Easy Homemade Chicken Liver Pate Recipe
How to make Chicken Liver Pâté at home from scratch?
Chicken Liver Pate Recipe or Chicken Liver Pâté or Pâté de fois de volaille is dangerously easy, inexpensive and luxurious. Easy chicken liver pâté is made with butter, onions, garlic, brandy, and thyme.
It is blended smooth to spread on bread or crackers. Also known as Pâté de fois de volaille — it may look atrocious to you, but it tastes really great!
Chicken liver pâté is a classic French dish, combining rich chicken livers with flavourful pantry staples for a creamy, luxurious tasting spread.
Delicious Chicken Liver Pâté & Me
I have always had a great fetish for chicken liver. When a whole chicken is cooked, I usually go hunting for the chicken liver first before hitting on other pieces.
While we can do chicken liver fry in lip-smacking Indian masala style, a chicken liver pâté takes this humble organ to a completely different level.
In fact, this is one of those instances where you pity the fool who refuses to eat something because it doesn’t look appetising. And then you’re secretly happy, because that means there’s more for you.
But it’s worth setting aside any reservation you may have about liver. This pate doesn’t have any of that overly-irony flavour that you might have on your mind.
Instead, it’s smooth and delicately rich. Plus even better, it’s easy and very cost-effective to make.
Basil & Thyme Delhi was Famous for its Chicken Liver Pâté in Delhi
Basil & Thyme Sunder Nagar offers a selection of European dishes presented in a casual though elegant setting.
I have always loved eating the buttery chicken liver pâté at Basil & Thyme restaurant in New Delhi and have not been able to easily resist this magic of elegant smooth velvet.
Basil & Thyme Delhi, located in Santushti Complex (opposite Ashok Hotel in Chanakyapuri) was one of the first stand-alone Continental restaurants in Delhi.
Their Chicken Liver Paté is easily the best in town as claimed by many at both of their outlets – Chanakyapuri & Sunder Nagar.
They are only operating their Restaurant in Sunder Nagar now and offer a selection of European dishes presented in a casual, elegant setting with modern artwork.
The Foie Gras Controversy
French chef Jean-Joseph Clause is credited with creating the first pâté de foie gras in 1779.
Foie gras (the French term for fatty liver) is a duck or goose liver fattened upto 10 times its normal size. This is done by force-feeding birds to enlarge their livers. This labour-intensive process is known as gavage (French for force feeding).
Many animal rights activists describe the process as cruel & torturous. Hence, In 2006, Chicago became the first city in the USA to enact a ban against restaurants serving the dish, but the ban was repealed two years later.
New York City is currently home to about 1,000 restaurants that serve foie gras, but on Oct. 30, 2019, the City Council voted to ban the dish beginning in 2022.
New York will join California, Australia, India and numerous other places that prohibit foie gras for animal rights reasons. Whole Foods took foie gras off its shelves in 1997.
Me & My Story of Chicken Pate
There is always a story whatever you do. :)
Just as I was getting ready to play host to a few friends, on an impulse I asked my meat supplier to pack a lot of chicken livers with other goodies he was getting set to deliver.
The liver came in with other meats and all forgotten sat pretty in the freezer while the other stuff got cooked. I discovered the package only a week later and immediately started craving for a chicken liver pâté.
A little research on the internet and a few tweaks in my mind got me working to get the chicken liver pate on its way.
You can have this simply as a light (really!) supper or a sandwich/cracker spread made with chicken livers. It takes less than a half-hour to prepare, and firm ups in the refrigerator in a few hours.
This great hors d’oeuvre can be made at home easily within minutes and goes very well with an array of cheese and wine. It tastes magical when smeared liberally on toasted bread or crackers of all kinds too.
The following recipe is amazingly simple and takes just minutes to make if you have all the ingredients handy.
Recipe Card: Chicken Liver Pâté or Pâté de fois de volaille
How to make pâté de fois de volaille at home?
Chicken Liver Pate Recipe or Chicken Liver Pâté
Ingredients
- 500 gram Chicken livers
- 10 tablespoons Butter Unsalted is better; Though I used salted butter
- 1 tablespoon Garlic Paste
- 1 Piece Onion Medium; Sliced thinly
- 1 tablespoon Thyme Fresh is better though I used dried ones
- 1/2 tablespoon Salt
- 2 Pieces Bay leaves
- 0.5 Cups Water
- 2 tablespoons Scotch I used Chivas Regal; Cognac goes well too
- 0.5 tablespoon Black pepper
- 10 drops Tabasco Fiery Red sauce
Instructions
- First! Get your ingredients ready. Prepare the chicken livers.
