The best ever chicken liver pate recipe Drizzle and Dip (2024)

This is the best chicken liver pate recipe and I have been making it for over 2 decades. It has also become very popular on my site and you can see the positive feedback in the comments below. I love my original version but have also included a second recipe which uses a splash of cream and less butter. So choose which you prefer.

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I love to serve chicken liver pate with crispy melba toast and a dollop of something sweet. It’s silken smooth so it needs the crunch. The Marmalade offers a bitter-sweet flavour which is rather delicious and quite Christmassy too. If you want to be really wild, stir a splash of whiskey into the marmalade to give it that boozy edge.

I had the intention to make a clementine jelly to go with the pate, but that plan fell apart when I realised I was running out of the year. You know the feeling as you catapult towards Christmas in the silly season and suddenly realise you have bitten off more than you can chew? Literally and figuratively.

I once made jelly out of dessert wine which was delectable with this pate.

I had also planned on doing a few more Christmas recipes (as I do EVERY year) – but didn’t get it together. Note to self to be a bit more organised next year.

I love this season and the food that comes with it the most, so I always disappoint myself if I haven’t come up with something as innovative as my mince pie and frangipane tart, or my apple mince-pie crumble bars (My favourite ever), and my boozy cherry and Christmas pudding strudel with chocolate. These hot cross cinnamon sticky buns would be perfect for this time of year too. Ah well, there is always next year.

Here are a few of my favourite recipes for Christmas.

In the meantime, this is my best chicken liver pate which is so very easy to make. I always make a double batch and freeze off ramekins for later use. It’s so nice to pop in a basket for a summer picnic.

Can you freeze chicken liver pate?

Chicken liver pate freezes very well and I always make a double batch using 500gms of chicken livers.

I fill ceramic ramekins with the pate, top them with melted butter and a bay leaf and then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap to freeze.

To thaw chicken liver pate, leave it at room temperature for a couple of hours or thaw it in the fridge overnight.

I have made focaccia melba toast before, or actually melba toast from any good bread, and it’s also perfect with crispy flatbread, but for these little party canapes, I made them from very thinly sliced stale baguette. The marmalade is a very good quality store-bought Seville marmalade which has nice bitterness. I use free-range chicken livers here.

*UPDATED RECIPE WITH CREAM*

PS: I have a little recipe update in case you prefer to use less butter and like to use cream. For this I recommend doing a double batch:

  • 500gm free-range chicken livers
  • 125gm butter (and a bit extra to coat the top if desired)
  • 1 large onion (white), chopped
  • 1 – 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 – 4 bay leaves
  • Thyme leaves from about 4 small stalks
  • 125ml cream
  • 80ml good brandy
  • freshly ground black or white pepper (I prefer white)

Follow the instructions above, just add the cream after you have added the brandy and allowed it to cook off for a couple of minutes. Then add the cream and cook for about another minute or two further.

The best ever chicken liver pate recipe

This is a really easy and delicious chicken liver pate recipe that will instantly become your favourite too.

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The best ever chicken liver pate recipe Drizzle and Dip (3)

Ingredients

  • 250 gm free-range chicken livers
  • 125 gm butter and a bit extra to coat the top if desired
  • 1 large onion white, chopped
  • 1 – 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 20 – 40 ml brandy
  • freshly ground black or white pepper I prefer white
  • Thinly sliced stale baguette for the melba

Instructions

  • Melt the butter in the pan and saute the onion for about 5 minutes until turning soft.

  • Add the chicken livers, garlic and bay leaves and cook over moderate heat, stirring until the chicken livers are just done – about 4 – 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the brandy just before finishing off and allow this to cook for a couple of minutes.

  • Remove from the heat and let it cool.

  • Remove the bay leaves and blend in a food processor until it is as smooth as it will go. It takes a few minutes. Season with salt and lots of freshly ground white pepper (to taste). Spoon the pate into ramekins or other serving dishes and cool.

  • When cool melt some butter (microwave is great) and pour over the pate which looks pretty decorated with a bay leaf. Cool in the fridge until serving.

  • To make the melba toast slice a stale baguette as thinly as possible and lay the slices out on a cooling rack which you have placed over a large baking tray. This allows for the warm air to flow under and over the bread to dry it out.Bake in an oven preheated to 150C for about 20 minutes until dried out and just starting to colour. They do not need to be golden brown. Store in an airtight container until you are ready to serve.

  • If you are making the canapes yourself vs allowing your guests to spread themselves, do so just before serving as the melba toast will soften quite quickly.

Author: Sam Linsell

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The best ever chicken liver pate recipe Drizzle and Dip (2024)

FAQs

What makes a great pâté? ›

The choice of meat used in pâté can significantly influence its flavor and texture. For example, chicken liver pâté tends to be smooth and spreadable, while a game pâté may be more robust and coarse. The balance of lean meats and fat in a recipe is very important as it will define its texture and flavor profile.

