Chicken liver pate is an easy and elegant appetizer that's perfect for serving around the holidays or for a nice dinner party.
The whole vibe of this pate says 'French country' to me. It's effortlessly elegant but also rustic and unpretentious.
Whenever I make this pate for a gathering it's always a crowd pleaser. It looks beautiful, it tastes even better, and the best part is that it's so simple to make.
If you're especially short on time, you can even make it a few days in advance. The melted butter on top acts as a food preservation method since it seals air out of the pate.
Ingredients
- Chicken liver: Normal chicken livers. You don't need to prepare them in any special way - just toss them into the pan.
- Fresh thyme: Fresh thyme adds an aromatic, herbaceous element and also makes a beautiful garnish on top of the sealed pate.
- Onion or shallot: I used yellow onion here but I've also made chicken liver pate with shallot in the past and they are basically equivalent. You can also substitute white or red onion if that's what you have.
- Butter: Oh yes, lots of butter. The whole vibe of this spread is fat on fat on fat for that truly decadent smear.
- Heavy cream: Besides butter, you also need some heavy cream to give more body to the pate.
- White wine: White wine is another flavor component in the pate. The alcohol burns off while cooking but in case you have any concerns about the alcohol content, you can substitute non-alcoholic white wine or otherwise chicken stock and a couple teaspoons of balsamic vinegar (to add that acid note that the wine brings).
- Garlic: Of course there's garlic!
- Seasoning: Just salt and black pepper is more than enough seasoning with so much other flavor in the pate.
Instructions for making chicken liver pate
The basic idea is a bit of sautéing, a bit of blending, and you're pretty much done.
Start by sautéing the onion in butter over medium heat until it's translucent. It shouldn't brown as you can see in the first photo below.
Then add the liver, garlic and thyme as shown in the second photo below. You can cut the liver if you like but usually I don't since it's not really necessary.
The thyme can also go in whole - the flavor will infuse and then later on before blending you can just squeeze the leaves off and discard the stems.
Next turn the heat up to high. Cook the liver until soft and browned on the outside with most of the raw pink color cooked out. How long you cook depends on the size of the liver pieces but usually 10 minutes or so.
Use a spatula or knife to cut a bigger piece and see. There should still be a bit of pink right in the center.
When the liver is nice and browned with only a bit of pink remaining, pour the wine in. The pan should be hot and sizzle as the wine deglazes the pan.
Cook for another 5 minutes or so until the alcohol has burned off. You'll notice the smell changes from slightly alcohol forward to just flavor. This is the third photo above.
Finally, the heavy cream goes in as shown in the fourth photo. Stir to combine well and then cook for a few more minutes until the creamy liquid is slightly thickened.
After the liquid has thickened remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool at least to room temperature. Then just whizz it up in a food processor to a smooth paste with a bit more cream. That's it!
Spread the pate in a shallow bowl that can also be used for serving. If you like you can top it with a few sprigs of fresh thyme. This is purely decorative and will likely be peeled off when it's eaten but I think it's still worth the visual effect.
Melt butter and pour on top, then pop the plate on a flat surface in the fridge or freezer until the butter has solidified.
After that, cover it in plastic wrap and it will be good in the fridge for up to 4 days.
If you're making ahead you can also store it in an airtight container and then seal it with butter on a nice plate closer to when you're ready to serve.
Serving Suggestion
Chicken liver pate is beautiful as an appetizer at festive holiday meals. The richness of the pate is complemented very well by acid and sweet so good pairing options are cornichons or (my personal favorite) a sour cherry or blackberry jam or preserve. Absolutely delicious.
Related
If you like chicken liver as much as I do then you may also like my chicken liver pilaf with dill.
Otherwise here are some more recipes for appetizers.
Recipe
Chicken Liver Pate with Thyme
Ingredients
- 300 grams chicken livers About 0.70lb
- 100 grams unsalted butter divided (about 7 tablespoons total)
- 1 yellow onion medium-sized. finely diced.
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 cloves garlic mashed or minced
- 1 cup heavy cream divided
- 0.75 cup dry white wine
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 0.5 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Heat half the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it's translucent.
- Turn the heat up to high and add the liver, mashed garlic and 5 or so sprigs of fresh thyme. Cook until everything in the pan is nicely browned and there's no more pink visible on the liver (about 10 minutes).
- Pour the wine in the saucepan to deglaze. Cook 5 minutes or so until the alcohol smell has dissipated.
- Add half the heavy cream and continue cooking a few more minutes while stirring continuously until the cream and other liquid has thickened.
- Turn off heat and either allow everything to cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, add the liver to the bowl of a food processor or blender along with the rest of the heavy cream and pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference.
- Spread the pate in two shallow bowls and arrange the remaining thyme sprigs on top. Melt the rest of the butter and pour it on top then put the bowls on a flat surface in the fridge or freezer to set the butter.
- The pate can be served once it's fully cool and the butter is set,
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