The Cold Retro Chicken Dish That's No Longer Common In Restaurants

In the U.S., chicken remains more popular than ever — just not so often in cold form. Yet in decades past, you'd find chilled options like chicken terrine on restaurant menus; the French dish is a reflection of technique and careful chef-driven construction. Chicken terrine went out of style in America following the 1970s, the downturn encompassing several out-of-style trends.

The dish comes cold, molded, and with a thick texture, reminiscent of 50s sides like tomato aspic and other savory gelatin-based dishes, which also dropped off by the late 20th century. In a nutshell, it's cooked chicken with spices and aromatics in gelatin, in the shape of a loaf. Furthermore, terrine recipes might include chicken livers – which, along with other offal — were largely left off American plates after the austerity of World War II ended. Add up such qualities together, and the dish isn't typical for American palates. Yet done right, chicken terrine is a delicious French classic that retains a fandom in Europe.

The dish comes assembled using a terrine vessel, which is a large, typically earthenware block with a tight-fitting lid. Alongside the cornerstone chopped chicken meat and optional livers, a careful assembly of ingredients goes into the dish's construction. A terrine might meld alliums, herbs, cured pork, dried fruits, and even spirits, all tied together using fatty stock or gelatin. Chilled, and thereby solidified, the food is then sliced up from a dense block, yielding slices that entice in taste, texture, and appearance.

Today, terrine is a chicken dish you won't find in a restaurant stateside. Yet flash back to the 1950s to 70s, and such recipes took on a far more buzzy quality. Terrine once appeared on Julia Child's show "The French Chef," and preparations spread throughout American kitchens. Combined with the food's centuries-old French preparation, this established a huge array of terrine recipes.

In its most stripped-down form, a chicken terrine involves white-meat poultry, herbs, shallots, and stock, all pre-cooked, then solidified together over an extended chill. Such a canvas opens to many complex interpretations. In addition to common add-ons like bacon and various herbs, chefs can incorporate dried fruit, nuts, or brandy, as well as add egg whites or cream for added decadence. 

Some renditions blur the subtle differences between pâté, terrine, and rillettes. A pâté-like terrine might employ chicken livers alongside white meat chicken and abundant flavorings, all ground and firmed up in the terrine dish. Others fold gelatin into the mix, taking the dish into aspic territory. The chicken consistency varies — some use whole breasts while others pulverize — and the assembly of layers also varies per chef. Thoughtful dish construction matched with classic technique remains the common denominator; a skillful display that's pushing chicken terrine into the American restaurant realm once more.