the chimney has absorbed all the gelatin. Always do this while the pâté is still warm and the gelatin has not set. Refrigerate the pâté for 8 hours.

31. Glaze and unmold

Take the pâté out of the refrigerator, fill the chimneys again with warm gelatin, brush gelatin over the entire surface of the pâté, and refrigerate for 2 more hours. Take it out again and warm the sides and bottom of the mold a little with a torch. This will make the pâté easy to unmold.

32. Unmold the pâté

Remove the mold's fasteners and take it apart carefully.

33. Slice and serve

Cut the pâté en croûte into slices 1.5 to 2 cm thick and serve with a mix of green leaves, French-style pickles (cornichons), and whole-grain mustard. It also works with jams or fruit preserves.

Tips for the Best Pâté en Croûte

Keep everything cold

The pastry and the forcemeats both depend on cold temperatures. Chill the dough for 6 to 24 hours, keep the diced meats and fats in the refrigerator until the moment you use them, and return the assembled pâté to the fridge whenever it starts to soften. A cold assembly holds its layers and bakes more evenly.

Never boil the gelatin

Warm the Sherries and soy sauce gently and pull them off the heat before they bubble. Once the hydrated gelatin goes in, keep the mixture liquid but never let it boil, or it will lose its setting power. If you make the gelatin a day or two ahead, reheat it just until liquid before pouring it into the chimneys.

Use the right mold and a thermometer

A three-piece pâté en croûte mold with two fasteners makes unmolding far easier, and a kitchen torch helps release the sides cleanly. During baking, trust an instant-read thermometer over the clock: pull the pâté when the center reaches 65 °C, then let it rest 45 minutes before filling it with gelatin.

30 Go-To Recipes I Keep Coming Back to in My Own Kitchen

Like a lot of home cooks, I like having a rotation that covers cozy classics, dishes from around the world, and sweets that make everyone happy.

Some nights I want something luxuriously rich, and that's when I reach for this La Viña Molten Cheesecake recipe, this refined Original French Crème Brûlée recipe, or a truly indulgent Chocolate Mousse Cake recipe. And on days when I'm after something fruity and soothing, this timeless French Tarte Tatin recipe is my reliable pick.

For mornings that call for something easy and for lighter plates, I'll whip up these airy Oatmeal and Banana Pancakes recipe, a hearty Stuffed Sweet Potato recipe, or these bright Eggs Stuffed with Avocado and Salmon recipe. And whenever I need a gluten-free staple for the pantry, this straightforward Gluten-Free Rice Flour recipe does the job.

When tapas and Mediterranean cooking are calling, I tend to cycle through this punchy Basque Tuna with Tomato recipe, crispy Patatas Bravas Air Fryer recipe, silky Tirokafteri Greek Dip Sauce recipe, and a cool Burrata Salad with Tomato and Pesto recipe. This crisp Italian Vitello Tonnato recipe is another one I love to serve when the occasion feels a bit more special.

Hearty midday meals and comforting suppers? These are the ones I'm always recommending: this warming Meatballs in Spanish Sauce recipe, traditional Meatballs in Almond Sauce recipe, deeply savory Italian Bolognese Sauce recipe, and velvety Chicken Croquettes in Thermomix recipe. When I'm after something more substantial, I'll bake up this Greek Pastitsio Pie recipe, rustic Potatoes and Squid Stew recipe, or the deeply comforting French Boeuf Bourguignon recipe.

Street-food cravings and party spreads usually lead me to this juicy Homemade Chicken Doner Kebab recipe, crispy Salchipapas recipe, punchy Mexican Pork Carnitas recipe, or these crackly Korean Hobak Jeon recipe. These effortless Air Fryer Zucchini Rings recipe are another favorite of mine for a quick appetizer or snack.

And when I'm hosting and putting together drinks alongside a full menu, I'll often serve dinner with this refreshing Original Cuban Mojito recipe, this potent Long Island Iced Tea recipe, or a pitcher of this fruity Bleeding Spanish Sangria recipe. To bring the whole table together, I like setting out this zesty French Remoulade Sauce recipe on the side, or finishing things off with this eye-catching Mediterranean Black Rice with Squid recipe.

Even More Tasty Recipes to Cook for Your Family

After years of cooking, testing, and tweaking in my own kitchen, I've come to believe the greatest dishes boil down to three things: straightforward methods, techniques you can trust, and serious flavor.

