Best Beef Liver Pâté
This beef liver pâté recipe is delicious, thanks to an unexpected spice that magically does away with the liver taste. Even beef liver, which has a stronger taste, can be enjoyed by liver haters.
Most people love to hate liver. Texture, taste, smell: it is not one of the more appetizing foods. There are some edified people who love liver, but they are a special minority.
Even though I do not belong among the elect liver lovers, the nutritional profile keeps bringing me back to it. High in many B vitamins, especially B12, and vitamin A, liver also apparently improves energy levels, or at least improves endurance.
In the 50s an experiment with rats showed that rats who ate liver were able to keep swimming anywhere from one to two hours (when the experiment ended) as opposed to an average of 13 minutes for rats who didn’t eat liver (yes, they let the rats sink, yes, it was inhumane but the information is still valid). And we could all use a little more energy, no?
Beef liver is stronger in taste than other types of liver, but it’s also very abundant – beef livers are huge, especially compared to say a goose liver. The result is that there is plenty of nutritious beef liver that is hard to eat for many.
As a child, my preferred way of eating liver was tempura, coated in a batter and deep fried, with plenty of ketchup on the rare occasion that my mom bought ketchup.
Since then, I’ve concocted a few recipes that even my husband will willingly eat. This liver pate is probably my favourite. It’s also the least work, which may have something to do with it. I was gratified this morning by the twins eating it by the spoonful and, in fact, all the children liked it.
You can, of course, make this pate with other animal livers, like lamb and goat, or even wild animals like elk and moose.
Recipe secrets:
Fat, and lots of it. My favourite fat to use is ghee, due to it’s sweetness, but also use butter. I haven’t tried it with coconut oil or lard, but if you can’t tolerate even ghee I would try them.
Onion, and lots of it. Slowly caramelizing the onions in the fat brings out the sweetness, which helps mellow out the liver taste.
Allspice, and a fair amount of that too. I usually think of allspice as a Christmas or pumpkin sort of spice, like cinnamon and nutmeg. However, once while watching a butcher make all kinds of goods from a pig during butchering, I noticed he put in allspice in some of the mixes.
I added allspice on a whim while making liver pate, and it makes ALL the difference. Beef liver is fairly strong, but allspice magically cancels out the liver taste. I have no idea why. I used freshly ground allspice; if you only have preground allspice you will need to add more, taste testing until the liver taste mellows.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp (150 g) ghee, butter, or other fat
- 1 very large or 2 med (200 g) onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 14 oz (400 g) liver (beef, lamb, chicken, or otherwise)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp allspice, freshly ground (see above)
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp whipping cream (or milk alternative or I've even used water for dairy free)
Instructions
- Roughly chop onion and cook on low heat in ghee (or other fat) until caramelized, about 20 minutes.
- Slice the liver, removing any membrane (white filmy layer).
- Chop garlic and add to onion for about five minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions and garlic to a food processor or high speed blender.
- Cook the liver on med heat in the remaining fat, until no longer bloody.
- Let the liver and fat cool for a few minutes, then add to food processor.
- Add salt, allspice, pepper and cream (or milk alternative or even water).
- Blend until smooth.
- Line a container with plastic wrap and smooth the pate into the container so that when it chills, you can turn the container over and peel away the plastic wrap, making the pate slice-able.
- Alternatively, as I've done here, just put the pate in a bowl or any vessel and scoop it out as needed.
- Eat fresh or chill to harden and further meld flavours.
Feeling adventurous? How about other organs, like…
Beef Tongue Spread (2 recipes)
Shared at Thank Goodness It’s Monday, Allergy Free Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday , Gluten Free Wednesday, Fat Tuesday, Pennywise Platter Thursday
Sep 26, 2014 @ 13:32:20
I grew up with liver breaded and fried, or tossed with lemon and cooked plain with onions. My mother used to make a pate of chicken livers and wine. I’m going to try your recipe using beef liver. Do you have any idea how long it will keep in the refrigerator, or if it will freeze well?
Sep 26, 2014 @ 15:14:48
So great that you ate liver as a child. The pate seems pretty stable, I would guess that it would last minimum a week in the fridge covered, but it gets eaten pretty quickly here. I think it would freeze well, but again, haven’t actually tried it.
Aug 15, 2017 @ 17:08:18
firstly it is the best recipe thank you…ive tried numerous and this is the best
I have also frozen it and its fine
Thank you for making pate enjoyable as i know how good it is for us all x
Aug 16, 2017 @ 12:13:31
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know – I’m always happy to hear I’ve helped someone happily eat liver.
Sep 26, 2014 @ 16:03:54
This looks fantastic! We started to get hooked on pate while living in Hungary. The meat shop across the street from us has fantastic goose liver pate. But we’ve not had it since moving several years ago so I am going to give this a try. I would love to see my little ones eating it with a spoon, too! (and, yes, I could use some extra energy!)
Sep 26, 2014 @ 17:21:36
My mother in law sometimes makes goose liver, just cooked, and there is so much fat it is just soft. I’d love to try pate from geese liver (I remember once seeing a video of a farm in France, I think, that didn’t force feed their geese and they had the most lovely fois gras). Hope you and the kids like this one!
Sep 30, 2014 @ 22:06:10
I use bone broth or chicken stock for liquid to maximise the WAPFness 🙂 And back in Ukraine we used to put sour cream into chicken livers. Love the cling film and sliceable idea!
Oct 02, 2014 @ 16:01:40
Those are great ideas, both the broth and sour cream!
Jun 08, 2015 @ 00:08:26
I am a Ukrainian too:) I love coming across other Ukrainians;)
Oct 02, 2014 @ 06:53:50
I have never liked pate, I have tried SO many recipes but this one looks so different. I will have to give it another whirl.
Oct 02, 2014 @ 16:02:24
I hope it works! Enough allspice really does change the taste!
Oct 05, 2014 @ 19:13:24
Oh, I love chicken liver in any form (fried, sautéed, rumaki), Naomi, but especially pate! This looks like a great recipe and I can’t wait to try it. Thanks so much for sharing it on Gluten-Free Wednesdays! 🙂
Shirley
Oct 06, 2014 @ 08:07:02
Never heard of rumaki befoe, looks delicious! Hope you like the recipe, thanks for hosting 🙂
Nov 21, 2014 @ 20:59:54
Your page is amazing!!!! I tried your pate recipe using lamb liver and, even with all your tricks, is still too strong flavor 🙁 I did chicken liver before with a slightly different recipe and it worked much better. Have you noticed a difference in taste between chicken, lamb and beef liver?
Nov 21, 2014 @ 21:56:29
Yes, chicken liver is much milder than beef liver, and I assume lamb. Sorry it didn’t work for you. It also makes a difference how fresh the livers are (if they start to age a bit they get stronger too) and how old the animal was (the older the animal, the stronger the flavour). Sometimes it takes a while to accustom yourself to the flavour. Keep trying and you’ll get used to it! 🙂 Glad you like the site, thanks!
Dec 21, 2014 @ 06:39:29
I just whipped this up tonight, and it is FANTASTIC!!! The allspice really does the trick. I made one change – I added about 2 slices of cooked bacon, chopped, and used 1/2 butter and 1/2 bacon fat, because, you know, bacon….
I will be using some of this in my Beef Wellington I am making for Christmas Eve, and the rest will be devoured with crackers – YUM! Thanks so much for posting the recipe!
Dec 21, 2014 @ 11:18:39
So glad you like it! Bacon, of course, is a great addition to almost any dish.
Thanks so much for coming back and commenting! Have a wonderful Christmas, and enjoy the pate with it!
Jan 05, 2015 @ 03:08:56
Thank you for posting such a lovely recipe! I grew up eating chicken liver pate so as an adult, I want to branch out to beef liver. I’m afraid I may have overdone it on the allspice as I didn’t have any freshly ground available and I also had a little over 16 ounces of liver. Here’s hoping the allspice flavor mellows out once it chills.
Jan 05, 2015 @ 11:44:10
That’s awesome that you grew up eating chicken liver pate! Beef liver is stronger, I hope the flavours meld perfectly.
Jan 17, 2015 @ 00:02:43
I very seldom leave a comment any where, but I just finished making this pate with beef liver. It is fantastic! I am so happy to have found this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing, the allspice really does make a huge difference. Have you ever tried freezing this pate? I’ve frozen chicken liver pate with good results. At the rate I’m sampling this though, I may not need to freeze any!
Jan 19, 2015 @ 10:28:55
Eileen, thanks so much for writing and letting me know! It’s always great to get good feedback 🙂 I haven’t tried freezing it, because we eat it too quickly, but it should work.
Feb 02, 2015 @ 00:29:01
I love all liver: calf, beef, chicken, duck, goose, pork, lamb, monkfish, etc. I love allspice. I personally want my pate to taste like liver so I don’t use allspice in my liver pates. However, I made a pork kidney pate once and used nutmeg. Allspice would’ve worked also. It was a hit! This is a good recipe. Right now I have way over a pound of pork liver in the freezer wondering what I want to do with it. To pate or not to pate…that is the question…Lol! Thanks for posting!!!! The mo’ offal, the mo’ betta!!! :p
Feb 02, 2015 @ 11:15:13
Monkfish liver, sounds exotic! Awesome that you like the taste of liver. Kidney pate sounds great! Another dish I like to make with liver is marinate it in garlic, ginger, soy sauce and just a tad of vinegar, then dredge in in flour and fry. The frying process is kind of messy, but it’s delicious. My dad used to make tempura with it too.
Feb 20, 2015 @ 04:15:06
Attempting this right now. It looks so easy.
I made one attempt at beef liver pate before and it was awful! My cats wouldn’t even eat it. I think I overcooked the liver. I am being extra careful not to this time.
I am using mostly butter and some bacon fat.
If using powdered all-spice wouldn’t it be more concentrated than fresh? And if you are using butter, can you eliminate the cream (and use water) because there would still be some milk/cream remaining in the butter?
Feb 26, 2015 @ 01:22:39
Sorry I didn’t respond before, I’ve been offline the last two weeks. Glad that this recipe mostly worked out for you. Freshly ground allspice would have a stronger taste than bought, because the oils are fresher. You can use water as a liquid, whether using butter or ghee, but I don’t think that the amount of milk protein taken out of the butter to make ghee would make a substantial cream substitute.
Feb 21, 2015 @ 05:55:03
Took some for lunch today. Totally grossed out my coworkers! lol.
I really like it. The first bite had a major liver taste to it, but after that it was good.
Prior to that, I had only tried it warmed before putting it in the container.
Nobody will share it with me though. 🙁
Oh well. More for me!
I will try it with a milder liver next time, such as pork or chicken livers.
I made it with beef.
Feb 26, 2015 @ 01:23:44
They missed out! 🙂
Feb 23, 2015 @ 05:38:03
Wow…. This is absolutely delicious. I was amazed that I could add so much allspice but not be able to pick it out in the finished taste. All the flavors just melded perfectly.
Feb 26, 2015 @ 01:24:09
So glad you liked it!
Mar 09, 2015 @ 06:55:48
Thank you for your posting of this recipe, our family is gluten and dairy free and your take on this inspired me to try pate with the liver I had from one of our cows. Just finished and tasted it warm and it is delicious. Can’t wait wait to try it on toast! Now for steak and kidney pudding and braised hearts!
Mar 09, 2015 @ 17:19:42
You’re welcome! Thanks so much for letting me know. I do have a recipe for a heart curry that is quite delicious, if I do say so myself.
Apr 13, 2015 @ 02:38:58
looks good. I am and always have been a lover of liver. I am also prone to anemia so this is a good thing. Right now I have several pounds of good wholesome liver, some lamb and some beef, in the freezer. I made one batch of pate just from general principles. It tasted disgusting, even to a liver lover. Then I added some melted butter. Instant deliciousness, much like storebought Braunschweiger. It froze well too. Will make a batch and freeze it in smallish packages as soon as I get some cream.
Apr 14, 2015 @ 11:39:41
Butter makes everything better 🙂 Enjoy the beef liver pate!
Apr 29, 2015 @ 02:55:29
I just pinned this on pinterest, little knowing it was the brilliant and creative Naomi!! We just butchered a goat today, so I’m searching for liver pate recipes. This might just fill the bill. Thank you my dear! (Your photography is so gorgeous, btw)
Apr 29, 2015 @ 10:17:45
That’s so funny! Thank you – I think this is the best liver pate recipe ever, but then I may be a little biased 🙂 The allspice does make a big difference though. Enjoy it!
May 21, 2015 @ 05:15:36
I like liver fairly well but my family not so much. We eat it anyway because it is good for us. I have never tried a pate before but have been wanting to. Your recipe sounds like it will work well for us. I am looking forward to trying it.
May 21, 2015 @ 08:42:49
I hope you like it!
Jun 22, 2015 @ 22:51:31
Does this recipe work with beef kidney as well?
Jun 24, 2015 @ 11:40:48
Hmm, I’ve never tried it with kidney, and to be honest I don’t know if it would work, as kidney is quite a bit firmer than liver.
Jul 14, 2015 @ 10:19:48
And can u freeze this? If i am going to be making a 1/2 lb i would like to be able to freeze it for my son. Thanks. Nervous to make it but my 15 m old needs more iron. And what do u use for allspice in slovakia. I am in czech rep. And i dont know what is the equivalent ?
Jul 14, 2015 @ 13:15:20
Yes, you can freeze it. Allspice, in Slovak, is Nove Korenie. Hope you and your son like it!
Jul 15, 2015 @ 10:55:57
Ah so new spice… Thanks we are going to austria for 2 weeks and then i try it. I am just nervous because i have an extreme aversion to meat… But i cannot let that get in the way of my sons health!
Jul 15, 2015 @ 12:05:38
Is the aversion to meat due to the texture? Meat spreads might be a good way to go. I have a recipe for tongue spread as well.
Aug 09, 2015 @ 11:52:56
Thank you for a great recipe! Tried it with both allspice and five-spice. Works perfectly well and is a big hit for both dad and baby. Would it be ok if I share your web link of this wonderful beef liver recipe on my blog? Cheers, Ann
Aug 10, 2015 @ 11:01:13
Hi Ann,
So glad you all enjoyed the recipe! Yes, I’d be honoured if you shared the link (just not the actual recipe please).
Aug 25, 2015 @ 23:03:17
I just finished making this. Wow. It’s delicious and not liver-y tasting at all! I forgot to add the cream in and then decided it didn’t even need it. Although, I did add an extra tablespoon of butter (to use up what I had left).
I used 1.5 teaspoon powdered allspice. What I did was cook it in the butter for a bit to release its oils, so I didn’t need to use more than what was called for in the recipe.
Thank you so much!
Aug 26, 2015 @ 00:16:25
So glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Aug 31, 2015 @ 20:47:27
I made this with zebra liver earlier today for spuds tonight. It was still warm and really tasted AMAZING! I made a double batch and will save the rest for the weekend with crackers, can’t wait! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
Sep 02, 2015 @ 12:40:23
Wow, zebra liver! Sounds so exotic! Do you hunt it or buy it? Glad you enjoyed it.
Oct 23, 2015 @ 14:34:44
We hunted it on our game farm in South Africa. Abou6 to make it again!
Oct 11, 2015 @ 03:18:35
I’m eating this right now, freshly made. It’s great! I used already ground allspice, and ended up using 3 1/2 tsp.
Oct 12, 2015 @ 21:59:55
I’m so glad you like it! I think the perfect amount of allspice depends on the allspice and the person tasting it. Happy eating!
Mar 16, 2018 @ 16:17:36
I’m generally against hunting game – However, if people EAT their game and especially if they try to use as much as possible of the carcass, then for me that justifies it. I think what I really hate is the trophy hunting part of it, or people who just kill to display the head and waste the rest of the animal.
Mar 19, 2018 @ 14:18:03
For me, eating the whole animal whether hunted or domestically raised is important. It shows respect for the life of the animal, has nutritional value, and is environmentally considerate. People sometimes have an image of hunters as rich trophy hunters who are only interested in the macho aspect of it, but in my experience hunters are people who enjoy the outdoors and have an interest in preserving wildlife.
Oct 14, 2015 @ 22:15:01
I once read to soak the liver in buttermilk. I think this is supposed to make it more palatable. Have you any experience with this?
Oct 19, 2015 @ 11:28:00
I’ve soaked liver in milk, for the same purpose (although not for this recipe). It does help to some extent.
Oct 20, 2015 @ 01:41:01
I had leftovers from liver and onions. Thanks to your recipe I won’t waste a thing….I hope… Pate` is chilling and will be served tomorrow.
Oct 20, 2015 @ 18:34:13
Nice!
Feb 02, 2016 @ 08:09:02
How long does this keep in the refrigerator? Recipe sounds like a great use of liver. Haven’t tried it yet but do love my offal!
Feb 04, 2016 @ 12:35:41
I’ve never tested how long it lasts, it always gets eaten up, but I’d guess a week minimum. Yay for offal 🙂
Feb 12, 2016 @ 05:21:25
I just made this but had a hard time getting it blended because it’s so dry. I ended up adding some water to it. Is there a secret I’m missing out on?
Feb 15, 2016 @ 09:55:15
Did you include all the fat included, even the fat that you cooked the liver in? Did you cook the livers long or short – the longer they cook the drier they will be. Even then, sometimes I add some cream or water to it.
Feb 18, 2016 @ 20:34:06
ok, I am convinced – I’m going to make this with a beef liver that I saved in the freezer for our baby. I have never ever liked liver, but I’m an adventurous eater, so I’m going to give it a try!!
Feb 24, 2016 @ 10:30:37
Hope you liked it!
Mar 02, 2016 @ 15:27:47
I tried this recipe and was very pleasantly surprised. We had a cow butchered and ended up with all the liver. I have never made beef liver so I first tried liver and onions but the texture was hard to stomach and my husband barely choked it down. I found this recipe I thought it would fix the texture issue. I loved it! My husband nodded in appreciation to my culinary endeavors but told me that I could enjoy it by myself. I tweak the recipe only slightly by doubling the garlic (I can’t taste garlic anymore i eat too much) and added 1/2 teaspoon extra of ground allspice. The extra allspice was probably a mistake since it ended up masking a lot of the nice liver flavor. I thought that it tasted a lot like Braunschweiger. I think the next time I make this I will prepare bacon and throw it into the blender too to give it that extra layer. Bacon has never made anything worse!
Mar 02, 2016 @ 23:23:56
I’m glad you like it! It’s definitely my favourite way of eating beef liver (although my husband has the same response as yours 🙂 ) Bacon can only improve dishes!
Mar 25, 2016 @ 03:31:41
I’m planning to make this recipe for Easter using lamb liver.
Could you please send me your allspice recipe…I can’t seem to find
it in your recipes.
Thanks, Sue
Mar 28, 2016 @ 03:16:39
Allspice is an actual spice, no recipe involved. Check the spice section of your grocery store. Hope you find it!
Jul 25, 2016 @ 23:53:20
Why would i use a liver recipe thats trying to hide the liver?
Jul 27, 2016 @ 18:36:36
It’s definitely not trying to hide the liver, there is nowhere for it to hide. The recipe does mask a certain liver taste that is especially strong in beef liver that many people find disagreeable. But many, like myself, want to eat liver for nutritional benefits as well as using all the parts of the animal.
If you like the taste of beef liver, then by all means leave out the allspice and enjoy!
Sep 15, 2016 @ 02:53:18
Just wanted you to know that I have another package of lamb liver in my fridge, pulled from the freezer, because my 5-year-old has requested this recipe again. My kids, ages 1, 3, and 5 love this stuff warm. In case it is helpful to anyone else, we do not care for it chilled. I always gently re-heat it before eating leftovers. Thank you so much for a great recipe! We get extra lamb liver free from our lamb purchase, because the farmer has many packages that other customers do not want included when they buy their whole or half lambs.
Sep 16, 2016 @ 11:11:21
Thank you for letting me know – I’m always pleased to hear that somebody likes liver through this recipe, especially children. We like it warm too. So great that you can get extra liver because other people don’t want it!
Nov 01, 2016 @ 08:36:38
Having tried lamb liver with onions and bacon this morning, and finding I could not eat it without gagging (sorry!!!) I then did this pate with the rest. It’s awesome!!! I’ll give up trying to eat it any other way 🙂
Nov 01, 2016 @ 11:21:44
I’m so glad that the pate made liver palatable for you! Frying liver is tricky so that it’s not hard or rubbery or grainy. Thanks for letting me know!
Feb 13, 2018 @ 01:34:12
Hi Naomi, the pate I just made is a bit grainy (small rubbery bits). Processed it for about 5 mins bit still has tiny gritty bits. Had I cooked the liver too long? I was worried about it not being cooked long enough and made sure there were no pink bits left at all.
Feb 16, 2018 @ 10:58:46
Liver has veins going throughout it that need to be cut out first for a completely smooth pate. You can see them as channels in the raw liver. And the liver can still be pinkish – the longer you cook it the drier and harder it will be.
Nov 26, 2016 @ 08:51:33
A delicious recipe, Naomi! Thank you for sharing. I’d recommend adding 1/8 tsp ground mace (or nutmeg) toward the end of liver cooking just as a finishing spice. I’d love to see your cooking videos – do you have any online?
Nov 26, 2016 @ 19:50:27
Thanks so much. Nutmeg is delicious in it too. Funny you mention videos – I don’t have any videos online yet but I’ve been thinking about it. What kind of videos would you like to see, what would be helpful?
Nov 27, 2016 @ 23:03:06
I just made your liver pate and it is wonderful! Thank you for the recipe, I am trying to eat liver once a week and this is an excellent variation. As a child, I loved eating “liver sausage” & butter sandwiches. Now I get to enjoy this healthy version on organic Mary’s Gone Crackers.
I added a little Worcestershire sauce, and with the allspice, it’s delicious.
Nov 28, 2016 @ 08:38:20
So glad you like it! I enjoyed liverwurst as a kid too. Nice to hear the variation.
Dec 19, 2016 @ 06:24:18
I have made this several times now and really enjoy it, though I’m not usually a fan of liver. I’ve always used veal liver. This time my husband brought me home beef liver and I had a beef heart to use, so I tripled the recipe cooking the heart the same way as the liver. I thinned it with extra cream in the vitamix, then poured it through a sieve. It was mousse-like and SO good.
Dec 19, 2016 @ 10:07:43
I’m so glad you like it! That sounds like a great idea with the heart, I’ll have to try it. Yay organs! 🙂
Jan 29, 2017 @ 15:51:09
Hi Naomi, I made this less than an hour ago and goodness me it was the easiest and tastiest pate to make. No more shop bought for me. Thank you 🙂 x
Jan 30, 2017 @ 14:33:28
So glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Feb 05, 2017 @ 09:38:22
this is so good! i made this because i hate alcohol, so never have any around the house. every other recipe needs wine or brandy or whatever other booze.
i’m jsut sad that with all the onions and garlic, i can’t share it with my dogs…. but they can have the raw stuff. so it’s not too disapointing for them.
Feb 05, 2017 @ 19:11:31
So glad you like it! I’ve never even tried it with alcohol. I think the dogs would prefer it plain and raw 🙂
Mar 26, 2017 @ 12:23:16
This is a great recipe! I did not have allspice or cream, so substituted creamed coconut and morrocan Dukkah. Had to blend Dukkah really well because some of the mix is quite hard but the little flecks of seed and spice are to my liking. Will get the allspice next time. I remember it in my mother’s kitchen for stroganoff.Thanks for getting the creative juices going.
Mar 27, 2017 @ 10:03:18
Great, I’m so glad it worked out for you!
Jul 20, 2017 @ 16:11:56
Naomi, do you think this would work with beef suet? Im a butcher and trying to enjoy as much of each animal as i can.
Jul 22, 2017 @ 13:14:16
Hmmm, beef suet would certainly add the fat factor, but I’m not sure if it wouldn’t be too strong. I guess the only way to find out is to try a small batch.
My favourite way of having suet is old fashioned mincemeat pies, the ones with minced beef and lots of suet in it.
Jul 26, 2017 @ 16:52:16
Your ingredients list 2 tsp heavy cream…surely you meant 2 tbsp! I used 2 tbsp cream, using beef liver, and it was superb. I also chopped the liver and onion into pate by hand using a dough chopper for a more ‘rustic’ pate with grainier texture. About ten minutes to get it to the pate I wanted. It worked great (delicious) … if you hand chop it’s important to remove membrane and de-vein the liver too or you’ll get the occassional chewy bit. Great super simple recipe thanks. I’ve got nothing to do with Slovakia but if the food’s like this I may make a trip ;).
Jul 26, 2017 @ 17:59:03
I was using a high speed blender, so if you were using a hand dough chopper you would probably need a bit more liquid. Glad you liked it! Yes, removing the membrane and de-veining are important (although sometimes I get lazy about the veins…and then regret my laziness). Meat pastes are a big part of Slovak food 🙂
Sep 05, 2017 @ 22:20:32
This is a great recipe! I could not find fresh allspice. There was pre-ground. I had to use about 4 table spoons. Next time I might use far more. It would go so nice on dark rye bread which I couldn’t find anyplace this time. I noticed the more allspice, the less liver taste. I have never cared much for organ meats. I heard my grandmother made the BEST liver and onions. I would drown it in Heinz 57 sauce and she would bribe us with her blueberry cobler if we would eat it all! lol But since liver is so nutritious and low fat, I decided to try this. Thanks!
Sep 07, 2017 @ 09:24:31
Ground allspice works too, just not as strong. Glad you like it! My parents used to make liver tempura and I would drown it in ketchup. 🙂 Which reminds me of a few more liver recipes that I should get up here! Glad you liked it!
Sep 12, 2017 @ 04:09:17
Thank you. I have been trying to eat liver and the basis of this recipe is the closest thing to getting liver into my body that I have tried. I tried chicken livers and that was a flop. I ended up trying to fill these little pill cases with the chicken liver I cooked but ended up gagging on while making them because of the smell. I think they must have been bad.
Then I had the best cook in town make her liver and onions, she uses cinnamon and black pepper- a lot of both. The lamb liver was very fresh and I thought it actually tasted good, fresh out of the hot pan. However, when I got home and got around to eating it again hours later, it tasted too heavy for me. Not gamey, just very sweet and intense ( I guess what it would taste like to eat fat, not sure). When it was freshly cooked it reminded me of the liver I used to love as a child.
So, I still had the lamb liver she had cooked. I washed the onions off of it and froze them into pill sized chunks…tried to swallow several a day, but sometimes they would get stuck and I could taste that strong taste if (in the process of reswallowing it) it took too long sitting on my tongue.
So then I tried to blend a couple of tablespoons of liver with equal amounts of frozen blueberries, lemon essence and honey. It did not taste good, so I swallowed spoonfuls down. It was fast and if I banged my hand on the table when I tried to swallow, I was able to get them down fast. I tried the same thing but used lime juice and fresh ginger…and that was not good. Thats when I came across your blog. We use allspice a lot and it does mask taste very well so I added half a teaspoon or so into my mini smoothie and it did not taste good….but it did NOT taste livery. AT ALL. So today, I took out two tablespoons of frozen pill sized pieces and mashed them in a mortal and added a little butter and a teaspoon of allspice. I actually thought it was decent to say the least, not bad at all. It reminds me of this bologna we ate growing up in the Middle East that had pieces of pistachios in it. I actually made a sandwich out of it with a slice of smoked cheese in pita bread and was looking forward to enjoying it. I got half way through and decided I would rather just swallow it, but not because of the liver taste just because I didnt like eating mashed “meat”. But, I had no need to chew gum or drink water while I was eating it. I ended up taking the pate out and making them into raisin size pieces and swallowed them with water while I surfed the web. No gagging, no bad after taste, even with burping.
My conclusion, I didnt follow the recipe as stated, but I think the allspice is the key, add as much as you want…allspice has awesome benefits and great nutritional value, google it.
Also, Ive never had pate before this but the fact that I was able to actually get excited about making it into a sandwich speaks wonders. I think you could roll these into balls and then roll roughly chopped pistachios on the outside and ppl who like pate are going to think its amazing.
Where from here…Im going to process the rest of what I have in the freezer this way, the rasin piece idea mainly because its already flavored with onion and pepper from my friends first attempt at making it for me. However, for those of you wanting to incorporate cooked liver into smoothies I think this might work by making a fall type smoothie. Allspice tastes like a mix of pumpkin spice and if you cooked it with coconut oil and allspice and then blended it and added more allspice….it would be interresting to see what it would taste like in a pumpkin smoothie. Also for those of you incorporating it into ground beef, i would cook it first, food process with allspice and then add it to the ground beef.
Sory so long but I wanted others to know this recipe has a solid foundation with the allspice. If shes right about the allspice, and she IS….this is probably the best pate recipe.
Sep 12, 2017 @ 09:39:47
Wow, that is dedication to trying to get liver down! I couldn’t help giggling at the idea of someone banging their head on the table to swallow a spoonful of liver. I’m glad the allspice made it palatable! Maybe you could try making the pate recipe and freezing it in a silicone mold with small squares (for candy, I think), the pate is soft enough that I think you could still cut it into pill sizes to swallow with water/juice. Then you just would make the pate once but it would keep for daily use.
I love the idea of pistachios with the pate – never even occurred to me. I’ve got some pate just waiting to be rolled in pistachios 🙂
Thanks so much for the testimony and feedback!
Sep 12, 2017 @ 04:32:55
You know, you could probably make this into a great chopped liver dish with chunks of pumpkin. There is an Afghan dish where they have ground beef served ontop of sugared pumpkin chunks and driggle a mint yogurt sauce ontop. It looks really pretty, if you put enough allspice in the liver people might actually like the dish and think its ground beef. I think cloves and cinnamin would be good too. For those that like liver.
Sep 12, 2017 @ 09:40:33
That Afghan dish sounds amazing! Do you know what it is called?
Sep 13, 2017 @ 21:30:59
Afghan Pumpkin. I tried an online recipe but it was not like the restuarant at all. Kadoo Bowrani? Not sure about the spelling, just google Afghan pumpkin.
Sep 25, 2017 @ 04:59:57
My crew doesn’t care for allspice. Can you taste the allspice in the recipe?
Oct 24, 2018 @ 13:53:50
No, I can’t taste it, it just cancels the liver taste.
Sep 25, 2017 @ 05:00:44
My crew doesn’t care for allspice. Can you taste the allspice in the recipe?
Sep 26, 2017 @ 12:19:53
I can’t really taste the allspice, the spice and the liver taste cancel each other out, but then I like allspice so I might not have particularly noticed the taste. Try putting just a bit in, taste, and increase the amount as needed.
Nov 05, 2017 @ 03:54:10
I was very skeptical, but this is absolutely delicious!
Nov 09, 2017 @ 15:13:14
I’m glad it surpassed your expectations!
Nov 10, 2017 @ 21:18:39
Hi, just made your liver pate……..simple and absolutely delicious!!!!
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Due to a recent health problem I am using foods to add serious amounts of
iron to my diet…..liver is best for that and the pate is perfect for a quick healthy snack.
Nov 11, 2017 @ 18:51:59
I’m so glad the recipe can help you regain your health. Isn’t it great when it’s tasty too? Makes it so much easier. Happy liver eating!
Nov 10, 2017 @ 21:20:19
…..I used very fresh calves liver.
Nov 14, 2017 @ 03:37:34
I’ve always loved commercial fine liverwurst – after butchering our first sheep I’m glad I kept the livers and then found this recipe! I wasn’t sure I had, well, the guts to ever make it myself but this recipe was great for a liver beginner. Simple recipe and really lovely product. Both small kids liked it in small quantity.
Nov 14, 2017 @ 10:41:58
I’m so glad this worked out for you. Congrats on butchering your first sheep! I love the courage to try new lifestyles and foods.
Dec 12, 2017 @ 20:34:26
I made goat liver and onions with brown gravy for dinner and used what was left over to make your pate recipe. It was fantastic! I never guessed allspice would be the key. There was enough to share with our Albanian neighbors who were very impressed. We now have a delicious dish to add to our Sunday football snack spread…
Well Done!
Dec 13, 2017 @ 14:07:30
I’m so glad you and your neighbours enjoyed it. I’m curious why the allspice works so well – I don’t know but I’m glad it does!
Feb 09, 2018 @ 22:59:12
Yum! I’m eating warm paté with celery sticks as I type.
I actually love liver and the liver from the grass-fed cow I purchased is so tender, sweet, and mild, so I went easy on the allspice so as not to mask the livery deliciousness too much, used bone broth I’d just made, and I added an avocado for extra creaminess. So simple and delicious. Thank you.
Feb 10, 2018 @ 11:10:44
That’s so great, that you like the liver taste. Adding an avocado is a brilliant idea. Thanks for letting me know!
Feb 17, 2018 @ 17:49:41
Hello there, this is the easiest recipe I’ve seen for liver, but I’m just wondering if it can be done without onions…? I’ve got some fennel, would this be ok? I’ve had a life long hatred of onions….I’m so not really keen on cooking them in anything! Thank yo
Feb 17, 2018 @ 21:06:36
You can certainly try to make it without onions but you will lose some of the creaminess, sweetness and body. By fennel, do you mean fresh fennel? I’ve only used fresh fennel a couple times, so I couldn’t tell you how it will work. The best thing is to try a little batch and make adjustments on the next batch until you have something you love 🙂
Feb 18, 2018 @ 10:38:55
Hello Naomi, thanks for your reply, my French in laws suggested carottes instead, I gave it a go. I also threw in a few dates, to my surprise this morning my 6 & 8 year old can’t get enough of it! Its just not as beautiful looking as yours, its not dark brown…a kind of medium beige brown…. Thank you so much for the recipes its definitely the easiest I’ve ever seen. A lovely day to you!
Feb 22, 2018 @ 12:01:24
Carrots, I never would have thought of it but great idea! Isn’t it wonderful when kids love liver? 🙂 Glad you worked out a version without onions that is still tasty. Thanks for letting me know and maybe I’ll try it with carrots next time.
Jul 28, 2018 @ 04:14:36
I made it, it tastes delicious but I dont know what I did wrong because it looks awful, dark grey sludgy look, and no one else will even try it.
Aug 21, 2018 @ 11:28:19
If you put it in the fridge it becomes a solid due to all the butter, but it does stay gray. A few sprigs of parsley might make it look better.
Aug 22, 2018 @ 12:17:07
Hi Naomi.
The next one I made was better I think browned the onions and liver too much
Sep 16, 2018 @ 20:30:12
Unashamed liver lover here. I can’t wait to try your version. The seasonings are different from what I usually use. On a different note, in the midwest of the US, we grill just about everything. Grilled liver takes no time (don’t want to over cook it) and is an amazing way to enjoy this health food. If I do anything to it before grilling it might be to baste with a little melted butter. It isn’t necessary but does add a little something to it. BTW, my son claims to not like liver. If I grill it, he will stand there and eat piece after piece as I take it off the grill. He’s 13 and hasn’t caught on that it’s liver that he’s eating. I won’t tell if you won’t.
Sep 17, 2018 @ 09:13:28
What kind of seasonings do you usually use with liver?
I never even thought of grilling liver – I’m going to have to give that a try. I’ll keep your secret, and hopefully it works for my kids too!
Sep 17, 2018 @ 14:59:27
I actually don’t season it when I grill it. I may or may not baste it with a bit of melted butter and I can’t emphasize enough that it cooks very quickly. You don’t want shoe leather! My mother always served liver with spring onions or scallions or some variety of sweet onion slices. I still love the freshness of that along side my liver.
Nov 30, 2018 @ 04:44:39
You are life saver! I’ve only ever made chicken liver pate, so when I got some beef liver, I prepared it the same way. It tasted like a cow smells. The allspice made all the difference. Thank you!!
Dec 03, 2018 @ 15:20:57
I’m so glad it made all the difference! Enjoy your beef liver pate!