Homemade Beef Liver Pâté Recipe with Salo and Vegetables

Name: Homemade Beef Liver Pâté Recipe with Salo and Vegetables
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Beef liver 0.5 kg; Salo (cured pork fat) 80-100 g; Carrot 1; Onion 1; A piece of celery root 1; Butter 50-100 g; Salt, black pepper, bay leaf, coriander, nutmeg to taste

Today I decided to make liver pâté. It takes me back to deep childhood: a liver pâté sandwich. A slice of the freshest white bread spread with butter, and a whole mountain of soft, tasty liver pâté on top. As they used to say, you should always keep a piece of butter around to spread on a piece of bread. And then, after some thought, they would add: so that you have something to spread the pâté on.

I will admit, I always thought the word “pâté” came from “pasta”. But as it turns out, pasta is pasta, the noodle kind. In the past, pâté meant a forcemeat of game, all sorts of meat, liver, mushrooms and other ingredients.

It was also the name for a special round puff pastry pie with a minced meat filling, called Strasbourg pie in the days of Eugene Onegin:

Friends and friendship wearied me,
For I could not forever dine
On beefsteaks and Strasbourg pie

Here, liver pâté is a snack made from liver that is then spread on bread.

We add butter, carrot, parsley or celery root and onion to the pâté. To improve the flavor, we sometimes use dry wine instead of water.

Unfortunately, the liver pâtés sold in our stores are alarming in both taste and ingredients. Plenty of additives, E-numbers and other junk. Yet there was a time when a little jar of pâté was a treasured thing.

Meanwhile, making a good liver pâté is not hard. The snack is perfect for sandwiches on the road or for a picnic, for a quick breakfast, and even as a light lunch at work.

Making liver pâté

More with liver

Liver Cake with MushroomsSavory beef liver cake: thick liver pancakes layered with a creamy mushroom and onion filling. A festive Ukrainian appetizer, step by step with photos.

Chicken Liver PâtéHomemade chicken liver pâté braised with onion, carrot and celery, then blended with butter. A smooth, creamy spread for sandwiches that keeps in the fridge.

Eggplant Rolls with Chicken LiverFried eggplant strips rolled around a smooth chicken liver and onion filling, served with garlic sauce. A tasty make-ahead appetizer for the holiday table.

Fried Beef Liver with OnionsFried beef liver with onions: tender floured liver fried in butter, served with sumac-pickled white onion. A quick hot appetizer or main course with mash.

Chicken Liver SaladWarm chicken liver salad with ripe autumn pears and soy sauce. Quick, filling starter with an original taste. Step-by-step photo recipe.

Ingredients

10 servings

Beef liver 0.5 kg
Salo (cured pork fat) 80-100 g
Carrot 1
Onion 1
A piece of celery root 1
Butter 50-100 g
Salt, black pepper, bay leaf, coriander, nutmeg to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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The beauty of homemade pâté is that you can make a lot of it and keep it in the fridge. Then you can make yourself tasty sandwiches for several days. How do you make liver pâté? Very simply.
Wash the beef liver and remove any traces of bile and membranes. Cut the liver into strips of any size, as long as the pieces are no more than 1 cm thick. There is also an excellent liver cake recipe made with beef liver.
Remove the rind from the salo and cut it into small cubes.
Render the salo in a frying pan over medium heat until you have enough fat for frying and the salo is soft but not crispy. You can eat the resulting cracklings, or leave them in the pan, and they will end up in the pâté.
Fry the sliced liver in the pork fat you got. Fry until half done. There is no need to try for a crust or to cook the liver through. It is enough for the red juices to set.
Add the finely chopped onion, plus the carrot and celery root, chopped or better still grated on a fine grater. By the way, many people say they make it without any roots at all, or add only onion. So it is up to you.
Season with pepper and add the spices. Of the spices, freshly grated nutmeg (a knife tip), ground coriander and 1-2 bay leaves work well.
Add a little boiled water or, as friends advise, dry white wine. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat. Simmer for 30 minutes or more, until the liver and vegetables are completely soft and most of the moisture has evaporated. Then remove the lid and let almost all the remaining liquid evaporate.
When done, take the pan off the heat and let it cool to room temperature.
Pass the liver and vegetables through a meat grinder with the finest plate. For a soft, tender pâté without any lumps, it is worth pressing the liver pâté through a sieve.
Next, add more salt and pepper if you like. Mix. Add softened butter to the liver pâté and mix thoroughly. The amount of butter is entirely up to you. For 0.5 kg of liver I usually use a third of a pack or more, about 80-100 g.
Put the pâté in the fridge and let it chill well.
The pâté can be eaten as a snack, or as a dish of its own, served with a boiled egg on the side. Spoon it into a small mold or onto a plate and garnish with herbs and pomegranate seeds.
It is delicious spread on a slice of fresh white bread with butter and pâté. Liver pâté also makes wonderful canapés on toasted bread or toasted baguette, as a buffet snack.