A bazillion years ago, I bought one of those seasonal recipe book compilations from Vogue Living. It was at least three house-moves ago. I have no idea what happened to it.
I mention it because it was my first remembered encounter with the idea of actually making a ham hock terrine. And, despite not following through with the recipe on offer from the good people at Vogue, the idea stuck.
And now, a bazillion-or-so years later, I have created my AIP-friendly ham hock terrine.
Or, if you want to be be chic and Frenchie about it, Jambon Persillé.
A seriously simple concept that will ‘wow’ your friends!
I made my terrine with ham hocks from the ever-so-lovely Lauren and Greg of Linga Longa Farm. They only have happy pigs (and they also happen to have the best bacon I’ve found in Syders!)
If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you’ll know that descriptive words like ‘dainty’ and ‘fiddly’ are not adjectives that immediately resonate. Especially when it comes to food.
I like robust flavours. I lean towards slightly more rustic fare. Think good, hearty food that feeds the soul and the belly.
But this baby ticks quite a few boxes…
- It looks impressive but is so easy to make.
- It’s 100% AIP-compliant, but your non-AIP buddies would never know they’re being ‘healthy’ when they eat it.
- It’s an ideal ‘make ahead’ dish for when you’re entertaining or going to a picnic
- It’s a great way to get more bone broth and an extra hit of grass-fed gelatin into your day
- It tastes pretty fab’!
- 2 ham hocks (about 1kg each)
- 2 carrots, peeled and quartered
- 1 large leek,washed and chopped
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley (about 60g)
- 170g AIP-friendly cornichons (baby gherkins)
- 2 Tablespoons capers
- 2 Tablespoons gelatin
- Salt
- Pop the ham hocks into a large stockpot with the carrots, leek, onion and parsley stalks. (Keep the parsley leaves for the terrine). Cover with cold water and a lid. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 3 hours until very tender. Remove the ham from the pan and set aside. Remove the vegetables from the stock. Strain and pour 300mls of stock into a small pot. The remainder can be used in soups or braises.
- While the stock is simmering, line a 900g loaf tin with 3 layers of cling film. I do this by laying sheets of cling film one on top of another on my bench top, smoothing out each one carefully. Wet the inside of the loaf tin and smooth in the cling film, leaving the excess overhanging.
- Once your ham hocks are cooled, shred the meat off the bone, removing as much of the fat as possible. Pop the shredded ham into a large bowl. Roughly chop your parsley leaves. Halve and chop your cornichons. Add the parsley, cornichons and capers to the bowl. Mix it well. Check for seasoning and salt to taste. Press into your lined loaf tin.
- Heat the 300mls of reserved stock.
- Place two Tablespoons of cold water into a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the top and leave for one minute. Whisk in the hot stock until the gelatin is fully incorporated and the stock is free of any lumps. Cool.
- Carefully pour the cooled stock into the loaf tin. Wrap the overhanging cling film over itself to seal in the terrine.
- Wrap the loaf tin tightly in more cling film. Pop a couple of tins (I used coconut milk) on top of the terrine to 'press' it.. Put in the fridge to set overnight.
- The terrine will keep for up to 6 days in the fridge.
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A word on salt
Foods served cold need more salt.
A properly seasoned hot dish will be under seasoned when cold. For this reason, I over season this dish. I encourage you to taste the ham hock mix and season to your taste – but do keep the ‘foods served cold need more salt’ rule in mind.
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E N J O Y !
This recipe features in the Phoenix Helix Recipe Roundtable
About how much meat do you get from the hocks? The ones I can get are not very meaty. Could you make it with a small pork roast?
Lisa – my ham hocks fill the loaf tin comfortably, before adding the stock. And, I do think you could make a terrine with pork. It would just be a pork terrine instead of a ham hock one!
The other alternatives are to throw in an extra hock or use a smaller terrine dish.
Good luck! 🙂
I’ve wanted to make something like this for such a long time. I imagined mine would be enormous, cast in gelatinous splendor from one of those enormous dome-like moulds from the1960s. With celery floating in it. And it would be garnished with lettuce and a boiled lobster, its claws draped artfully around. But I haven’t even taken the first step, which would be trolling the thrift stores for the mould. What you’ve got going on here looks delicious. More delicious than the version in my imagination. And, just as important, it looks do-able. Awesome!
You make me laugh out loud! If I ever come to visit you in Canada, I’m going to challenge you to that masterpiece… How magnificent!