Waste Not: Making Offal Things
You say offal, we say pâté.
Adapted from James Holstag, butcher and co-owner at Heart & Trotter Whole Animal Butchery, advanced preparation techniques make this recipe a good and challenging excuse to bust out a sous vide machine with four jars of creamy, flavor-rich pâté to spread on breads or crackers to show for it.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup bacon, ground or finely diced
- 1 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1/3 cup diced shallots
- 1 pound chicken livers
- 4 chicken eggs, beaten
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2/3 cup port wine
- 2/3 cup Madeira wine (or try a suitable dry substitute like a marsala, vermouth or sherry)
- 1/3 cup brandy
- 1/2 cup clarified butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Instructions
Preheat large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook bacon until fat renders and meat is browned. Add onions and shallots to sauté until translucent. Add port, wine, and brandy to deglaze the pan. Bring to a simmer before removing from heat and let the mixture cool for 15 minutes.
Strain solids from liquid with a fine mesh strainer into a blender. Add chicken liver, eggs, salt, and pepper and emulsify until it is the consistency of a smooth mousse.
Divide mousse evenly into 4 8-ounce Mason jars. Cover jars and sous vide at 155° for 90 minutes, or until pâté temperature hits 155°. Remove jars to chill in an ice bath.
Mix melted clarified butter with fresh parsley and thyme. Remove covers from jars and top off each jar with a butter layer about 1/8–1/4 inch thick. Replace lids.
Keep sealed and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to two weeks.
Related Stories & Recipes
