Types of Forcemeat

Straight forcemeat (including country-style forcemeat).

This is a mixture of seasoned ground meats. As such, it is basically a form of sausage meat, except the grind is generally, but not always, finer. Consequently, many of the guidelines for making and handling sausage meat, discussed in Chapter 27, apply here as well. It may be helpful to read or to review in conjunction with this discussion. Straight forcemeats are the basis of most traditional pâtés and terrines and are the major focus of this chapter.

A country-style forcemeat is made the same way, except the grind is coarser. Most country-style forcemeats are made from pork and pork fat and contain some liver.

Gratin forcemeat.

This type of forcemeat differs from a straight forcemeat in that a portion of the meat is seared, and thus partially cooked, and cooled before it is ground. Because the partial cooking eliminates some of the binding power of the meat protein, gratin forcemeats usually contain a starch binder called a panada (also called panade). This type of forcemeat is not used as often as straight or mousseline forcemeats and is not covered in this book.

Mousseline forcemeat.

This type of forcemeat consists of white meat (usually poultry or veal) or seafood processed to a purée and combined with heavy cream and egg. See for a discussion.