If you enjoy pate, you’ll adore this somewhat spicy recipe for creamy chicken liver! Serve with thick crackers or toasty baguettes.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 16 mins |
| Additional Time: | 8 hrs 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 8 hrs 41 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken livers, trimmed
- 1 cup milk
- 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, divided
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons Scotch whiskey
Instructions
- Combine chicken livers and milk in a bowl. Let soak in the refrigerator, about 2 hours.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, garlic, red pepper flakes, and thyme; cook and stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Remove chicken livers from the milk with a slotted spoon; add to the saucepan with balsamic vinegar and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until chicken livers are tender and no longer pink, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer chicken liver mixture to a food processor. Add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns and Scotch; blend until smooth. Add remaining 6 tablespoons of butter and pulse until fully incorporated into the mixture.
- Divide blended mixture evenly among 6 porcelain ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 6 hours.
- For longer storage, cover pate with a thin layer of melted butter, cover, and refrigerate or freeze.
- Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of milk. The actual amount of milk consumed will vary.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 253 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 317 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 14 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Sodium | 83 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 20 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
11.4.17 This site has a lot of chicken liver pate recipes, and I’ve tried many of them, but hands down, this is my favorite! Gotta tell you, I hate trimming chicken livers (it’s all in my head, I know), but when pate turns out this well, it’s definitely worth it. The texture is creamy and spreadable, and that little kick from the peppercorns and red pepper flakes is spot on, maybe the balsamic calms it a bit?? And trust me, it’s not too hot, and doesn’t overwhelm the delicate flavor of the pate. One thing that the recipe doesn’t tell you to do is to take out the bay leaves before putting the mixture into the food processor; please do that. I followed this recipe to the letter and added scotch, but I can see bourbon working just as well, if that’s your preference. I know there are a lot of liver haters out there (I’m obviously not one of them), but if you like pate, put this on your to-make list. It would be a perfect appetizer for the upcoming Holidays. I vacationed in France last month and thought I’d had the best pate in my life in Paris, but this recipe measures up very well. Colleen, thanks for sharing your recipe, going into my Favorites file, we loved it!!!