Beef Liver Pâté Recipe with Shallots and Bacon
Today's guest post/recipe is from Jennifer, who recently emailed and said, “I've been sharing some of my recipes on Real Food Wednesday, but hoped you might like this recipe for a guest post. It's a delicious beef liver pâté that I made – a wonderful way to get the nutritional benefits of liver. I know most “real foodies” love the benefits of liver, but it's often hard enjoy – especially for the little ones 🙂 So, here's my recipe – one the whole family can enjoy.” So here you go, a recipe for getting some nutrient-rich liver into your family, thanks Jennifer!
We all know that liver is incredibly healthy for us, but if you’re like me, it’s a hard food to incorporate into the family meal repertoire. Whenever I cook liver, everyone wants to try it – it smells and looks so delicious, but when it gets down to it the texture and strong taste can be slightly off-putting.
Thankfully, I’ve found a way to get my family eating liver that is delicious, easy to prepare and makes a wonderful, nutrient-dense snack! Beef liver pâté is a fantastic spread that we put on crackers and sandwiches or used for dipping carrots or celery sticks. It’s one of my new favorites for those “pulled-together” dinners – pâté and crackers, cheese, nuts and fruit – it’s so easy!
I soak the liver in buttermilk overnight, which helps cut down it’s intense flavor, then sauté it with rendered bacon fat, butter and wonderfully aromatic shallots and garlic. The texture of liver makes for a creamy spread, and of course the addition of more butter guarantees that it’s going to be absolutely delicious!
Beef Liver Pate Recipe with Shallots and Bacon
This recipe is easily doubled - make extra for the freezer later!
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound beef liver, cubed (find safe meat online here)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 slices bacon, cut horizontally into 1/2 inch strips
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 shallot, minced (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced (or dried garlic)
- 6 Tablespoons pastured butter, at room temperature
- Sea salt & pepper
Instructions
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the liver with the buttermilk, cover and refrigerate overnight (12-24 hours). Take the liver out of the buttermilk and lightly pat dry.
Put the bacon in a 12-inch frying pan over medium heat, and cook, stirring occasionally until the bacon is crispy and the fat has been rendered. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the bacon and set aside, leaving as much of the rendered fat as possible.
Add the 2 Tablespoons of butter to the bacon fat, increasing the heat to medium-high. Once the butter is melted and sizzling, add the shallots and garlic, sautéing until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the liver, lightly salt them and cook until browned on the outside and still slightly pink on the inside, about 3-5 minutes, depending on the thickness (check by cutting one of the pieces open). Take off the heat, stir in the bacon and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Once the liver is cool, put into a food processor, scraping in all the tasty bits off the bottom of the pan. Process until almost completely smooth.
In a medium mixing bowl, cream the 6 Tbsp. of butter and add the liver, mixing vigorously until thoroughly combined; season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the pâté into a small serving bowl. Store in the refrigerator until about 30 minutes before serving, bringing it out to allow to soften slightly.
Enjoy!
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(Thanks Jennifer, I’m getting my beef liver out of the freezer right now! If your Liver Pâté recipe is different somehow, let us know in the comments – I love hearing about variations!)
Just don't think you'll make this and can't eat liver?
***At least take these desiccated liver pills so you can benefit from all the superfood nutrients!
Jennifer lives in Florida with her husband and two children and is passionate about providing her loved ones with delicious, nourishing food! She is the creator of How to Peel an Onion, a blog dedicated to savoring the goodness of the everyday: eating with family and friends, enjoying time spent in the kitchen and living well by rising to the challenge of the day. At How to Peel an Onion, Jennifer shares straightforward recipes, how-to tips and advice on creating a family table, cooking techniques, nutrition, kitchen organization, and ways to encourage children to join in the fun!
- Find a local source for healthy meats at Local Harvest or Eat Wild.
- Still can’t find local meats that you feel good about eating? Here’s where we buy healthy, safe meat online
- I ate liver and loved it, oh yes I did, so did our teenager, he hadn’t a clue!
- More about WHY organ meats are so good for us
Lou says
Great recipe, exactly what I was looking for. I doubled the bacon and garlic, and left out the butter for frying (since I had so much bacon fat). I also didn’t bother with soaking, since I used grass-fed bison liver, which is milder. Everything else I followed exactly, and it turned out wonderful. It’s amazing on chicharones! I’m going to make some more batches to use as baby food. Thanks much for this perfect recipe.
Brandy says
Amazing recipe! Hubs and I will be enjoying it for the next few days.
Cheers!
renee bartlett says
this is real good,but still like plain liver,and onions,alot of onions,and mushrooms , {cooked till browned},then put to the side,flour,salt,and pepper the liver,turn on both side till brown,then i cut up the liver in strips,and put it in a pot with the mushrooms,and onions,i make a gravy useing milk,let it slow cook for awhile,then put it over yellow rice , think i”m gonna make some tonight,
Dina says
How does the buttermilk work here? Is it the acidity? Just trying to figure out what to substitute it with. Cant do casein… will use clarified butter instead of regular. This recipe sounds delicious, thanks!
Rich Fletcher says
Sounds great , I have 10lbs of grass fed organic beef livers to use up this winter… Does anyone know how long this will keep in the fridge ??
Megan says
Can’t wait to try this. I grew up with chicken liver & onions, and just tolerated it–disliked the onions more than the liver. My husband and I just got 5 lbs of beef liver and have never had it before. I was pretty nervous but the first liver & onions came out ok. Our 3 year old LOVED it–he gobbled it up! Even finished my last bites! I need to warm up a bit to it because I know it is so good for us. My husband just kept saying, “hmm, this is liver,” which made it harder for me to continue eating. Then he suggested we find other ways to prepare it. Hahaha!
Marta says
I tried it last week and it was very good. I don’t mind liver taste though. I use it mainly as a spread on the bread. Great with side of sauerkraft!
Sarah says
This looks wonderful! I’ve been looking for an alternative to my normal meats for lunches (tuna or salmon). About how much does one batch make?
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
The only way I can think to describe how much it makes is about a medium soup or cereal bowl full…
I finally tried this last week and sadly didn’t like it. Kent did though, but none of the kids either…… I’m such a liver wimp!!!!! At least I take my Fermented Cod Liver Oil! I’m also thinking about getting liver capsules. I also still want to try making a chicken liver pate. I’ve tried someone else’s before though and didn’t love that either…it was only OK. But maybe if I keep trying it…
KitchenKop says
From Jennifer yesterday:
Awesome! Can’t wait to try this one out. I’ve got some duck livers waiting to be used up. Think those will work just as well?
KitchenKop says
From Jennifer (guest post author):
Hi Jennifer,
I haven’t made it with duck livers but I’m sure you could substitute them in, although the bacon might be too strong a flavor. If you’d like, omit the bacon and use 4 Tbsp of butter to saute the aromatics, then add a few Tbsp. of white wine or brandy at the last minute of cooking for extra flavor.
Alex Sobieski says
Thank K&J!
Still trying to figure out how to prepare liver in a way that is interesting.
Thanks!
KitchenKop says
I had a big glitch on my site and lost all of Thursday’s comments! 🙁