This chicken pâté is easy to prepare, very satisfying and highly nutritious. I know what you are thinking: “liver is an organ, it filters all the toxins.” While it is true, you might be surprised to learn that the liver does not store these toxins. Toxins that the body cannot eliminate are likely to accumulate in the body’s fatty tissues and nervous systems, not the liver.
On the other hand, the liver is a storage organ for many important nutrients: vitamins A, D, E, K, B12 and folic acid, and minerals such as copper and iron. These nutrients provide the body with some of the tools it needs to get rid of toxins. Livers are a real treat in many cuisines and have been well known for their healing powers and their high concentration of nutrients.
If you do not like livers, it’s often psychosomatic rather than a matter of taste. I would recommend giving it a try; this delicious recipe is a great entry point.
Just one final note: always get your pâté from organic, grass-fed, free roaming animals.
- 1 lb livers from pasture-fed chickens (it is really important to get top quality livers)
- 1 cup organic butter or ghee, divided
- 2 large shallots or ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon sage, finely chopped
- ½ cup sherry (you can also try port or bourbon)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Rinse the chicken livers and pat them dry with a paper towel.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a skillet, add onions and brown them.
- Add the chicken livers to the skillet. They will release a significant amount of liquid.
- Simmer chicken livers until browned through and the liquid has largely cooked away. Your livers will be falling apart which is a good thing.
- Add salt, sage and deglaze the pan with sherry (port or bourbon).
- Continue to cook until sherry is largely cooked away and you can’t smell the alcohol.
- Allow the mixture to cool, about 15 minutes.
- Add mixture and the melted ghee to the food processor and process until silky smooth.
- Spoon pâté into individual mason jars.
- Allow the chicken liver pâté to set in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
- If this is more than you plan to eat in the next week, you can freeze the pate for up to 6 months.
- My favorite way of serving pate is on flaxseed crackers and with something fermented – like sauerkraut.
Modifications:
Paleo: If you are dairy intolerant, use coconut oil instead of ghee.
AIP: Use coconut oil, duck fat, lard, tallow or red palm oil instead of butter/ghee. Replace sherry with 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice.
Low-FODMAP: Replace onions with scallions (the green part only) and/or add asafetida. Replace sherry with 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice.
Anti-candida: Replace sherry with 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice.
Can you substitute beef liver for chicken liver and if so do you need to swap out anything? I don’t drink alcohol so, I assume you could substitute a berry juice for the sherry? Having never tasted sherry I don’t guess it would matter.
Hi Kim,
4 Combine 1/2 cup of cider vinegar and 1/2 cup of water with 2 tbsp. table sugar and 1 tsp. of lemon juice as a substitute for 1 cup of sherry wine.
Add 2 tsp. of vanilla extract to replace sherry in your recipe.
Can you substitute beef for the chicken?
How long does a pate last in the frig? Or can it be frozen if you can’t eat it all right away?
You should note that the liver has no function as a filter. That’s the kidney’s job. The liver metabolises nutrients absorbed from the gut, both building up and breaking down molecules. It also breaks down toxins. BTW, the pate was delicious
I’d also like to know if you can substitute beef liver for the chicken?