French Chicken Liver Pate Recipes

FRENCH CHOPPED CHICKEN LIVER PATE

Steps:

• Heat chicken fat or vegetable oil in sauté pan over medium heat for 1 minute, and sauté onion in it 20 to 25 minutes, or until very soft and lightly golden. add uncooked liver, and cook until just pink inside, a few minutes.
• Place onions and liver in food processor with eggs, brandy and starch, and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Arrange bay leaves shiny side down in loaf pan, and spoon liver mixture on top, pressing gently with spoon to get rid of any air bubbles. Set pan in a larger pan two-thirds filled with warm water, and bake 20 minutes. Cool, and unmold. Serve with rye bread.

CHICKEN LIVER PATE: TERRINE DE FOIES DE VOLAILLE

Steps:

• In a bowl, soak the livers in the milk for 2 hours. Drain well.
• In a large saute pan or skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken livers, 1 tablespoon of the peppercorns, the bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until the livers are browned on the outside and still slightly pink on the inside, about 5 minutes. Add the Cognac and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated and the livers are cooked through but still tender.
• Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Discard the bay leaves.
• In a food processor, puree the liver mixture. Add the remaining butter in pieces and pulse to blend. Fold in the remaining 1 tablespoon peppercorns and adjust the seasoning, to taste.
• Pack the pate into 6 individual ramekins or small molds, about 4 ounces each. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 6 hours.
• To serve, place the ramekins on individual plates. Garnish the tops with parsley and surround with croutons. Serve with cornichons on the side.

CHICKEN LIVER PâTé

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp of the butter in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. When the butter is foaming, add the chicken livers and fry for 2 mins each side.
• Stir the crushed garlic, some of the thyme and Madeira into the pan with the livers. Fry for 2 mins, letting the Madeira simmer. Transfer the mixture to a food processor, reserve 200g of the butter and add the rest to the processor. Blend everything to a smooth paste. Season to taste, then spoon into 4 x 70ml clip-top jars.
• Melt the reserved butter in a medium frying pan and add the sliced garlic. Turn the garlic in the butter until slightly golden. Pour into the 4 jars of pâté, ensuring a few slices of garlic and the remaining thyme leaves go in each jar, and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hrs, or until set. Can be made up to 2 days in advance.
• Before serving, toast the brioche, then cut into triangular quarters for serving. Stir the diced apple through the chutney. Serve the pâté on small wooden boards with the toasted brioche, cornichons and chutney.

CHICKEN LIVER PâTé

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until foam subsides. Add shallot and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Pat livers dry and add to skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, turning once, until browned and just pink inside, about 4 minutes total. Add quatre épices, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.
• Add Cognac and tilt skillet over gas burner to ignite (or ignite with a long match; use caution as flames may shoot up high). Cook, shaking skillet gently once or twice, until flames subside.
• Transfer mixture to a food processor and pulse, adding remaining 6 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and chill, surface covered with plastic wrap, until set, about 3 hours. Let stand at room temperature about 15 minutes before serving.

CREAMY CHICKEN LIVER PâTé

Steps:

• In a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder, combine peppercorns, allspice, clove and coriander seeds; grind until fine and set aside.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium-high heat; when foam subsides, add onion and cook until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add livers to pan and sprinkle with salt; cook livers on one side until they begin to brown, about 2 minutes, then flip them and cook the other side. Be sure to keep heat relatively high so that the outside of livers sears and inside stays pink.
• Put onion, livers and their buttery juices into a food processor or blender with remaining butter, the cream, spices and brandy. Purée mixture until it is smooth; taste and adjust seasoning.
• Put pâté in a terrine or bowl, smooth top and put in refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours or until fully set. Serve pâté with bread or crackers.

