Chicken Liver Pâté

How to prepare chicken liver pâté

1. Wash the livers well in cold water until the water runs clear. Cover with milk and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour to drain the blood and remove any specific odors. Check the livers for dark spots. If present, cut those areas off.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and sauté the finely chopped onion for about 5-7 minutes until very soft. When I melted the butter, I let it brown slightly at the edges to get that nutty aroma specific to foie gras.
3. Add the cream and crushed garlic and simmer for 5 minutes over low heat until the onion is super soft.
4. Remove the pan from heat and add the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir to dissolve.
5. Add the butter cut into pieces in batches and stir until dissolved. If at any point the mixture is too cold and the butter won't melt, put the pan back on low heat.
6. Drain the livers well. Put them in a blender along with the mixture from the pan. Blend for a long time until you get a very fine paste. The finer the better.
8. Place a fine sieve over a bowl (I used my flour sifter as it was the finest) and pour portions of the liver paste onto it. Use a pastry spatula to push as much paste through as possible. Repeat until all the paste has been strained. If you do this step, the pâté will come out super fine, like a mousse. You'll have about 2 tablespoons of solids left on the sieve to discard.
9. Pour the resulting paste into 4 ceramic ramekins of 150-250ml. Place the ramekins in a baking pan. Cover the dishes with aluminum foil. Pour hot water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
10. Bake the pâté at 150°C for 30 minutes. At the end, the edges should look brownish and cooked, but the center is still pink.
11. Remove the ramekins from the oven and the pan, lift the foil and let them cool (maximum 1 hour). Pour melted butter or goose fat over the pâté to prevent oxidation. Pour just a thin layer of fat.
12. Cover the dishes with lids or foil. Refrigerate the pâté for at least 3 hours, but overnight is ideal - it will set better and the flavors will meld.
14. The pâté keeps in the refrigerator for 5 days. After breaking through the fat layer, when you put it back in the fridge, place plastic wrap in direct contact with the exposed area to minimize oxidation. Serve with fresh or toasted bread, gherkins, radishes or green onions.

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