Easy ham hock terrine recipe
Ingredients
2 1kg ham hocks
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
1 onion
10 peppercorns
60g fresh parsley
170g jar cornichons (baby gherkins)
2 gelatine leaves.
Method
1. Test the ham for saltiness. Put the ham into a large saucepan, with the halved carrots, celery sticks, halved onion and peppercorns. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 3 hours until very tender. Remove the ham from the pan and set aside. Allow the stock to cool.
2. Meanwhile, line a 900g loaf tin. Lay out a large sheet of cling film on a work surface, then another sheet slightly overlapping the first, to give you 1 very large layer. Repeat with 2 more layers, smoothing out each one, so you have triple thickness. Wet the inside of the loaf tin and fit in the cling film, leaving the excess overhanging.
3. Once the ham is cold, tear the meat off the bone into strips and discard as much fat as you can. There is no need to chop the meat. Put into a large bowl. Take the leaves off the parsley stalks and roughly chop the leaves. Quarter the cornichons lengthways, then roughly chop. Mix it all together and spoon into the lined loaf tin.
4. Soak the gelatine in plenty of cold water for about 5 minutes. Measure 300ml cooking stock, put into a saucepan and warm through. Take the gelatine out of the water and squeeze out the excess water. Drop into the cooking stock, off the heat, and stir until melted. Leave to cool.
5. Transfer the cooled stock back into the measuring jug and carefully pour into the loaf tin. Carefully wrap the overhanging cling film over itself to seal in the terrine.
6. Cut a piece of card large enough to just cover the terrine, then wrap in foil. Lay on top of the sealed terrine, then wrap the loaf tin tightly in more cling film. Put in the fridge to set overnight. The terrine will keep for up to 6 days in the fridge.
Courtesy of Matthew Drennan