This is the best chicken liver pate recipe and I have been making it for over 2 decades. It has also become very popular on my site and you can see the positive feedback in the comments below. I love my original version but have also included a second recipe which uses a splash of cream and less butter. So choose which you prefer.
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I love to serve chicken liver pate with crispy melba toast and a dollop of something sweet. It’s silken smooth so it needs the crunch. The Marmalade offers a bitter-sweet flavour which is rather delicious and quite Christmassy too. If you want to be really wild, stir a splash of whiskey into the marmalade to give it that boozy edge.
I had the intention to make a clementine jelly to go with the pate, but that plan fell apart when I realised I was running out of the year. You know the feeling as you catapult towards Christmas in the silly season and suddenly realise you have bitten off more than you can chew? Literally and figuratively.
I once made jelly out of dessert wine which was delectable with this pate.
I had also planned on doing a few more Christmas recipes (as I do EVERY year) – but didn’t get it together. Note to self to be a bit more organised next year.
I love this season and the food that comes with it the most, so I always disappoint myself if I haven’t come up with something as innovative as my mince pie and frangipane tart, or my apple mince-pie crumble bars (My favourite ever), and my boozy cherry and Christmas pudding strudel with chocolate. These hot cross cinnamon sticky buns would be perfect for this time of year too. Ah well, there is always next year.
Here are a few of my favourite recipes for Christmas.
In the meantime, this is my best chicken liver pate which is so very easy to make. I always make a double batch and freeze off ramekins for later use. It’s so nice to pop in a basket for a summer picnic.
Can you freeze chicken liver pate?
Chicken liver pate freezes very well and I always make a double batch using 500gms of chicken livers.
I fill ceramic ramekins with the pate, top them with melted butter and a bay leaf and then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap to freeze.
To thaw chicken liver pate, leave it at room temperature for a couple of hours or thaw it in the fridge overnight.
I have made focaccia melba toast before, or actually melba toast from any good bread, and it’s also perfect withcrispy flatbread, but for these little party canapes, I made them from very thinly sliced stale baguette. The marmalade is a very good quality store-bought Seville marmalade which has nice bitterness. I use free-range chicken livers here.
*UPDATED RECIPE WITH CREAM*
PS: I have a little recipe update in case you prefer to use less butter and like to use cream. For this I recommend doing a double batch:
500gm free-range chicken livers
125gm butter (and a bit extra to coat the top if desired)
1 large onion (white), chopped
1 – 2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 – 4 bay leaves
Thyme leaves from about 4 small stalks
125ml cream
80ml good brandy
freshly ground black or white pepper (I prefer white)
Follow the instructions above, just add the cream after you have added the brandy and allowed it to cook off for a couple of minutes. Then add the cream and cook for about another minute or two further.
The best ever chicken liver pate recipe
This is a really easy and delicious chicken liver pate recipe that will instantly become your favourite too.
Print Recipe
Ingredients
250gm free-range chicken livers
125gm butterand a bit extra to coat the top if desired
1large onionwhite, chopped
1– 2 cloves garliccrushed
2bay leaves
20 – 40mlbrandy
freshly ground black or white pepperI prefer white
Thinly sliced stale baguette for the melba
Instructions
Melt the butter in the pan and saute the onion for about 5 minutes until turning soft.
Add the chicken livers, garlic and bay leaves and cook over moderate heat, stirring until the chicken livers are just done – about 4 – 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the brandy just before finishing off and allow this to cook for a couple of minutes.
Remove from the heat and let it cool.
Remove the bay leaves and blend in a food processor until it is as smooth as it will go. It takes a few minutes. Season with salt and lots of freshly ground white pepper (to taste). Spoon the pate into ramekins or other serving dishes and cool.
When cool melt some butter (microwave is great) and pour over the pate which looks pretty decorated with a bay leaf. Cool in the fridge until serving.
