When done, remove the cover and put a plate over the meat with a stone or weight on top to press and pack it down. Let the terrine get thoroughly cold, when it should be compact enough to be removed from the mold like a round loaf. Scrape away all the fat around the outside and put it back in the dish but with the skin side up.
Cover with an aspic made by cooking the carcass of the bird slowly in salted water with a bit of carrot, celery, parsley, and onion for 2 hours. Strain the stock thus made; there should be about 1 ½ cups. Serve the terrine in slices, cutting them right from the casserole.
Before giving you recipes for cooking venison, hare, or rabbit, I do want to remind you how important the marinade is. Furred game is always marinated for best results, that is, for good flavor and tender meat. In the case of deer, the meat should also be hung for several days, or at least for 24 hours, before putting it in the marinade to stand for another few days. The best parts of venison are the leg and the saddle. They can either be cut into steaks and cutlets or cooked whole. The leg is often indicated as gigue de chevreuil on French menus. The loin is especially tender and can be cut in thick slices and sautéed like beef filet. This is often called noisette or grenadin. The less tender parts, shoulder and neck, are generally made into a civet or a stew. And since venison is not a very fat meat, a great many people want it larded with fat pork, especially any cut that is to be roasted. This is done before it is put in the marinade. Then when it is removed from the marinade, it should drain for several hours, after which it is very thoroughly wiped dry. If the meat is moist, it will have a stewed or braised flavor rather than the desired roasted flavor.
Roast Venison (Saddle or Leg)
Remove all the sinews from the meat and lard with strips of fat salt pork. Marinate in either of the following marinade for 24 hours or longer, drain and dry thoroughly. Season with salt and cover with a large piece of fat salt pork. Put the venison in a pan containing oil or fat and roast in a hot oven (450° F.), allowing about 45 minutes for a 5-to 6-pound leg. Most tastes require 10 to 15 minutes a pound, but if the meat is liked very rare, allow less time. Serve with poivrade sauce (See “The Last Touch in Sauces”), currant jelly, purée of chestnuts, and wild rice.
Uncooked Marinade
Mix together 2 onions and 2 carrots, both thinly sliced, 2 shallots, minced, 1 clove garlic, 1 stalk celery, a little thyme, 2 bay leaves, 12 peppercorns, 2 cloves, 2 cups red wine, 1 cup vinegar, and ½ cup olive or salad oil.
Cooked Marinade
Put in a saucepan 1 quart water, 1 ½ cups vinegar, 2 onions, chopped, 1 carrot, chopped, 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon thyme, 4 sprigs parsley, 12 peppercorns, and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 1 hour. Cool and use to marinate venison.
Civet of Venison
Remove the sinews from 3 pounds venison (shoulder, neck, or other parts not tender enough to roast or sauté) and cut in pieces as for stew. Cover with an uncooked marinade (see above) and let the meat stand in it overnight or for 24 hours. Parboil 1 cup diced fat salt pork for 3 or 4 minutes. Drain and sauté the dice in ½ cup hot fat or salad oil until they are golden. Remove from the fat and reserve. Add 12 to 15 small onions to the pan and when they have started to brown, add 2 carrots, sliced, sprinkle with a little sugar, and continue cooking for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the onions are goldenbrown. Remove and put them with the pork dice. Sauté ½ pound cleaned mushrooms in 1 tablespoon butter until they are soft and their moisture is cooked away. Add to the vegetables and pork dice. Remove the meat from the marinade and drain and dry each piece well. Cook them in the fat left from cooking the salt pork dice and vegetables, having the fat very hot and browning the meat well all over. Remove the meat from the fat to a saucepan, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour, mix together, and cook until the flour is brown. Add ½ cup red wine, 1 faggot made by tying together 2 stalks celery, 3 sprigs parsley, ½ bay leaf, and 1 sprig fresh (or 1 pinch dry) thyme, 1 clove garlic, crushed, the marinade liquor, and enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 hour. Remove the meat to another pan and add to it the pork dice, onions, carrots, and mushrooms. Correct the seasoning of the sauce with salt, if necessary, and strain it over the meat and vegetables. Bring to a boil and let it cook for 40 minutes longer, or until the meat is tender. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.
Civet of Hare with Wine
Clean the hare and reserve the blood, if any. Mix the blood with 2 table-spoons red wine and 1 ½ tablespoons vinegar and keep in the refrigerator. Cut the hare in pieces, put in a bowl, and cover with a marinade made of 1 table-spoon salt, a little pepper, 1 slice onion, 2 shallots, minced, 3 sprigs parsley, a little thyme, 1 bay leaf, 3 tablespoons salad oil, and ½ cup red or white wine. Let this stand overnight in a cold place. Parboil 1 cup diced fat salt pork for 3 or 4 minutes. Drain and sauté the dice in 2 tablespoons fat or butter until they are golden-brown. Remove from the fat and reserve. Put 12 small onions in the fat left in the pan, sprinkle with a pinch sugar, and cook until the onions are golden-brown. Remove the onions from the fat and put with the pork dice. Sauté ½ pound cleaned mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter until they are soft and the moisture is cooked away and add to the pork dice and onions.
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