Cover the lobster mushrooms with water, then set a timer for 15 minutes or so. Jostle the mushrooms here and there to loosen any grit. After fifteen minutes, give the mushrooms another good swish, then remove and discard the soaking water.
Meanwhile, trim the livers of the tissue that connects them and discard. Dice ¼ cup’s worth of the livers and reserve to garnish the terrine (optional).
Heat a little oil in a cast iron skillet until nearly smoking. Pat the livers dry, season them with salt and pepper and brown well, remove to a bowl, cool, and dice.
Meanwhile, trim the pheasant legs of the meat, being careful not to use too much meat towards the foot since there's sinew and tendons. dice the leg meat into cubes and reserve.
Mix the diced pheasant leg meat, pancetta if using, livers and pork fat.
In a spice grinder, grind the salt, pepper, pink salt, and the bay leaves until very fine, then mix with the pheasant mixture. Stir in the wild caraway seeds, mix to combine, then grind the mixture through the large die of a meat grinder. Chill the ground meat mixture.
Rough-chop the lobster mushrooms, then cook with 3 tablespoon of the fat on medium-low until lightly browned, transfer to a bowl, and mix with the parsley.
Cool the mushrooms, then mix into the meat mixture. Fold in the liver garnish and pancetta if using. Cook a small amount of the terrine to test the seasoning and adjust as needed. It should be a little on the salty side, since it will be served in small slices, cool.
Assembly
Line a 3lb terrine mold with parchment, then line with the caul fat or bacon, leaving enough hanging over the sides to wrap the whole thing up. Pack in the meat and completely cover with the caul fat laying around the sides.
You want a nice, tight little package, I also like to slam it down on a firm counter to make sure there aren't air pockets. From here, it’s great to let the meat sit overnight in the fridge to let the flavors marry, but you don’t have to.
Before you want to serve the terrine, take the terrine out from the fridge and allow to sit at room temp for a bit. Preheat the oven to 275 and place the terrine in the oven, with a deep, wide pan filled with water halfway up the sides to help it cook evenly.
Cook the terrine
Cook the terrine for 45 minutes, checking on it at the 30 minute mark-you don’t want to over-cook it. Cook until a temperature probe reaches 155F when poked dead in the center, then remove the terrine from the oven, remove the lid, and put some parchment over the top and let it cool to room temperature. Chill so it can set before serving, preferably overnight to mellow the flavors.
Notes
Yields 1 three pound terrine, which will yield 15-20 appetizer portions , or a couple days of really good sandwiches