Bacon & Liver Pâté

Two liver posts in one year?!?  I must really have a need to push your boundaries, and this time there is no conclusion to the cliff-hanger story.  Just think of it as another tasty grey spread….creamy and rich and great on a cracker.

Step outside your comfort zone in this life.

Eat Liver.

You can’t get any more powerhouse than liver.

They say liver contains more nutrients than any other food, gram for gram.  Protein, iron, folate, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin A, B-complex, CoQ10, folic acid, trace elements, ….the list goes on and on.  And on.

In this pâté the liver is cooked then pureed with no further baking.  It’s easy peasy.

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Bacon makes everything better.

Garnish with pickled onions for a sweet and sour sparkle and orange zest for another bright layer.

I first made this as an hors d’oeuvre earlier in the year, but when I whipped up this version for the post and was getting ready to take a picture I realized:

1) I had no oranges to zest, and

2) my pickled onions had been eaten.

I did, however, have a grapefruit and a whole red onion.  Being impatient to do the picture and thinking “hey this is a photo shoot they’ll never know the difference”  I used grapefruit zest and raw red onion.  The best part is that I then ate the little buddy and it was quite tasty—grapefruit zest, raw onion and all.

I may have to look into more grapefruit zest ideas.

Preachy alert: Using liver from healthy grass-fed free range animals raised without hormones or antibiotics is the only way to go.  You want low-stress liver.  Happy liver.

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Sorry about the photos.  There is no getting around the fact that this looks like putty-colored muck.  Delicious, but putty-colored.

This pâté would go well with a sparkling wine before your Holiday dinner, or as a protein packed snack after you’ve been out skiing all afternoon.   Mmmmm…visions of ABR rustic cabins and ski trails are dancing in my head.  Counting the days until we can ski all day, eat massive amounts of good food, and sleep 10 hours in the dark!

Bacon Liver Pâté with Pickled Onions and Orange Zest

Prep Time: 20 minutes  Cook Time: 15 minutes

yield: nearly 3 cups       This can be made up to two days ahead
Rinse and pat dry:

1 pound grass-fed Beef Liver

Fry in a large saute pan:

6-8 thick pieces of your favorite Bacon

When crispy, remove from pan to cool, then mince chop the cooked bacon.

Pour off and reserve some of the bacon fat and leave some in the pan.

Saute in the hot bacon fat:

1/2 cup Onion, small diced

1 Garlic clove, small diced

1 Apple, small diced

Deglaze with:

3 Tablespoons Red Wine

After a minute, remove everything from the pan.

Add a little more bacon fat and:

1 pound Beef Liver, sliced

Fry on medium heat a few minutes on each side, until it is no longer pink but before it gets tough. 

Remove from heat and let cool slightly. 

Slice into smaller pieces so it will puree easily. 

Puree in a food processor:

The Liver

2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

2 Tablespoons Butter

1 Tablespoon Fresh Rosemary, chopped, or 2 teaspoons Rosemary Pesto

1 1/2 -2 Tablespoons Fresh Thyme, chopped

1/4-1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg

Pinch of both Black Pepper and Cayenne

When smooth, remove from the food processor and mix in the Bacon.

Taste and adjust seasonings. 

Chill the pâté for a few hours or overnight. 

Serve:

• On toasted Crostini with Pickled Red Onions, Fresh Thyme and Orange Zest
• As a dip with crackers

Atop Rob Brezney’s book Pronoia.