Chicken Liver Pâté
My family kicks off every Christmas Eve with my sister's chicken liver pâté, setting upon it like savages, schmearing the velvety stuff onto toast points. This ritual dates back to the 1980s, when my sister was first living on her own. Having discovered that chicken livers could be had dirt cheap, she prepared them in every way she could, including this one, a standby of French housewives and midcentury American ladies' luncheons alike. Puréeing the cooked livers along with a little brandy, a lot of butter, and a few other things transforms the humblest of ingredients into something magnificent. —Beth Kracklauer
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Credit: Penny de los Santos
INGREDIENTS
8 oz. chicken livers, cleaned4 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp. rendered chicken fat or unsalted butter
½ medium yellow onion, minced
1½ tbsp. cognac or brandy
2 hard-boiled eggs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Toast points, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
Bring livers and stock to a boil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until just cooked through, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving ¼ cup cooking liquid; transfer to a food processor. Heat fat in a 10" skillet over high heat, and add onion; cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to food processor; add reserved cooking liquid, cognac, eggs, salt, and pepper; purée. Serve with toast.See all 150 classic recipes featured in our 150th issue »
I did not like the aroma and flavor due to the alcohol. So, I slightly changed the recipe by reducing the number of eggs by 50%, eliminating the alcohol and adding a tablespoon of sour cream to the mix.
The effect of the sour cream was to improve the texture and make it creamier, it lightened the color of the spread and gave it a somewhat lighter taste that is not so powerfully liver-ish.
Overall, the recipe as presented, is very good, my slight tinkering with the recipe made it more palatable to me, and some of you may benefit from it, as well.
I did not like the aroma and flavor due to the alcohol. So, I slightly changed the recipe by reducing the number of eggs by 50%, eliminating the alcohol and adding a tablespoon of sour cream to the mix.
The effect of the sour cream was to improve the texture and make it creamier, it lightened the color of the spread and gave it a somewhat lighter taste that is not so powerfully liver-ish.
Overall, the recipe as presented, is very good, my slight tinkering with the recipe made it more palatable to me, and some of you may benefit from it, as well. Rating: 4