My favourite chicken liver pâté

Chicken livers cost pennies in stores. It’s a pity, but at least in the big chains, I didn’t notice that there were fresh livers from chickens raised without antibiotics, or from organic farms, although chicken without antibiotics is already a complete market standard. I would definitely buy only organic chickens and even if it costs several times more, it would still be one of the cheaper ingredients.

Another important ingredient of pate is butter. The fatter the pâté, the tastier, which is why mine is half butter.

I always rinse the unpacked liver under running water and soak it in water.

My mother used to soak it in milk to remove the bitterness. I have soaked both in milk and water and at least with the chicken liver I did not feel much difference. We rarely have milk in the house, so I soaked it in water. After about half an hour, I examine each piece, cut off the veins and the darker, unsightly parts, and definitely any greens, because if there can be bitterness, it’s from the bile, which colors the liver green. Then, I cut the liver into strips a couple of centimeters thick, and wash it again under running water to avoid blood clots, and leave it to drain in a colander.

Then I clean and cut the onions. I press the garlic with the side of the knife to crush it, peel it and chop it. I don’t cut it very finely so that it doesn’t burn quickly when baking. I will prepare other ingredients so that black pepper, salt, thyme, herbs de Provence are at hand, if you like, a spoonful of honey will do, definitely fragrant alcohol, rum or cognac is ideal, if you want a slightly spicier pate, then cayenne pepper will also do.

I melt the butter in a large pan and heat it over medium heat until it starts to smell like biscuit, then I add spices, pepper, herbs and caramelize the onions. I fry the onions on low heat for about 20 minutes, covered with a lid, stirring constantly. If necessary, I even add a few tablespoons of water to prevent burning. At the beginning, the onions soften, become transparent, and only later they start to change color to golden. The volume will also decrease significantly. I once measured that from 1 kg of raw onions and after 45 minutes of caramelization, a quarter remained, only 250 grams. So, a little patience, the more you caramelize the onions, the tastier the pate will be.

When the onions are a nice golden color, I add the garlic and only after stirring a little, add the liver. I stir to cover with butter and fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, then I pour rum or cognac, add a spoonful of honey, add salt and fry for a few more minutes. Liver should never be overcooked, as it will become dry and tasteless, it must still be pink.

After baking, I let it cool for a few minutes and then blend it with a blender until smooth. While blending, taste whether there is enough flavor and if not, add more salt, pepper or cayenne.

Then pour the warm mass into jars. Sealable mason jars are very suitable, they are also nice to serve on the table. When the liver pate cools down, spread it on a French baguette and taste it with homemade plum jam with thyme, you can find the recipe here. It’s very, very tasty to me.

If you want to keep the pâté longer, you can pour melted butter on top and add fresh thyme, it will not only smell good but also act as a natural preservative.

A well-closed jar in the refrigerator can safely stand for about a week, and maybe even longer. I make one jar to serve to guests and keep the other cold in the fridge for when I want it again in a few days.

Liver pate, ingredients

Delicious!