Chicken Liver Pate

CHICKEN LIVER PATE

There are two types of people that eat and appreciate liver, those who grew up in a culture where it was considered a normal, not an ‘ewww, weird’ kind of food, and those who are trying really hard to love it because of its amazing health benefits and its status of being at the top of nutrient dense foods. Whatever your reasons are for even opening this post, you came to the right place if you are looking to make creamy and smooth chicken liver pate that spreads easily, doesn’t leave you with a gritty aftertaste and just melts in your mouth. I don’t think that bacon works with liver pate because it adds a second strong flavor without complementing the taste of liver. It seems that a lot of people who just start to experiment with liver are going for the notion of covering the taste rather than embracing it. To me, the opposite works better when it comes to liver pate – mellow out the overall taste and get a melt-in-your-mouth sensation without the extra flavors. I don’t add butter to the liver mix because it makes chilled pate harder in texture, and not as appealing when spread. Cream is what gives it a soft, almost whipped consistency. I love to eat it over butter on slices of my homemade sourdough. Or today I indulged into a couple of bakery sourdough baguettes, which is a rare sight at my house.

I soak the livers in milk for an hour or two before cooking it. I couldn’t find any science behind why it’s done, and some people say it’s not necessary. From my experience, which is not insignificant, milk draws out blood efficiently, which eliminates an extra flavor that you would only be able to distinguish if you’ve tried blood sausage. I don’t follow the statement that I’ve read multiple times on the internet that you should cook liver until it’s still pink, and if you overcook it it’ll be tough. I guess it came from the famous Julia’s recipe that became a golden standard of all liver recipes but I think chicken liver gets better, and not at all tougher, if cooked a bit longer at low temperature.

HOW TO MAKE TENDER CHICKEN LIVER PATE

Ingredients
1 pound of livers from pasture-raised chickens
1 cup milk; or enough to cover livers while soaking
2 tablespoons ghee for cooking (how to make ghee; or buy at health food or Indian stores)
1 large onion, cut in half circles
2/3 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Equipment
Small skinny bowl for soaking livers (skinny – to use less milk for soaking)
Medium pan for sauteing
Blender, preferably high powered one
Strainer with large openings, if your blender is not a high powered one

Instructions
Rinse livers thoroughly in cold water, clean from tough pieces and any left-over veins. Place in a bowl, cover with milk, so that all pieces are submerged for 1-2 hours.
Preheat your pan to medium low; and sauté onions until soft, about 5 minutes.
Rinse livers from the milk really well, until the water runs clear (no white, no red – this step is important!); add to the onions. Saute on low for 15 minutes, mixing regularly.
Add cream, it should cover the liver. Again, cook on very low until cream is reduced in half, 10-15 minutes.
Add pepper and salt.
Blend liver onion mixture along in a blender.
If you have a regular blender, like me, squeeze your pate through a strainer to remove anything gritty.
Allow to rest overnight before serving.

CHICKEN LIVER PATE