Liver pate - general principles and methods of preparation
Culinary cuisines of different countries have many original and traditional recipes for preparing dishes from the liver. Rich in vitamins, iron, copper and other nutrients, the liver is good in and of itself, “a la naturel”. It is much more interesting to make real homemade liver pate, which can be used for making sandwiches, decorating a festive table and just for breakfast daily. The liver is especially useful for pregnant women and children, but not everyone perceives a product with a special smell and bitterness favorably.
Another thing - liver pate. Beautifully decorated, consisting of many delicious ingredients, it has a delicate taste and, practically, does not resemble the taste of the liver. Sometimes it is even impossible to determine what it is cooked from, since this homogeneous dish is well ground and mixed. Pig and beef liver before cooking is recommended to soak in milk to get rid of the characteristic flavor. Spicy and intimate spices, fruits, carrots and onions, butter - there are also many recipes, as well as numerous combinations of ingredients. Often, the composition of the pastes includes white wine or grape juice, sour cream (well removes unpleasant taste). Boiled eggs fray with all the contents and seasonings.
Becoming a real expert in the preparation of pastes is a snap - just decide once and cook the type of liver that you have. And then do with it what you want - stuff eggs or pancakes, spread on bread and bake in the oven, or just take ready-made sandwiches for a working “snack”. Do not forget to stock up with a glass of white wine - it best displays and highlights the great taste of liver pate. So, we prepare a homemade dish, without food additives and preservatives - according to the most appetizing recipes.
Liver pate - product preparation
The quality of the frozen liver can be assessed only at home when defrosting, so in the store you can pay attention only to the time of manufacture and storage. It is much easier to verify the suitability of refrigerated products. The liver should not be too dark - this indicates that there was less pollution in the animal’s live filter. For the same reason, products from young animals are preferable, with a sweetish odor without stagnation and specific impurities. The liver of an old animal can be made softer by soaking it in milk. The same goal can be achieved if you lower the piece for a couple of minutes in boiling water, fold it on a sieve. Remove the film and cut the veins and ducts to ensure that you get rid of bile, which can hopelessly spoil the dish.
Liver pate - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Beef liver pate
The best version of the liver - calf. It should be pale pink, with shades of gray and purple in some places, but not hilly and brown. To ensure that it is homogeneous, properly prepare - remove spitting and cut into large pieces. Peel and chop the onion, rub the carrot on a grater.
Ingredients: beef liver (400 grams), onions (1 piece), white bread (can be a loaf, 2 slices), carrots (1 piece), milk (300-400 grams), butter (1 spoon), salt, spices, herbs.
Method of preparation
Fry the vegetables in vegetable oil so that they become soft. In the pan very quickly fry the liver over medium heat. Do not overcook, otherwise you risk getting a hard product. Salt at the end of frying. Mix with vegetables and add in a slice of white bread - they absorb the liquid obtained during frying. Cover and leave to cool. Let the mass cool and grind everything. To do this, you can use the item that is more convenient for you - a mixer, combine or just a mechanical meat grinder. Smooth a smooth and uniform mass evenly and knead thoroughly. If the mass is too thick, add the liquid obtained during frying, milk or a spoonful of good sour cream, and mix again. We introduce the softened butter at the very end - it will give a special pomp, smoothness and delicate creamy taste.
Recipe 2: Chicken Liver Pate
They say that chicken broth is not worth putting spices, so as not to muffle the characteristic pleasant smell. But this does not apply to dishes from the liver. We will add spices, a little alcoholic beverage, a little gelatin, cream in chicken liver paste - all this will help to make our dish rich and rich. As chicken liver itself is a little sweet, you can not put a carrot. Do not hesitate - you get a delicious dish, no comparison with shopping options. As they say, prepare your fingers for licking, as required by the well-known saying. Ingredients: chicken liver (500 grams), onion (2 pcs), garlic (20 cloves), cream (200 ml), sherry brandy (or brandy, 2 spoons), nutmeg, gelatin, diluted in half a glass of water (1 teaspoon), salt, ground pepper.
Method of preparation
Chop the onion and garlic. Lay out the liver on a paper towel or napkin and check if the bile residues are lost somewhere - ruthlessly cut out all the suspicious pieces and throw them away. Cut pieces into large pieces. Fry the onions and garlic in butter in a skillet, then remove, and simmer the liver in the same oil. When a beautiful crust is formed, cool and thoroughly grind everything in a combine or skip 2 times through a meat grinder.
Add cream, salt, brandy or brandy, nutmeg and knead well. Form large sausages and leave to freeze in the refrigerator. Gelatin can be used for decoration: diluted in half a glass of water and add pieces of vegetables, greens, large spices, pour the paste and refrigerate for 1 hour. Gelatin performs not only a decorative function - under its layer the dish is stored much longer, more than a week.
Recipe 3: Pork liver pate
Pork liver product is sharper. Fine pate will work out for a beef liver recipe, but we will complicate the task and prepare a more serious dish, with the addition of meat, lard, spices and wine - in general, everything is as it should be for cooking pork dishes.
Ingredients: pork liver (1 kg), pork (500 grams), stale bread (250 grams), onions (3 pieces), carrots (1 large), melted butter (150 grams), pork lard (unsalted 150 grams), ground pepper (black and red), 200 ml of dry wine, salt, nutmeg.
Method of preparation
Finely chop the onion, cut the liver into slices, carrot into small cubes. Boil everything together in a small amount of water, filter and pass through a meat grinder, adding spices. Pour in a glass of white wine, melted butter. Mass carefully fray. We spread on the table food dense film, smear on it a layer of pork fat and lay out the paste. Wrap in the form of a roll and put in a saucepan on the pieces of bacon, laid on the bottom. Close the lid tightly and place in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 degrees.
Recipe 4: Goose liver pate
The famous foie gras is considered a recognized delicacy throughout the world. You need to stock up on real goose fat, a spoon of brandy and Provencal herbs. You should not mix goose liver with a lot of vegetables in order not to drown out its taste.
Ingredients: Goose fat (1 tbsp), shallots (3 pcs), goose liver (200 grams), Provencal herbs, garlic clove, brandy (1 tablespoon), pepper, salt.
Method of preparation
Heat the goose fat in a skillet, add shallots, fry for about half a minute. Add the liver, Provencal herbs and garlic, a little later, brandy and pepper, salt. Cool slightly and blend in blender.
In another version of foie gras, take a little dried mushrooms (a tablespoon) and 150 grams of fresh butter. Prepare mushrooms in advance - soak them for the night and boil, so that there is only half a glass of broth. Add the mushrooms to the combine and chop together with the fried liver. Lay out on a platter in the form of a pyramid, grease with softened creamy small.
Liver pate - tips from experienced chefs
- It is believed that the older the liver, the longer it should be soaked in milk. Young liver is enough to soak 1 hour. You can add several hard-boiled eggs and a bunch of greens to vegetables and liver, grind it all up in a blender so that the mass is homogeneous. Greens can be tied into a bundle and boiled with the liver, and then removed from the pan by the string.
- Serve the pate to the table in an original way - for example, stuff small tomatoes with it and decorate with parsley sprigs on top, or make boats of boiled eggs.