Every recipe gathered here is one I genuinely cook over and over—whether it's a fast meal just for me or something a little more celebratory for friends and family.

On the sweet side, the rich, silky Orange Chocolate Mousse Recipe is a go-to when I want something that feels fancy yet comes together without fuss. Another dessert I adore is the caramelized Trdelnik Slavic Pastry Recipe, modeled on the well-known Central European chimney cake. If baking is your thing, knowing how to make syrup for better dessert texture helps a lot, and my Inverted Sugar Recipe walks through exactly how I do it at home.

When something light and uncomplicated is what I'm after, I'll usually make the classic Italian Caprese Salad Recipe or a flawlessly cooked Simple Poached Egg Recipe. For cozier, more filling meals, I frequently point people to the satisfying Meatball Sandwich Recipe, the creamy Russian Stroganoff Beef Recipe, and the fast weeknight winner One Pot Pasta Recipe.

I'm also a big fan of sharing dishes with roots in other countries, such as the authentic Sorropotún de Bonito Fish Stew Recipe, crispy Chilean Pumpkin Sopaipillas Recipe, and the traditional Spanish Cochifrito Segovian Fried Pig Recipe.

Air fryer cooking is another category I turn to often, since it cuts down on time without sacrificing texture. The ones I make most include Air Fryer Pork Ribs Recipe, Air Fryer Chicken Thighs Recipe, Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes Recipe, Air Fryer Baked Potatoes Recipe, Air Fryer Peppers Recipe, Air Fryer Mixed Sandwich Recipe, Air Fryer Toasted Bread Recipe, and Air Fryer Hard-Boiled Eggs Recipe.

And for those steering clear of wheat, my cozy Gluten-Free Lasagna Recipe shows that a classic baked pasta can still be rich, cheesy, and deeply satisfying without any gluten.

Gluten free Empanada Dough Recipe 🍕 Fluffy Apple Cake Recipe 🍔 Langos Hungarian Fried Bread Recipe 🌭 Gluten Free French Brioche Recipe 🍟 Madeira British Sponge Cake Recipe 🌮 Chocolate Argentinian Cookies Alfajores Recipe 🌯 Barmbrack Irish Sweet Bread Recipe 🥙 Gluten free Cookies Recipe 🥗 Homemade cream Maruxas Galician Biscuit Recipe 🍝 Japanese Dumplings Gyoza Dough Recipe

American Gluten Free Cookies Recipe 🍜 Gluten Free King Cake Recipe 🍲 Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipe 🍛 Extremadura Style Chard Recipe 🍣 Keto Sliced Sandwich Bread Recipe 🍱 Gluten Free Waffles Recipe 🍤 Low Carb Keto Pizza Recipe 🍗 Gluten Free Bread Rolls Recipe 🍖 Flourless Gluten Free Bread Buns Recipe 🥓 Protein Ice Cream Recipe 🥞 Chia Pudding Dessert with Seeds Recipe

Fluffy Cloud Bread Pan Nube Recipe 🧇 Quinoa Bread Recipe 🍞 Schiacciata Tuscan Focaccia Flat Bread Recipe 🥐 Shokupan Japanese Milk Bread Recipe 🥨 Potato Sandwich Bread Recipe 🧀 Homemade Breadsticks Recipe 🍳 Stollen German Dried Fruits Cake Recipe 🥚 French Gingerbread Spiced Cake Recipe 🍰 Gluten Free Pancakes Recipe

🥔 Potato-omelet-in-Thermomix 🍓 Smores-Sandwich-Dessert 🍰 Womens-Day-Mimosa-cake ☕ Coffee-Sorbet 🍆 Eggplant-pizza 🍋 Ciambella-Italian-Lemon-Cake 🥖 Zapiekanka-Polish-Snack 🌰 Dukkah-Egyptian-Nuts-Mix 🧆 Best-Hummus 🥑 Best-Avocado

Best Products We’ve Tested and Rated

Our testing team has hands-on reviews of anti sway hitch camper, heater, trunk, dehumidifier camper, and water pump. Every option below was compared across price, build quality, and real-world performance, with honest pros and cons. We update these guides regularly as new models arrive, so the recommendations stay current.

Our testing team has hands-on reviews of covers, wind break, outdoor rugs, water jug, and tent motorcycle. Every option below was compared across price, build quality, and real-world performance, with honest pros and cons. We update these guides regularly as new models arrive, so the recommendations stay current.