Bowyn Baird RD, LD, CYT-200

liver

How to make Liver Pate

how to make liver pate taste great

I have been making liver pâté for many years. I have finally learned that it’s not how much you add to it to “cover up” the flavor of the liver. But rather, learning to work with the flavor of liver. In this post, I will teach you the simple secret of how to make liver pate taste amazing!

The last time I made it I asked my husband what he thought of this liver pâté recipe and he said it was the best one I had ever made. Ironically, I used the least amount of ingredients to make that batch. Previously, I had tried all kinds of tricks to cover up the taste of liver.

Liver does have a unique taste if you compare it to what the average Western Diet is currently made up of. However, in time, you too can adjust your palate to enjoy this rich savory food. If you want to know why liver is so important to me, and why I encourage my patients to eat liver, here is an article talking about the benefits and why we incorporate liver into our diets.

The Secret to Making Amazing Liver Pâté

The really easy secret to preparing liver is: do not over cook it. Learn to cook it just until done by using a food thermometer to guide you. Liver is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. My YouTube video shows you the proper temperature taking technique of liver.

how to make liver pate taste great

Liver Pâté

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb chicken liver rinsed and patted dry
  • 1/2 large onion finely chopped
  • 1 small apple peeled and finely chopped
  • 2-4 tbs heavy cream
  • 7 tbs butter
  • salt, pepper, herbs to taste optional

Instructions
 

  • Add 2 tbs butter to a stainless steal pain. Add chopped onion and cook until carmilized on medium to low heat. This usually takes about 15 minutes. Then add the apple and cook until soft, about 7 minutes.
  • Remove onion and apple from the pan.
  • Turn heat to about medium. Add another 2 tbs butter to the pan. Add chicken livers and cook one side about 3 minutes.
  • Flip to other side and turn heat down slightly. Cover with lid and cook another 3 minutes.
  • Take temperature of liver. See my YouTube video for proper temperature taking technique.
  • If livers have not reached 160°F, continue to cook, checking temperature frequently. Once you reach 160°F, quickly remove liver from pan and place into a food processor for blending.
  • Add onions, apple, 2-3tbs butter, and 2tbs cream. Blend well. Add more cream or butter to taste. You can also add seasonings like salt, pepper, rosemary, or thyme. We like our pate plain with only salt added, but you can get creative how you like.

Notes

Why my family eats liver

Liver is a superfood. It is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet.

Why aren’t we eating more liver? Somewhere along the line, the sacredness of liver was lost. Diet culture has slandered traditional animal foods as unhealthy and “too rich” in calories. There’s also misinformation that animal liver “stores” toxins. The liver processes toxins, it does not store them. But what it does store are high concentrations of B vitamins, iron, and other minerals.

In the spirit of good stewardship, why would we toss out part of the animal when they can all be used? Often historically, when a cow or other animal was harvested for food, the liver amoung other organs were saved for the pregnant or nursing mothers. It also seems logical that the organs are where some of the highest concentration of nutrients are stored.

It has taken me about two years to grow to appreciate and enjoy the taste of liver. Did you know it takes nearly 15 tries to come to enjoy a food? I continue to encourage parents of littles to continue offering a food, even if the child does not prefer it. I guess this method works for adults to! Developing the palate for certain foods takes time. In our instantly gratifying world of webpages and content that loads in milaseconds, it can be hard to be patient with these things. I persisted with liver even though I could not get used to the metallic like taste at first but after, literally, years of preparing it, I have learned a few tricks in the preparation process. And I genuinely look forward to a liver pate snack.

It takes about 15 attempts at trying a food before one starts to “enjoy” it.

There is reason to be motivated to include liver in the diet, along with other organ meats. Liver is a good place to start. Liver is a superfood. It is full of bioavailable vitamins in forms that we do not easily get in such bioavailable high concentrations.

Liver the Superfood

Some of the nutrients found in liver

Preformed Vitamin A

Preformed vitamin A is ready for the body to use. Beta carotene is a more commonly known form of “vitamin a” but it has to be converted to retinol vitamin a before it can be utilized by the body. There is research that suggests that there are genetic variabilities in how efficiently betacarotene is converted to retinol vitamin a.

Heme Iron

Liver is an excellent source of iron. Iron is a vital nutrient that supports the creation of red blood cells. It is very important in supporting pregnancy and for growing children. Liver containers heme iron, which is easily absorbed by the body.

Omega-3 DHA/EPA

Liver (especially from grass fed cows) contains EPA and DHA fatty acids which are beneficial many functions in the body including inflammation, heart disease, and mood. While it is not a high source, like salmon, it’s worth noting that this organ has EPA/DHA.

Folate (B9)

Essential for cell growth and forming DNA, liver is an excellent source, if not the best source on earth! Folate is an especially important nutrient during conception and pregnancy. Folate is not interchangeable with folic acid, which is a synthetic form of B9 that is not easily converted to the active form of folate.

Riboflavin (B2) and Cyanocobalamin (B12)

These B vitamins are essential to red blood cell and cellular health.

Zinc and Selenium

These are two minerals that play important roles in immunity.

BITE FOR BITE LIVER PROVIDES MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK AT A LOW COST

Of course there are other foods with these nutrients out there. So why eat the liver? Because, bite for bite liver is dense in bioavailable nutrients.

3.5oz Liver

Values taken from USDA Food Data Central compared to FDA RDI’s for adults and children greater than 4 years of age. Pregnant and lactating women have increased needs.

Vitamin A

3,146% RDI

Iron

47% RDI

Omega-3 EPA/DHA

0.88g PUFA per 3.5oz

EPA 0.112g

DHA 0.039

Folate (B9)

65% RDI

Riboflavin (B2) and Cyanocobalamin (B12)

B2 – 180% RDI

B12 – 3,520% RDI

Zinc and Selenium

Zinc – 27% RDI

Selenium – 30% RDI

HOW TO ADD LIVER TO YOUR DIET

Pate. I recommend starting with pate as it is blending with other delicious foods. Pate is a blend of liver with herbs, cream, and butter. You can also add onions and apples for more flavor. It is incredibly delicious, even my 16 month old loves it! If you prefer not to cook it, you can find it pre-made at the grocery store in a variety of flavors. If you are still a bit skittish but want to try it, mixing the pate itself into meatballs may suit you.