Preheat your oven to 350°F.reserve half of the breast meat for later.
Add the remaining pheasant meat, ground veal, pork fat, and eggs to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel chopping blade and pulse until a somewhat smooth texture is reached.
Do not overprocess or the pate will become too uniform and compacted in texture.
This may need to be done in batches if the processor is small.
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the ham, nuts, shallots, juniper berries, thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper, Madeira, and brandy with a wooden spoon.
Cook a small amount of the pate mixture in a skillet to taste for seasoning.
The pate should be highly seasoned.
Line a 9 x 5 X 3 inch loaf pan or 6 cup terrine with fatback slices, extending them so they may be folded back over the top of the pate.
Pack half of the mixture into the mold, patting it down into the corners.
Cut the remaining half breast into thin strips and place them over the meat mixture.
Add the remaining pate mixture, place the bay leaves on top, and turn the pork slices back over the meat.
Cover with a double layer of heavy foil, and punch a hole in the middle for steam to escape.5.
Place the pate in a larger pan and fill it with boiling water.
The water should come half way up the side of the pate mold.
Bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.
When it is done, the juices will run clear and the pate will have shrunk slightly from the pan.
Remove the pans from the oven, lifting the pate from the water.
Place about 8 ounces of weight evenly distributed on the pate.
Let the pate cool for an hour, then refrigerate it with the weight.
Remove the weight after several hours.
This pate is best when made at least several days in advance.