Chicken Liver Pate is a smooth classic French starter made with chicken livers, butter, cream, and a splash of brandy. It sounds fancy, but this recipe takes about 20 minutes of actual work, and the fridge does the rest.
It makes 6 generous portions for a fraction of the price of a shop-bought pate, and you can make it up to 3 days ahead. I make it every Christmas, and it is the first thing to disappear from the table.
Serve it with brioche and homemade red onion marmalade, and let everyone spread their own.
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You will also see this dish called Chicken Liver Parfait, especially here in the UK. The two names mostly point at the same silky spread, and I explain the difference further down the post.
Why This Recipe Works
- There is no baking, no water bath, and no special equipment. A frying pan and a food processor do all the work.
- It tastes like the smooth parfait you get in restaurants, but it is blended rather than sieved, so there is no fiddly straining.
- The capers are my little twist. Pate recipes rarely include them, but they cut through the richness beautifully.
- One batch makes 6 starters, and you can set it in individual ramekins so every guest gets their own little pot.
What is Pate?
Pâté is a French dish made by blending meat, liver, fish, or vegetables into a smooth, spreadable paste. Chicken liver pâté is the version most people make at home, because chicken livers are cheap and easy to find.
It started centuries ago in France as a way to use game meats, and over time every region developed its own versions.
The family is wide. There is chicken liver pâté, the famous foie gras made from duck or goose liver, Smoked Salmon Pâté, and vegetarian versions made with mushrooms or lentils.
Chicken Liver Parfait vs Pate
Pâté is the broader term: a smooth, spreadable paste that usually includes some kind of liver. You serve it cold with crusty bread or crackers and something sharp or sweet on the side.
A parfait is the silkiest version of the same idea. The cooked livers are traditionally pushed through a fine sieve and enriched with extra butter and cream, which is what gives restaurant parfaits their mousse-like texture. Calling a liver dish a parfait is mostly a British habit. In France, a parfait is usually a frozen dessert.
A terrine is the chunkier cousin. It is made with coarser meat or vegetables, cooked in a loaf-shaped mold, and served in slices rather than spread. My recipe sits happily between the first two names: blended until completely smooth like a parfait, but without the sieving.
How to Prepare Chicken Livers for Making Pate?
Choose fresh free-range chicken livers for the best results and give them a close look. Cut away any greenish or discolored patches, as they taste bitter, along with any excess fat or connective tissue.
Using a small sharp knife, carefully trim the fat and the stringy sinews of the chicken livers and pat dry with paper towels.
Ingredients You'll Need
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
- Chicken Liver - You can find fresh chicken livers at most supermarkets or butchers. Clean off the fat and stringy sinews before using them, as that is what keeps the pate smooth.
- Brandy - The traditional choice for pate. Port, sherry, whiskey, Grand Marnier, or red wine all work instead.
- Capers - Not a traditional pate ingredient, but I never skip them. Rinse them first if you find them too salty.
- Shallots - Lightly caramelized shallots in butter add sweetness to the paté. A small brown onion works if you have no shallots.
- Butter - Good quality unsalted butter matters here, as it goes in twice: for browning the shallots and for blitzing the pate smooth. Take it out of the fridge ahead so it is soft.
- Heavy cream - Also sold as double cream. It softens the liver flavor and makes the texture lighter.
How to Make Chicken Liver Pate?
Once the livers are trimmed and dried, set them aside. Fry the shallots with 2 tbsps of butter in a large heavy sauté pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes, until soft and brown.
Turn the heat up to high before adding chicken livers. Cook them for a few minutes until all sides are brown but still pink inside.
Add garlic, thyme, capers, and the seasoning, and cook for another minute.
Carefully add a little brandy and cook it until it reduces to syrup consistency before taking the pan off the heat. Brandy is very flammable, especially when cooking on a gas hob so take extra care when glazing the pan.
Let the mixture cool down for 10 minutes, then pour into a food processor. Give it a quick blitz to combine, then add the rest of the soft butter and double cream (heavy cream). Blitz for two to three minutes, until completely smooth.
Line a terrine dish with cling film and transfer the pate mixture in.
Alternatively, you can divide the mixture into small bowls or ramekins. Let the pâté set in the fridge for a few hours or ideally overnight.
Recipe Tips From the Chef
- Trim the fat and stringy sinews of the livers properly. It is a fiddly job, but it is what makes the pate smooth.
- Cook the livers fast on high heat, browned outside and still pink inside. Overcooked livers are the main reason for a grainy pate.