Why do you put butter on top of pâté? ›

The pâté will last a week or so in the fridge. If you want to preserve it for up to a month, pour a little melted lard or clarified butter on top to seal. Each time you dip into the pâté, you will need to reseal the top to preserve it.

Why is my chicken liver pâté runny? ›

Assuming it's chicken liver pate, have you tried adding butter, cream or other saturated fat? This can thicken and so firm pate quite well. Or you could use some kind of meal - oat flour or matzo meal, breadcrumbs etc that would absorb the liquid.

How do you serve liver pate as a starter? ›

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. Toasts are also a great partner with Pate.

What is the main ingredient in pâté? ›

Pâté is often made of pig meat, but wild game like snipe, partridge, venison or wild boar can be cooked into a pâté, as can farm-raised duck, rabbit or pheasant. Lean meats might require the addition of some pork fat to keep the pâté from drying out in the oven.

What is the best thing to put pâté on? ›

Pâté Rendezvous: 10 ways to relish pâté
  • • French bread spread. For an elegant and tasty appetizer, serve any type of pâté with a fresh baguette, sliced toasted bread. ...
  • • Eggs. ...
  • • Sandwiches. ...
  • • With cheese and fruits. ...
  • • Stuffed into veggies. ...
  • • As dip. ...
  • • Tartines. ...
  • • On meats.

Is chicken liver pate good for you? ›

Chicken liver is made up of about 25% protein, with a moderate level of fat and minimal carbohydrate. It is wonderfully high in B12 (100g provides 287% of the RDA), vitamin A, folate, vitamin B2, selenium and iron. It also contains good levels of phosphorous, zinc and copper.

What is the jelly on pâté? ›

Aspic or meat jelly (/ˈæspɪk/) is a savory gelatin made with a meat stock or broth, set in a mold to encase other ingredients. These often include pieces of meat, seafood, vegetable, or eggs. Aspic is also sometimes referred to as aspic gelée or aspic jelly.

How do you thicken chicken liver pate? ›

More conventional recipes tend to use butter (Delia Smith), butter and cream (Merrony and Julia Child), or butter and eggs (Blanc). Saveur, in a nod to the laws of kosher, suggests chicken fat as an alternative to butter and minces in hard-boiled eggs as a thickener.

Can you eat too much chicken liver pate? ›

People who eat liver or liver pâté once a week may be having more than an average of 1.5mg of vitamin A per day. If you eat liver or liver products every week, you may want to consider cutting back or not eating them as often.

Why is liver pâté so expensive? ›

It's that labor cost—coupled with a limited supply of fatty livers for the market—that makes foie gras so pricey.

Why do I hate chicken liver? ›

While it's milder in flavor than beef or pork liver, it still has a strong meaty and mineraly taste that some people find off-putting.

What condiment goes with pâté? ›

A tamarind chutney is one of the most popular, and its thick yet saucy texture makes it perfect for drizzling over an aged cheese or a pâté or spread onto a slice of bread. Its sweet and sour taste pairs especially well with our Pâté de Campagne which features pork and sherry.

What bread is best with pâté? ›

A grilled, properly spiky sourdough bread would be the ideal here, but any decent, thick-cut real white or granary bread will do. Brown bread feels too worthy in this context. Likewise, limp, thin-sliced, industrially manufactured bread will not cut it in the regal presence of a paté.

What cheese goes well with pâté? ›

As the name suggests, hard cheese is firm and goes perfectly well with our creamy and decadent mousse pâtés. Often savory, hard cheese can be divided into two categories: hard (such as Parmesan), and semi-hard (such as Gouda). We suggest pairing the former with Black Peppercorn, and the latter with Chicken Liver.

What is a traditional pâté? ›

Pâté is traditionally a mixture of ground meat, seasonings, assorted vegetables, and spirits like brandy or cognac. The texture ranges from velvety smooth to hearty and coarse, depending on regional style and preference.

What is usually in pâté? ›

Pâté is often made of pig meat and parts, but wild game like snipe, partridge, venison or wild boar can be cooked into a pâté, as can farm-raised duck, rabbit or pheasant. Even vegetables can be made into pâté. Lean meats might require the addition of some pork fat to keep the pâté from drying out in the oven.

What is the most common type of pâté? ›

Though common meats used in Pates include beef, pork, liver, ham, salmon, chicken and wild game, Pâté de Foie Gras is considered the king of Pates.

What texture should pâté be? ›

The cooking

Everyone but Delia and Saveur recommends pushing the mixture through a sieve before chilling, which I can't endorse heartily enough: there are always little bits left after pureeing, and pâtés should either be coarse or smooth, not gritty.

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