- Clean and slice the chicken livers into halves using a chef's knife.
- Take a medium-sized, heavy-based frying pan & melt two tablespoons of butter.
- Add chicken livers, sliced onions, thyme, salt, bay leaves and garlic and gently mix around to fry the chicken livers over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Keep them on the move with a spatula, turning them over quite frequently. Once the ingredients have mixed well, add just enough water to cover. Bring it to simmer and reduce heat.
- Cook on low heat till livers turn pink and are cooked (this will take about 5 minutes tops).
- Remove from fire and drain the stock.
- Remove & discard bay leaves.
- Add the cooked livers to a blender and add two tablespoons of Chivas Regal. If the idea of adding scotch whiskey does not appeal you can use brandy or cognac as well.
- Blend well adding remaining butter as you go till the butter is nicely blended and the paste is smooth.
- Check for seasoning and add half a tablespoon of black pepper and blend again.
- If you wish the pâté to be a bit spicy, add 10 dashes of Fiery Red Tabasco.
- Add to ramekins or small plastic boxes and refrigerate overnight to set firmly.
Notes
- Always use fresh chicken livers.
- If you like livers with a milder taste, you can soak the chicken livers in milk for an hour or so before proceeding with the recipe.
- You can replace the cognac with a Chivas just as I have done or you can use a touch of cream sherry.
- If you don't have white onions available, feel free to use shallots.
- Always wait for the livers to cool before blending.
- You can use clarified butter (ghee) on top of the pate to make it last longer in the fridge.
- Soaking the livers in milk prior to preparing the pâté will mellow out the intense flavour.
- Overcooked livers are the most likely reason for a grainy pâté. For a smooth, silky texture make sure to cook the livers until just lightly browned before blending.
Recipe Notes for Chicken Liver Pate
Things to do to make a perfect and non-grainy chicken liver pate.
- If you like livers with a milder taste, you can soak the chicken livers in milk for an hour or so before proceeding with the recipe.
- You can replace the cognac with a Chivas just as I have done or you can use a touch of cream sherry.
- If you don’t have white onions available, feel free to use shallots.
- Always wait for the livers to cool before blending.
- The top of the pate will quickly discolour when it is exposed to the air. You can add clarified butter (ghee) on top of the pate to make it last longer in the fridge.
- Always use fresh chicken livers.
- Soaking the livers in milk prior to preparing the pâté will mellow out the intense flavour.
- Overcooked livers are the most likely reason for a grainy pâté. For a smooth, silky texture make sure to cook the livers until just lightly browned before blending.
How to Store Chicken Liver Pate?
Can I Freeze Chicken Liver Pate?
The top of the pate will quickly discolour when it is exposed to the air. To keep it better it’s advisable adding a layer of clarified butter (ghee).
Without a layer on top, it will keep just a day or two in the fridge. With the protective layer of butter, it will keep for around 5 days. To use the pate soon, store it in the fridge.
For longer storage, you can freeze it for a couple of months though make sure it is well sealed in airtight ramekins. This way you’ll only need to open one at a time.
Accompaniment Suggestions for Chicken Liver Pate
What do I serve chicken liver pate with?
- With cheese, crackers and wine. Pate is the perfect spread for a cheese board.
- Hard cheese is firm and goes perfectly well with our creamy and decadent mousse pâtés.
- With garlic toasties, simple toasted bread or baguette of your choice.
How to Serve Chicken Liver Pate?
Some ways to serve chicken liver pate!
Pate can be eaten as a lunch dish, an evening starter or, possibly, a main component in “Tea party”.
Accompaniments for meat Pates and fish Pates require little more than toast and a few refreshing celery sticks or radish slices.
- For an elegant and tasty appetizer, serve any type of pâté with a fresh baguette, sliced toasted bread. Let your guests self serve, or spread the pâté on the bread or toast in advance and arrange them on a garnished plate.
- If serving it as a salad course, pass it in a crock or in a ring mould. In such cases, lift off a slice or serve a spoonful onto your plate along with a cracker or toast.
FINALLY, TO SUM IT UP
Chicken Liver Pâté is dangerously easy, inexpensive and luxurious. It can be easily made with butter, onions, garlic, brandy, and thyme. It is blended smooth to spread on bread or crackers.
This great hors d’oeuvre goes very well with an array of cheese and wine. It tastes magical when smeared liberally on toasted bread or crackers of all kinds too.
But it’s worth setting aside any reservation you may have about liver. This pate doesn’t have any of that overly-irony flavour that you might have on your mind.
Instead, it’s smooth and delicately rich. Plus even better, it’s easy and very cost-effective to make.
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