We prepared this inexpensive chicken liver pâté at the request of a friend. We found that this delightful dish can be prepared quickly from easily obtainable ingredients. This dish takes a product from a humble homestead and transforms it into a exquisite delicacy. With Jacques Pépin’s recipe for Chicken Liver Pâté you can elevate the mundane to a culinary masterpiece.
Hello, my friends! Chef Blondie here.
Here at the SFH Test Kitchen, we found that Jacques Pépin’s recipe for Chicken Liver Pâté is the answer for, not one, but two important questions.
- “I raise chickens on my homestead. What tasty dish can I make with all those livers?”
- “I’m having guests over for dinner. What flavorful yet inexpensive hors d’oeuvres can I make for them?
Why make chicken liver pâté?
My Test Kitchen staff and I meet frequently to determine what recipes we should test. Often we decide on a dish that might fit our weekly meal plan, or what ingredients are available in the pantry. – In this case, we prepared this inexpensive pâté in answer to a longstanding request made by our friend Nick at the Quièvremont Vineyard & Winery.
One very important factor in our decision was that we were the beneficiaries of a most serendipitous windfall. The chicken livers came to us from our friends, the Howards. They have a homestead and they raise their own chickens. They graciously donated nearly two pounds of homestead chicken livers to the Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen. Those livers were perfect for use in the country-style recipe devised by Jacques Pépin.
What goes into a country-style pâté?
The ingredients for this chicken liver pâté aren’t exotic or expensive. (See the recipe below.) The only unusual ingredient is two teaspoons of your choice of cognac or Scotch whisky. Since Scotch is a type single malt whisky, we decided to use a single malt made by Copper Fox Distillery, right here in Sperryville.
Happy Cooking!!
Chicken Liver Pâté
Notes
Note 1: Be sure that the livers are free of sinews and of any part that is green, which indicates that some of the bitter bile has been in contact with the liver.
Note 2: Because of its extra-smooth and compact texture, this chicken liver pâté freezes perfectly. Do not freeze with the aspic or decoration.
Ingredients
For ½ Pound of Chicken Livers
- ½ pound chicken livers
- ½ onion, thinly sliced
- 1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon thyme leaves
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to season
- 1½ sticks butter, softened
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Cognac or Scotch whisky
For 1 Pound of Chicken Livers
- 1 pound chicken livers
- ⅔ cup thinly sliced onions
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon thyme leaves
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Cognac or Scotch whisky
- A piece of tomato skin and green scallion for decoration (optional)
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin for aspic (optional)
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients.
- Place the livers (Note 1), onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, water, and ½ teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Then cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the livers are barely pink inside, about 3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes.
- Discard the bay leaf. Using a slotted spoon, take out the remaining solids and place them in the bowl of a food processor with metal blade and process until coarsely pureed. (Reserve and strain the liquid to make the optional aspic.)
- Start processing the liver, adding the butter piece by piece, until incorporated.
- Finally, season with salt and pepper. Add the Cognac or whisky and process for 2 more minutes so that the mixture is very creamy and completely smooth.
- Pour into a mold or ramekins. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pâté and refrigerate until firm.
- Decorate or refrigerate to set and serve chilled.
- To freeze (Note 2), cover tightly with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Defrost it slowly under refrigeration for 24 to 48 hours before decorating and glazing. Small soufflé molds are ideal for freezing because they can be defrosted in only a couple of hours. - If the mixture looks broken down, with visible fat, let it cool in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to harden the butter, then process again until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
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Thoroughly enjoyed watching this video! Not being a true fan of chicken livers, I may not be brave enough to make this dish (but I am quite willing to have my mind changed should I ever be able to taste it, especially if it’s prepared by a dear friend!!)
Thank you,Nancy!!! It was a fun dish to make and sure was messy!