- Make sure the butter is soft but not melted when it goes into the blender.
- Serve the pate at room temperature. Take it out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes ahead, as it tastes better and spreads more easily.
- Blitz for a few minutes, longer than feels necessary. The extra time in the food processor is what gets you a silky texture.
- For an even finer, restaurant-style parfait texture, push the blended mixture through a fine sieve before it goes into the ramekins.
Serving Suggestions
Take the chicken liver pâté out of the refrigerator about 20-30 minutes before serving. Allowing it to come to slightly below room temperature enhances its flavors and makes it easier to spread.
My favorite way to serve Chicken Liver Pate is with brioche bread or Fluffy Japanese Hokkaido Milk Bread and homemade red onion marmalade.
Or you can serve it with slices of crusty bread such as Easy Sourdough Bread, Sourdough Focaccia, or toasted Bolillo bread slices.
Their crunchy texture is a good contrast to the creamy pâté. Tangy cornichons cut through the richness, and a spoonful of fig, cranberry, or apricot preserves adds a sweet note that works well with liver.
For party canapés, spread or pipe the pate onto toasted baguette rounds and top each one with a sliver of cornichon or a little marmalade. You can fill a tray in minutes.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
This is a make-ahead starter by design. Prepare it in advance, keep it covered in the fridge for up to 3 days, and just portion and serve on the day. Sealed under a thin layer of melted butter, it keeps for up to a week.
For longer storage, wrap the ramekins tightly in cling film and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and let the pate sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Either the livers were overcooked or the mixture was not blitzed long enough. Livers that cook past pink turn dry and grainy, and no amount of blending fully brings them back.
Bitterness usually comes from greenish patches left on the livers. They are stained by bile and need to be cut away before cooking, along with any sinew.
Yes. The brandy adds depth, but the pate still works without it. Leave it out and let the shallots and butter carry the flavor.
No. Foie gras is made from the fattened livers of ducks or geese and is far richer and more expensive. Chicken liver pate is the everyday version you can make at home for very little money.
Related Recipes
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Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this elegant and delicious Chicken Liver Pate as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
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Chicken Liver Pate
Ingredients
- 18 oz chicken liver (500 grams)
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 1 shallot (medium size, chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
- 2 sprigs thyme (only the leaves)
- 2 tablespoon capers
- ¼ cup brandy
- ¼ cup heavy cream (double cream)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Trim the fat and the stringy sinews of the chicken livers and pat dry.
- Put 2 tbsps of the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat.
- Add shallots and cook for a few minutes until soft and brown.
- Add chicken livers and cook for a few minutes until they brown the outside but are still pink inside.
- Add the garlic, thyme, capers, and seasoning, and cook for another minute.
- Add the brandy carefully as it can flame up, especially when using a gas cooker.
- Cook the brandy until it has a syrup consistency and remove the pan from the heat, let it cool down for 10 minutes.
- Put them in a food processor when cooled down and blitz for a few seconds to combine.
- Add the remaining soft butter and heavy cream, and blitz for a few minutes until smooth.
- Spoon the pâté mixture in ramekins or in a terrine dish lined up with cling film.
- Let the pâté set in the fridge for a few hours, ideally overnight.
Notes
- Trim the fat and stringy sinews of the livers properly, and cut away any greenish patches, as they taste bitter. This is what makes the pate smooth.
- Cook the livers fast on high heat, browned outside and still pink inside. Overcooked livers are the main reason for a grainy pate.
- Make sure the butter is soft but not melted when it goes into the blender, and blitz for a few minutes for a silky texture.
- For an even finer, restaurant-style parfait texture, push the blended mixture through a fine sieve before it sets.
- The brandy can be replaced with port, sherry, whiskey, Grand Marnier, or red wine, or left out entirely.
- Brandy is very flammable, especially on a gas hob, so take extra care when it goes into the pan.
- Serve at room temperature. Take the pate out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
- Make it up to 3 days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge, or up to a week if sealed under a layer of melted butter. It also freezes for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge.
Sadie says
Yum! 😍 Came out great!
Debbie B says
I wish I could find the recipe for your red onion marmalade!
Ayla Clulee says
Debbie, Thank you so much for your 5-star review.
I don't have the recipe for the red onion marmalade on the blog yet but will make a post soon!
Stay connected!
Ayla x
Anna says
This chicken liver pate is extremely smooth and rich. It's a lovely festive starter or appetizer and tastes delicious. Thank you so much 🙂
Ayla says
Great recipe. It turned out sooo delicious, I highly recommend it.