should be thoroughly cooked to kill microbes,
but no hotter than well-done meat, or
160ºF/70ºC. Gentle cooking prevents the
interior from reaching the boil, at which point
the skin will burst and leak moisture and
flavor, and which hardens the texture.
Intentionally piercing the skin will release
moisture throughout the cooking, but provides
insurance against more disfiguring splitting
toward the end.
Pâtés and Terrines
Most medieval European cookbooks offer
several recipes for meat pies, in which
chopped meat and fat are cooked inside a
pastry crust or in a well-greased earthenware
pot. Over the centuries, French cooks refined
this preparation, while in other countries it
survived in rustic forms. And so England has
pasties and patties, France the pâté and the
terrine. These last two terms are largely