Chicken Liver Pate
Chicken Liver Pate
I grew up in the Country Club industry, by this I mean my father was a Country Club manager, as was my grandfather and both my uncles. It was my grandfather who introduced me to Liver Pate at the Club he managed in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was a child then and have loved it ever since. Unfortunately, the rest of my family is not a fan. So, you can imagine how excited I was to learn that many of my lady friends in Palisade love liver pate!
This past weekend, Andy was out of town for a conference. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to host a “Hen” party, and we would collectively make Liver Pate of which they could take home with them as their parting party gift! It was so much fun. Because it takes some time to make the Pate, I had everyone bring an appetizer and some wine, me included. While we cooked, we enjoyed munchies and libations. Once, it was in the fridge, it has to set for four hours, we continued to enjoy our wine on the patio by the fire. It was a delightful afternoon for sure. Our gathering is the inspiration for this week’s blog post. True Liver Pate is made with either goose or chicken liver. For this recipe, I used chicken.
Chicken Liver Pate
Makes about 3 ½ cups
Entertain & Celebrating Fall Harvest 2019
Page 50
Ingredients
1 Lb Chicken Livers, rinsed
4 Cups whole milk
2 Cups unsalted butter, softened and divided
½ Cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 Cloves garlic, minced
5 Sprigs fresh thyme, divided
¼ Cup bourbon
2 Teaspoons Kosher salt
½ Teaspoon ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons bacon drippings
Toast points, to serve
Directions
In a large bowl, combine chicken livers and milk, cover and refrigerate overnight. Drain and set aside.
In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and 4 springs thyme; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Increase heat to high. Working in batches, add livers; cook until browned on both sides, about two minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon, remove livers and onion mixture from pan; set aside. Discard thyme.
Add bourbon to pan; cook scraping brown bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon, until reduced by half, about 30 seconds. Stir in salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
In the container of a blender, puree livers, onion mixture, and pan juices until smooth. With blender running, gradually add remaining 1 ¾ cup plus two tablespoons butter until combined. Strain liver mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small serving dish. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about four hours.
Top with bacon drippings and remaining one spring thyme. Refrigerate until topping is firm, about one hour.
Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Serve with toast points.
Bon Appetit!
