Step-by-step Pork and Truffle Aspic Loaf

Gather ingredients (figure 1).

Step 2:

For the filling, rinse meat and pat dry. Cut 1/3 of the smoked pork into slices and set aside. Cut remaining smoked pork into thin strips. Peel shallots and finely chop. Crush juniper berries. Place smoked pork strips in a bowl, stir in shallots and juniper berries and season with salt and pepper (figure 2). Stir orange juice and port wine into pork mixture, mix well and refrigerate 1 hour to marinate. Drain pork and grind finely with a food processor (figure 2).

Step 3:

Press ground pork through a sieve and mix with eggs, pistachios, marinating liquid and spices. Beat cream until stiff and fold into filling mixture.

Step 4

For the crust, mix flour, butter, salt and water and quickly knead to a smooth dough. Form dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 1 hour. Roll out dough into a rectangle about 4 mm thick (approximately 1/8 inch thick). Using loaf pan as a template (figure 4), cut dough to line loaf pan. Cut a piece of dough for top crust and save trimmings to decorate loaf. Grease loaf pan. Sprinkle dough with flour and place in loaf pan.

Step 5

Spread half of the filling mixture into bottom of pan. Finely chop truffles and sprinkle over filling. Cut remaining pork into thick pieces and place over truffles. Spread remaining filling over pork pieces, set top dough crust in place and press firmly to seal. Whisk egg yolks and brush over loaf. Trim remaining dough to decorate loaf as desired and brush with egg yolk. Cut two round openings into top crust of loaf and decorate if desired.

Step 6

Bake loaf in oven preheated to  220°C (approximately 425°F) for about  15 minutes, then reduce heat to 180°C (approximately 350°F) and bake about 40 more minutes. Heat broth. Soak gelatin in cold water, squeeze and stir into broth until dissolved. Let broth mixture cool and pour through openings in loaf (figure 6).

Step 7

Chill loaf overnight and cut into slices (figure 7).

Step 8