Creamy Chicken Liver Pâté

By Mark Bittman

Creamy Chicken Liver Pâté
Evan Sung for The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes, plus 3 hours' refrigeration
Rating
5(342)
Comments
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French pâté is in fact easier to make than my grandmother’s chopped liver, which called for rendering chicken fat. Here, you just soften onions in butter, cook the livers, cool, purée and refrigerate.

You don’t have to bother with soaking the livers in milk, a step found in many recipes. Season aggressively: you want to taste the pepper, the coriander, the brandy and even the allspice and clove.

Finally, cook the liver quickly, over pretty high heat. What you want is to brown the outside while keeping the inside pink. This, perhaps, is another major difference between pâté and chopped liver, in which the livers are almost always cooked to death.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 10 servings
  • 10 to 15peppercorns
  • 2allspice berries
  • 1clove
  • 4coriander seeds
  • ½cup butter
  • 1onion, chopped
  • 1pound chicken livers
  • Salt
  • ⅓cup cream
  • 1 to 2tablespoons brandy
  • Bread or crackers for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)

192 calories; 15 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 9 grams protein; 201 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder, combine peppercorns, allspice, clove and coriander seeds; grind until fine and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    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.

  3. Step 3

    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.

  4. Step 4

    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.

Ratings

5 out of 5
342 user ratings
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Comments

Janet

In a pinch, you can put the spices in a small plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin, bottle, or glass. Or pound the heck out of them with the smooth side of a meat mallet.

Neal

I would add about half again the amount of spices. While the finished pate was tasty, it was, at least for my palate, a little too close in taste, to a standard pureed chopped liver. The amount of brandy was enough. Would definitely make again. Thanks.

Grace Hinton

Delicious. I deglazed the pan with cognac so I wouldn't lose what my grandmother called "the jewels of the kitchen" at the bottom of the pan.

Medea

Thank you for this wonderful recipe, I’m honestly shocked how good every single recipe is! Thanks New York Times for making my life easier with these incredibly easy and super delicious recipes!!!

Rachel

Extradordonary flavor profile and hugely addictive. I served it with fig/almond crackers which was a perfect bite. A huge hit amongst those who like pate.

Nicole

I doubled all the spices, deglazed the pan with the brandy. I concur that it would be better to sauté the livers first. Take out. Then cook the onions and then add the livers back in. Raise the heat a touch and then deglaze the pan. The mixture firmed up once completely cooled after some time in the refrigerator. Madeira, sherry, even port would all be good substitutes for the brandy. Sealing it off with a gelatin or rendered chicken fat would help preserve it in addition to freezing. I actually used Turkey livers that I was gifted and it turned out delicious.

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