Potjevleesch

Prepare and layer the meats. Cut chicken, veal and pork into even 4 cm pieces. Joint the commercially dressed rabbit legs only as needed, leaving the major bones intact and easy to identify. Layer the four meats with onions, carrots, garlic, juniper and bouquet in a 2-litre terrine. The meats are in clearly separate pieces rather than minced, and rabbit bones are large and visible. Distinct pieces preserve the characteristic sliced appearance and make bone control possible. Use separate raw-meat utensils and wash hands between raw meat and ready-to-eat tasks.

Add the acidic cooking liquor. Mix 500 ml wine, 150 ml vinegar and 500 ml stock with the salt and pepper, then pour over the terrine so the meat is mostly submerged. The liquid reaches around the layered meat without floating the pieces out of order. Wine, vinegar and stock create the lightly acidic jelly liquor. Wine contains sulphites and some alcohol may remain after cooking.

Cook the terrine. Cover and cook at 150 °C for 150 minutes. Check that the chicken reaches 74 °C, rabbit reaches at least 71 °C, pork reaches at least 63 °C and the veal is fully tender before ending the cook. The meats are tender enough to cut with a fork but remain in recognisable chunks, and the cooking liquor is clear amber rather than opaque. Long covered cooking tenderises all four meats and extracts gelatinous body without frying or browning them. Measure temperatures away from bone. Keep the terrine covered when moving it because the liquor is scalding.

Strengthen the jelly. Lift the meats carefully into a clean 2-litre mould, removing any small loose rabbit bones. Strain the hot liquor, bring it to a boil for 10 minutes, take it off the heat and whisk in the 18 g powdered gelatine until dissolved. Pour enough liquor over the layered meat to cover. The strained liquor is clear, the gelatine is fully dissolved and the meat is just covered in the mould. A measured gelatine addition gives a reliable cold set for home service. Do not boil after gelatine is fully dissolved; handle hot liquor and the mould with dry gloves.

Cool rapidly. Set the covered mould into an ice bath and cool for 30 minutes passive cooling, changing ice as needed so the terrine stops steaming quickly. The mould is no longer hot to the touch and there is no visible steam before refrigeration. Rapid cooling shortens the time the cooked meat spends warm. Do not leave the terrine at room temperature for extended cooling.

Chill until fully set. Refrigerate the terrine for 720 minutes chilling, keeping it covered and level. The jelly is fully firm, clear around the meat and slices without running. An overnight chill is essential to the identity and structure of potjevleesch. Keep the terrine refrigerated through service; do not let cold slices sit out for more than 2 hours.

Slice and serve cold. Unmould only if the jelly is fully set, then cut 8 thick slices with a sharp knife and serve immediately while cold. Each slice shows distinct pieces of chicken, rabbit, veal and pork suspended in set jelly. Thick cold slices keep the layered structure intact. Check every slice for small rabbit bones before serving.