To make the melba toast slice a stale baguette as thinly as possible and lay the slices out on a cooling rack which you have placed over a large baking tray. This allows for the warm air to flow under and over the bread to dry it out.Bake in an oven preheated to 150C for about 20 minutes until dried out and just starting to colour. They do not need to be golden brown. Store in an airtight container until you are ready to serve.
If you are making the canapes yourself vs allowing your guests to spread themselves, do so just before serving as the melba toast will soften quite quickly.
The choice of meat used in pâté can significantly influence its flavor and texture. For example, chicken liver pâté tends to be smooth and spreadable, while a game pâté may be more robust and coarse. The balance of lean meats and fat in a recipe is very important as it will define its texture and flavor profile.
The pâté will last a week or so in the fridge. If you want to preserve it for up to a month, pour a little melted lard or clarified butter on top to seal. Each time you dip into the pâté, you will need to reseal the top to preserve it.
Assuming it's chicken liver pate, have you tried adding butter, cream or other saturated fat? This can thicken and so firm pate quite well. Or you could use some kind of meal - oat flour or matzo meal, breadcrumbs etc that would absorb the liquid.
Yes. Toast and unless your paté is a “potted” version sealed under butter, that toast must be buttered. There is nothing that cannot be improved by the addition of butter. A grilled, properly spiky sourdough bread would be the ideal here, but any decent, thick-cut real white or granary bread will do.
Traditionally made with liver, and mixed with wine and spices until it's cooked down into a spreadable texture, pâté can also be created with liver or other parts of pork, venison, chicken, fish, duck and other game, and even created with veggies on occasion.
Pâté is often made of pig meat and parts, but wild game like snipe, partridge, venison or wild boar can be cooked into a pâté, as can farm-raised duck, rabbit or pheasant. Even vegetables can be made into pâté. Lean meats might require the addition of some pork fat to keep the pâté from drying out in the oven.
Pate served on toasted bread or baguette along with a large green salad makes a simple, but scrumptious lunch or small meal. Again, cornichons make a nice addition to the plate. For a special presentation, slice the cornichon lengthwise in four to six slices and fan them out, placing one on each piece of Pate.
Liver and liver products, like pâté, are a rich source of vitamin A in the form of retinol, which is the 'active' form. Muscle meat is not such an impressive source and plant sources have to be converted to the active form in the gut, so that the body can use them.
Aspic jelly may be colorless (white aspic) or contain various shades of amber. Aspic can be used to protect food from the air, to give food more flavor, or as a decoration. It can also be used to encase meats, preventing them from becoming spoiled.
People who eat liver or liver pâté once a week may be having more than an average of 1.5mg of vitamin A per day. If you eat liver or liver products every week, you may want to consider cutting back or not eating them as often.
What is the issue? Unlike whole pieces of red meat such as steak, where microbial contamination is restricted to the external surfaces, chicken livers can be contami- nated with Campylobacter on both the inside tis- sues and the outer surfaces of the liver.
Pate Foie Gras is French for fat liver paste. It is a luxury item because few countries allow it to be made, due to the extreme cruelty involved. It is the cancerous liver of a duck or goose fattened by force in a process known as gavage. Birds spend their lives in semi-darkness.
A tamarind chutney is one of the most popular, and its thick yet saucy texture makes it perfect for drizzling over an aged cheese or a pâté or spread onto a slice of bread. Its sweet and sour taste pairs especially well with our Pâté de Campagne which features pork and sherry.
Chicken liver pate. One of the most popular and versatile types of pate, chicken liver pate is easy to find in most grocery stores and restaurants. ...
Pâté is traditionally a mixture of ground meat, seasonings, assorted vegetables, and spirits like brandy or cognac. The texture ranges from velvety smooth to hearty and coarse, depending on regional style and preference.
Some of the most popular types of pâté in France include pâté de campagne, made with pork, pâté de foie gras, made with duck or goose liver, and pâté en croûte, which is baked in a pastry crust.
Introduction: My name is Corie Satterfield, I am a fancy, perfect, spotless, quaint, fantastic, funny, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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