French Charcuterie at Home: Terrines, Rillettes, Saucisses, & Patés En Croûte

Wonderfully written. Beautifully photographed. Great recipes. This is more than a cookbook, it’s a piece of art.

Beautiful book, easy to follow instructions

I've read through the book the same day I got it; it is beautiful and, in my opinion, very helpfully written - clear and concise directions, excellent illustrations and photos. However, one star is taken away because even in such cursory reading I've come across two recipes where ingredients were not listed; in one case olives, in the other chicken breasts - both obvious from the directions, but the amounts are left to the imagination of the cook. I would nevertheless recommend the book for its great recipes. For the techniques maybe some other book might be better.

Demystifies an intimidating region of the culinary map. Recipes are precise and easy to follow, and gives confidence to those without experience making this type of food, which can be both difficult and dangerous without proper instruction––which this book provides. It's beautifully produced and printed, and a pleasure to use.

ARGH! These recipes are just WRONG! 2 out of 3 produced very poor results that were nothing like the photo! The recipe for rillettes in the style of Tour, for example, specifies that pork be cut into cubes 1 inch square and simmered in a pound of lard for 4 hours. At which time, it is supposed to be shredded. We tried. The pork shrank and became hard, sad little pork nubbins about 1/2 inch in size. They could be crushed with a clever, but not shredded. They would NEVER look like the photo, which showed 2-inch shreds, clearly soft and spreadable (as a rillette should be). Did the author get confused about the difference between lard and wine? The recipe for Savoyard Torte provides NO explanation of how the appearance in the photo was produced using the puff pastry recipe cited. The result was reasonably tasty, but nothing like the picture. The recipe for the blue cheese terrine is pleasant and reasonably close to the promised result, but probably needs at least 2x the blue cheese to have any trace of blue cheese flavor. A few cracked green peppercorns would not be amiss, either, there is little distinctive flavor. Admittedly, an awful lot of French charcuterie does involve pork, but most of these recipes start with pork belly. It would be nice to see more recipes for game and fowl. But the ones that are in the book are, frankly, very delicious. There is just not a whole lot of variation.

I’ve always been intimidated by the idea of making pâtés and terrines at home, but this book made everything feel approachable and even fun. The instructions are super clear, and the illustrations help a lot when you’re trying something new. I’ve already made the duck rillettes and a pork terrine—both turned out amazing and got rave reviews from friends. You don’t need fancy equipment, just a love for good food and a little patience. It’s also a beautiful book, the kind you want to leave out on your counter. Highly recommend for anyone who wants to dive into French charcuterie without feeling overwhelmed.

Oh, what a beautiful book! This is a must have for any foodie. It's beautifully set out, beautifully illustrated, and gives thorough instructions. Makes me want to reach for the nearest pig and start chopping and seasoning, ha, ha.