Monday, March 4, 2013

On Making Chicken Liver Pate

chicken liver, whipped


Chicken liver. Don't get grossed out. I don't mess with innards too much either, but I do enjoy a good chicken liver pate every now and then. And I only eat them out. So, this week, when I went through my ritual of boiling a whole chicken, and inspired by my girl Tamar Adler and her Everlasting Meal , I set the livers aside. 


chicken liver, raw




Gross at first glance, I know. But things got better very quickly: I seasoned them with salt and pepper and seared them in a dab of butter and removed them from the pan. 




chicken liver, pan seared


Then I diced a small shallot and threw it in to the same pan with red wine, to deglaze it and pick up all those little pieces of goodness left behind.  

chicken liver, smothered in red wine and shallot marinade

I whipped it all together in the blender with a few springs of thyme and a spoonful of water for just a few seconds and let it set in the fridge for about thirty minutes, for the final product that you saw at the top of this post. Good enough to eat by the spoonful or spread on a rip of bread, this home made pate is a little bit of decadence in the middle of the daily grind.




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