RUSTIC CHICKEN LIVER AND MOREL PATE

Steps:

• Combine milk, cognac, and morel mushrooms in a bowl; soak for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease a terrine mold.
• Combine chicken livers, ham, and garlic in a food processor. Process until mixture is smooth and well combined. Add ground pork, egg, pepper, and salt. Process again until smooth and well combined.
• Drain morel mushrooms and and chop; stir mushrooms into the meat mixture. Tip pate mixture into the prepared terrine mould. Smooth out mixture with the back of a spoon and gently press bay leaf on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pate has set, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours before serving

CHICKEN-LIVER PâTé

Steps:

• Put a large, heavy sauté pan over medium heat, and melt 4 tablespoons of the butter until it begins to foam. Add the shallots, and sauté them until translucent, being careful not to allow them to brown. Add the livers, thyme and Madeira or port, and bring the heat to high. Cook, occasionally stirring the livers around in the pan with a spoon, until the wine has reduced and the livers are lightly browned but still very soft and pink on the inside, approximately 5 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the stove, and put its contents into a blender or food processor, along with the cream and the remaining butter. Purée until smooth, adding a little more cream if necessary. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt if necessary.
• Pack the pâté into a glass jar or bowl, then smooth the top with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about two hours or up to five days. Serve with bacon-onion jam and copious amounts of toast.

CHICKEN LIVER PâTé

Steps:

• Put the onion and garlic in a food processor and pulse to mince. Transfer to a large bowl and add the pork fatback, chicken livers, ground pork and beef, eggs, Cognac, pepper, salt, and five-spice powder. Mix well with a rubber spatula.
• Working in batches, grind the ingredients in the food processor to a fine, smooth, light tan mixture, transferring each batch to another bowl as it is ready. Each batch will take a few minutes, and you will have to pause occasionally to scrape down the sides. When all the ingredients have been ground, beat them with the spatula to blend well. If you want to check the seasoning, sauté a spoonful in a little skillet until it is well done, let cool, taste, and then correct if necessary.
• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Bring a kettle of water to a boil and lower the heat to keep it hot.
• Butter a 6-cup loaf pan. Pour in the pâté mixture and smooth the top with the spatula. Bang the pan on the countertop or table to remove air bubbles. Center the bay leaves on top of the paté. Butter a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover the top of the pâté and place it, buttered side down, over the paté. Then cover the pâté with aluminum foil, allowing a 1-inch overhang. Place the loaf pan in a baking or roasting pan. Pour enough boiling water into the pan to come 1 inch up the sides of the loaf pan. Bake the paté for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, or until the internal temperature registers about 160°F on an instant-read thermometer.
• Remove the baking pan from the oven and set the paté aside to cool for 1 hour. Place a twin pan (or board) and a 5-pound weight, such as a brick or a few food cans, directly on top of the paté; this compacts it and creates a smooth texture. When the paté is completely cool, remove the weight. Refrigerate it and let it mature for 1 or 2 days.
• To serve, unmold the cold pâté, removing and discarding the foil and parchment paper. Cut the pâté into thin slices or a thick slab. Blot away the juices with paper towels and then lay the slices or slab on a serving plate. Let the paté come to room temperature before serving. You can include it in a Western-style charcuterie spread, or use it in your next Vietnamese baguette sandwich. The paté keeps well in the refrigerator for 10 days. I advise against freezing it, however, as it turns soggy.
• FINDING FATBACK
• Pork fatback is an old-fashioned cooking fat that can be difficult to find. Your best bet is to go to a market that caters to a porkloving clientele, such as an Asian or Mexican market. The fatback may not be in the meat case, but just ask the butcher for it. At my local Mexican market, the butcher is always tickled by my request for grasa (fat). He proudly emerges from the cooler with a thick piece with the cuero (skin) still attached.
• To ensure that I have a supply if fatback on hand, I buy a pound or two. I set aside the portion I am using immediately and then I divide the remaining fat into pieces the size of a deck of playing cards (about two ounces), wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze them all in a zip-top plastic bag. Fatback will keep in the freezer for up to nine months. Before using or freezing fatback, remove any skin, if necessary. A little meat attached is fine.

CHICKEN LIVER PATE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 10 minutes. Add carrot, thyme, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until carrot is tender, 5 minutes. (If mixture is dry or begins to overbrown, add up to 2 tablespoons water.) Transfer mixture to a food processor.
• Return skillet to medium-high and add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons butter and remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Pat livers dry with paper towels. Season livers with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cook until golden brown on all sides and cooked through, 6 minutes. Transfer livers to processor and pulse, scraping down sides as needed, until mixture is mostly smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper and let cool. Transfer pate to a small bowl and serve at room temperature with toasts or crackers.