Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
The acquisition of a pack of pigs liver for 34p on yellow sticker last weekend gave me the idea to give this a whirl. Eventually I plumped on the recipe below, because I had most of the ingredients already in, and had good substitutes for the ones I *didn't* have.
https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/rustic-liver-pate.html
Most recipes for liver pate call for pork belly, pork shoulder and sometimes additional lard / fat to be added to the mix. This one uses sausage meat, which is, effectively, shoulder and belly minced together anyway. I didn't have any sausage meat, but I *did* have some posh pigs in blankets in the freezer that I'd picked up on YS on New Year's Eve. Two packs of those gave me not only the right amount of sausage meat after I de-skinned the chipolatas, but also the right amount of streaky bacon with which to line my tin. Result!
The other modifications I made to the recipe were as follows:
1) Swapped the port for cider plus a couple of teaspoons of Armagnac
2) Swapped out half the large onion for a finely chopped apple
3) Added half a level teaspoon of salt to the mix
4) Only had enough fresh sage for half the required quantity (my plant got snacked on over the winter!) so added some dried plus a heaped teaspoon of dried mixed herbs to make up the difference
5) Upped the seasoning with the extra addition of a level teaspoon of allspice and a quarter level teaspoon of freshly-ground black pepper.
6) Didn't put the sausage meat in the blender along with the liver, as I personally prefer a coarse pate to a smooth one.
After a day's resting in the fridge to let the flavours mature, I had some for luncheon on hot buttered toast. And it's bloody lovely. I will say that the prep on this takes decidedly longer than what the recipe states, and it is a bit faffy, but really, it's very much worth the effort. If I was doing this for a "do" then I'd probably finish the top with a flavoured jelly and decorate it with some bay leaves and peppercorns to make it look poncy.
Highly recommended.
https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/rustic-liver-pate.html
Most recipes for liver pate call for pork belly, pork shoulder and sometimes additional lard / fat to be added to the mix. This one uses sausage meat, which is, effectively, shoulder and belly minced together anyway. I didn't have any sausage meat, but I *did* have some posh pigs in blankets in the freezer that I'd picked up on YS on New Year's Eve. Two packs of those gave me not only the right amount of sausage meat after I de-skinned the chipolatas, but also the right amount of streaky bacon with which to line my tin. Result!
The other modifications I made to the recipe were as follows:
1) Swapped the port for cider plus a couple of teaspoons of Armagnac
2) Swapped out half the large onion for a finely chopped apple
3) Added half a level teaspoon of salt to the mix
4) Only had enough fresh sage for half the required quantity (my plant got snacked on over the winter!) so added some dried plus a heaped teaspoon of dried mixed herbs to make up the difference
5) Upped the seasoning with the extra addition of a level teaspoon of allspice and a quarter level teaspoon of freshly-ground black pepper.
6) Didn't put the sausage meat in the blender along with the liver, as I personally prefer a coarse pate to a smooth one.
After a day's resting in the fridge to let the flavours mature, I had some for luncheon on hot buttered toast. And it's bloody lovely. I will say that the prep on this takes decidedly longer than what the recipe states, and it is a bit faffy, but really, it's very much worth the effort. If I was doing this for a "do" then I'd probably finish the top with a flavoured jelly and decorate it with some bay leaves and peppercorns to make it look poncy.
Highly recommended.
