Name: Chicken liver pate/parfait
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: French cuisine
Ingredients: 250g chicken livers, trimmed and cleaned {see note 1}; 125ml (1/2 cup) milk; 6 shallots, thinly sliced; 100ml port {or substitute with more madeira}; 50ml brandy {or substitute with cognac or whiskey}; 50ml madeira {substitute with more port or a marsala wine}; 1 1/4 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper; 3 eggs; 125g butter, melted; Extra butter, melted, for sealing {see note 2}; Freshly picked thyme leaves; Crackers or crispbreads; Fruit chutney; 4 rashers streaky bacon; 2 tbsp maple syrup; 1 tbsp brown sugar; 1 red onion, thinly sliced; 1 carrot, julienned or thinly sliced; 1/2 cup white vinegar; 1/2 cup water; 1 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp salt; Optional spices: 1/2 tsp black peppercorns, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 small peeled garlic clove, pinch of chilli flakes; 8 slices ciabatta bread, preferably sourdough {see note 3}; 1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled; Cornichons {small pickled cucumbers}

Pâté is a firm favourite for entertaining spreads, pairing perfectly with fruits, chutneys, cheeses and crackers. Made with a blend of chicken livers, butter, eggs, shallots and a little alcohol, this parfait is easy to make. If your guests are anything like mine, this will become a firm favourite for a long time!

This post gives you two recipes - one for a chicken liver parfait, and the other shows you how you can make it into a fancy starter by topping it with candied bacon and serving alongside a quick pickle and some grilled bread.

Taking pâté to the next level gives us this smooth chicken liver parfait - think of it as a smoother and more luxurious. Chicken liver parfait is perfect for spreading on your favourite crackers or crisp bread with its rich spreadable texture.

The parfait is not overly difficult to make, either. You can set it in a bain-marie / water bath in an oven, or if you have a steam oven you can use that. Once it's cooked through, you can top it off with a little butter and keep it in the fridge.

Ways to serve chicken liver parfait

Use chicken liver parfait / pâté as part of an entertaining spread with cheese and fruits, or as a lux starter. Having a decent chutney - even if store bought - will elevate the taste as well.

To serve the parfait as a starter, try the following:

Don't top the parfait with butter.
Spoon a generous portion of the parfait onto a plate.
Top with candied bacon and/or a fruit chutney.
Add some quick pickled veg - red onion and carrot - to the side, and a cornichon (pickled cucumber) or so.
Serve with a little toasted bread, optionally rubbed with a little garlic.

Or, as a picture is worth a thousand words:

The parfait is also perfect as a spread in a salad roll, like a banh mi.

Chicken liver parfait ingredients

Chicken livers are the core ingredient for the parfait. Make sure you choose the freshest livers you can find, and avoid dull or grey livers. Livers can be found at most supermarkets and from butchers.
Milk is used to tenderise and improve the flavour of the livers.
Shallots for flavouring.
Alcohol brings rich flavours to the parfait: port, brandy and madeira. Regarding substitutes:
- Use more madeira in place of port.
- You can use cognac in place of brandy, or a whiskey.
- Use more port in place of the madeira, or substitute for marsala - the flavours are very similar.
Eggs
Salt and pepper
Butter - make sure you use a quality unsalted butter. Don't use a butter blend as it will potentially split. The butter is added to the parfait and is also used to seal it.
Thyme leaves to add to the butter seal. Fresh is preferable to dried.

To serve:

Crisp bread or crackers
Fruit chutney

If serving as a starter:

Candied bacon, made from streaky bacon, maple syrup and brown sugar.
A quick pickle made from red onion and carrot, with vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Optionally, you can add spices for more flavour.
Cornichons, or small pickled cucumbers.
Grilled slices of bread, rubbed with garlic after cooking.

Essential equipment you need to make chicken liver parfait

Ramekins, terrine or bowl suitable for cooking the parfait in.
A rimmed baking tray to place the ramekins, terrine or bowls into. Alternatively, you can use a steam oven set to 100C and 100% humidity.
A quality blender or food processor to ensure a smooth parfait. In a pinch you can use a stick blender or low powered blender, but you will have something closer to pâté (rustic) than a smooth parfait.

Step-by-step guide to making chicken liver parfait

Soak livers - add the trimmed and cleaned chicken livers to the milk. Allow to stand for at least 30 minutes while you work through the rest of the recipe.
Cook shallots - add the shallots, port, brandy and madeira to a pot (1). Bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and cook until the liquid has evaporated and the shallots have a jammy consistency (2). Stir regularly once the water has evaporated to make sure they don't burn and stick to the pan.
Drain the livers and dry with paper towel.
Preheat convection oven to 120C, or steam oven to 100C with 100% humidity.
Blend - add the livers, shallots, salt, pepper and eggs to a blender (1) or food processor. Blend until smooth (2). Scrape down the side of the blender.
Add butter - with the blender or food processor running, drizzle in the melted butter until all the butter is incorporated. The mixture should be smooth and glossy.
Divide mixture between ramekins or bowls or place into a terrine. Smooth the surface and cover with aluminium foil or a lid if using a terrine.
Cook - oven - place the covered ramekins, bowls or terrine into a deep baking dish. Add boiling water half way up the baking dish and place into the preheated oven. Cook for 45 minutes or until the parfait has set - the internal temperature should be 74C.
Cook - steam oven - place the covered ramekins, bowls or terrine into the steam oven and cook for about 45 minutes or until the parfait has set - the internal temperature should be 74C.
Butter seal - if you're not making this as the starter, add melted butter to the top of the ramekin and sprinkle thyme leaves into the butter. Place into the fridge until the butter has set.

To make the starter

Make bacon - preheat oven to 190C. Line a small baking tray with foil. If you have a wire rack, set it inside the tray, then lay the bacon on top. Brush the bacon with a little maple syrup (1) and then sprinkle some brown sugar over the top (2).
Cook bacon - place bacon in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove, turn bacon, brush the top side with maple syrup and sprinkle over a little more brown sugar. Return to the oven and cook for another 10 minutes. Continue to cook the bacon if necessary, flipping every 5 minutes, until the bacon is a deep reddish colour.
Make quick pickle - place the red onion and carrot into a glass jar. Combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt into a small pot along with the optional spices, if using (1). Bring to the boil, remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes before pouring into the jar (2).
Cook bread - grill or toast your bread (1). When cooked to your liking, remove from the heat and rub lightly with the garlic clove (2).
Break bacon using your hands or a knife into small fragments.
Plate up by adding a generous spooning of the parfait. