Home made duck liver Pate

[racefan]

As promised on another thread I would like to share this mega easy process of making one of most delicious pate's I have ever eaten.

I have tried to buy good liver pate in Thailand and with the possible exception of a very expensive pack in Carrefour I have had no success so decided to try my own assisted with a receipe from the internet.

The receipe I chose included the use of brandy, but after making the first batch I experimented with a batch made with red wine and another with Sang Som.

All were delicious but I think the brandy batch just had the edge

For a portion that will last 2 or 3 days you will need:-

About 350grams of duck (or chicken) livers.
Approx 70 grams of butter. (use decent butter not the crap Thai stuff that leaves a nasty after taste)
4 large cloves of garlic crushed and finely chopped.
4 tablespoons of brandy/red wine/sang som
1 Level teaspoon of salt
2 level teaspoons of black pepper.
3 teaspoons of dried thyme.

See pic.


The livers I bought pre packed from Tesco Lotus so they were already cleaned of all fat and sinew but if you buy from the local market make sure you trim off all fat and stringy bits first.

Step1
Lay the livers in an oven proof dish and pour the chosen alcohol over them and add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper.

This is the brandy version



And this the red wine version



I actually added a bit too much wine on this batch so drained some off before blending as otherwise it would have been too runny.
Step 2.
Pre heat your oven to 160 degs and lay the dish in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes.


Step3
After 15 minutes turn the livers over. If the dish looks a bit dry you can add a little more alcohol but dont overdo it.


Step 4
Put back in the oven for a further 15 mins then remove from the oven and add the butter.

30 minutes total cooking time is ample otherwise the livers will get too hard


Step 5
Then transfer everything to a blender and using the pulse function blitz them down to a smooth pate wich should look like this



Step 6
Spoon out the pate into small dishes or pots such as this one you can buy for about 15 baht



This is about 100 grams worth so you will get 3 pots per batch which you can bung in the fridge after covering in tin foil.

I have since bought some 5 baht plastic pots with screw tops at the local market which hold 100 grams comfortably.

If you can wait long enough, wait until the pate has firmed up in the fridge before lashing it on some fresh bread or toast like this



I guarantee that you will enjoy this pate which you can make in larger quntities as it freezes very well.

I recommend taking the pate out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you eat it to allow it to soften a bit thus making it smoother and in my opinion better tasting.

You can experiment with different herbs and types of liver for future batches

Pour yourself a large red wine or a beer and enjoy.

.

[Katana]

Good work.

I might try some myself.

what do you think the red wine and sangsome styles were missing ?

Thanks
mark

[racefan]

Good work.

I might try some myself.

what do you think the red wine and sangsome styles were missing ?

Thanks
mark

Not missing anything as such but the flavour of the brandy seemed to to come through a bit better although the red wine version was very distinctive and made the pate a bit darker.

I think the alcohol in any form is essential as I imagine poaching the livers in water would be a bit bland.

Give it a go it is so easy.

[Bobcock]

Not for one minute has it ever occured to me to make my own pate.....until now.....

Top thread.

[English Noodles]

Stick some bacon and some boiled eggs in the mix too, if you add bacon, then you can cut down on the amount of butter you add, in fact if you add plenty of bacon, then no need to add butter at all.

I want to make some but my blender is foked.

[Bobcock]

Shit....I don't have a blender, I'll probably have to deal with a coarser version....

[Norton]

Missus is enthused. She's off to buy liver now. Will have the taste test tomorrow.

[jandajoy]

Stick some bacon and some boiled eggs in the mix too, if you add bacon, then you can cut down on the amount of butter you add, in fact if you add plenty of bacon, then no need to add butter at all.

Agreed about the bacon but not sure about the egg.

[somtamslap]

Will have the taste test tomorrow.

I'll be giving it a go tomorrow too...superb stuff...the mouth is a watering..

[Davis Knowlton]

Wife is off to the market. She is currently enrolled in a six-month gourmet cooking class at one of the local colleges, so this was a very timely thread. I doubt she will eat it, as she is not a big pate fan, but I'll handle that part. Green sent.

[Humbert]

Looks mouthwatering.
Nice effort!

[English Noodles]

Do you think it will work without blending it? Could maybe put it in a bag and just try to mush it up. I may give it a try.

Shit....I don't have a blender, I'll probably have to deal with a coarser version....

[daveboy]

That looks good might give it a whirl.

[peterpan]

Looks good RF, I do them, but just pan fry the livers in a little alcohol and butter, don't overcook and in fact the reason for pan frying is so that I can cook them until just pink in the centre.
I find in the oven its a little hard to control the degree of doneness.

[Jet Gorgon]

Do you think it will work without blending it? Could maybe put it in a bag and just try to mush it up. I may give it a try.

Shit....I don't have a blender, I'll probably have to deal with a coarser version....

Sure. It's called French farmer's/country pâté if I remember correctly. No blenders in the old days and it is nice with some chunks in it (often found in Laos). Chop some of the meat into small chumks and mince about half with two knives. Also finely mince the garlic, bacon and egg. Coarser but yummy. Someone else did a pâté thread here quite awhile back. That spread was yummy.

[Perota]

Missus is enthused. She's off to buy liver now. Will have the taste test tomorrow.

Usually it's my dogs who are enthused ...

I hope my neighbors are not reading this. One gave us liver pate, the other home made ham ... on the positive side, my dogs are still alive ...

[billy the kid]

guys, that looks pretty fokin disg
way too much animal .

[racefan]

guys, that looks pretty fokin disg
way too much animal .

Whatever floats your boat.

I agree that too much offal isn't everyones cup of tea but everyone is different in their tastes.

Today the wifes brother in law who sells pork in the market gave me about 2 kilos of pigs liver so I have just made a large batch of pate with that using brandy.

Being a firmer liver it has blended down a bit coarser and has a slightly richer flavour but still exremely nice.

After trimming I have about 1.5 kilos of pate for the cost of a few splashes of brandy and about 120 grams of butter and 30 minutes of electricity.

I will put it in the freezer as I am still working my way through the first batches.

Thanks for the tips about using bacon. I was thinking of trying a coarser terrine style pate so will give that a go.

For those without a blender, I was looking at some in Lotus yesterday and you can buy them for as low as about 400 baht, obviously a basic made in China one but mine was only about 500 baht 3 years ago and is still going strong.

Thanks for the green by the way. Much appreciated.

[kingwilly]

awesome thread mate. cheers and thanks.

[Davis Knowlton]

Racefan: You are now famous in the Philippines. Wife featured your recipe (with credit to your Nik) in her gourmet cooking class yesterday. They are making it today. Reviews will follow. Cheers.

[Begbie]

Mouth watering, thanks.

[patsycat]

I don't have a blender either, was thinking mashing up with a couple of forks would do the trick. I much prefer the country style terrine to the smooth cat food like paté. And no, he wouldn't eat it - we need to have at least one teetotal person in this house. And it's not gonna be me.

Maybe throw in some peppercorns... or capers...

[English Noodles]

I don't have a blender either, was thinking mashing up with a couple of forks would do the trick.

I'm going to make some tomorrow, I'm planning to use a pestle and mortar instead of a blender, changing the recipe somewhat also. Adding bacon, egg, onion and mushrooms, and thinking about using double cream instead of butter.

Will post the results here.

[kingwilly]

I'd be concerned the the double cream would make it too rich.

Rest of the ingredients sound good. I'm getting hungry.

[English Noodles]

I'd be concerned the the double cream would make it too rich.

It may well do. I will try it anyway, I think. That's if I can find double cream that doesn't cost about B200.