Cook the Book: Chicken Liver Pate
Chicken liver pâté is one of those rare but happy collisions of dirt cheap and delicious. With chicken livers at under $2 a pound, you can afford to make several servings of this velvety spread.
I've tested this recipe a number of times, and here are some observations:
1. When you're sautéing the chicken livers, don't be scared to take them off the heat. Overcooked livers produce a granular pâté with a faintly bitter taste.
2. If you already have whisky or bourbon in your liquor cabinet, either will work just fine—don't buy a whole bottle of brandy just to make this recipe.
3. This pâté can be served in an earthenware bowl, divided between several small ramekins, or unmolded from your choice of container, lined with plastic wrap.
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Chicken Liver Pâté
- makes 1 cup -
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook by Martha Stewart.
Ingredients
1/2 pound chicken livers, cleaned
1/4 cup brandy
1 tablespoon minced shallots
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage, or 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Procedure:
1. Soak the chicken livers in the brandy for 3 to 4 hours in a cool place; do not refrigerate. Drain the livers and reserve the liquid.
2. Sauté the shallots in 1 tablespoon butter until wilted. Add the chicken livers, sage, and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté until the livers are no longer pink inside, approximately five minutes. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a food processor, add the remaining butter, and process until smooth. Add the reserved brandy and process for another 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving.
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9 Comments:
I can't stand the stuff. And there's very little I won't eat. Chicken liver makes me want to retch.
simon at 1:44PM on 12/22/08
I may have to try this. This is the 2nd thing I've seen about liver pates: Chez Travie
saraann at 2:01PM on 12/22/08
the chicken liver at the spotted pig is awesome.
phahm at 3:16PM on 12/22/08
I LOVE chicken liver pate but the recipe I have made before is very labor intensive, and also makes alot more than one cup. I will definitely try is as it sounds easy and delicious.
soapy at 7:17PM on 12/22/08
I've been wanting to try these "poor man's foie gras" recipes for some time now. Like, ever since I left Europe and can't get the terrine pates at the charcuterie anymore.
TikiPundit at 7:32PM on 12/22/08
This recipe is pretty standard, although the proportions of ingredients vary from chef to chef. Personally, I like to add a lot more shallots and butter to offset the liver.
johnnytakes5 at 1:02AM on 12/23/08
@ simon, who cares if you don't like it? i'm so tired of people commenting just to say a certain food is gross.
i've made this at a restaurant but never at home. we usually blended all the ingredients raw with some heavy cream and then baked it in a water bath. i'm interested to try this method.
dmarina at 11:10PM on 12/23/08
I use my MIL's recipe and all it calls for is chopped onion, butter and chicken livers. I think its delicious, but I see a lot of recipes calling for chopped hard boiled egg. Comments on the egg addition?
jerseybites at 11:03AM on 12/24/08
I think this recipe needs a warning label. After the cooked chicken livers are drained and mixed with flavorings, the brandy in which the raw liver had soaked is added to the pate without cooking it. Whatever bacteria might have migrated from the meat into the marinade would be blended right in to the finished product! Surely there should be an extra step requiring boiling the marinade briefly (in a pyrex cup in the microwave, for example?) before blending it into the pate. No recipe should ever mix juice from raw meat into a cooked meat dish.
AltoSoloist at 3:49PM on 01/04/09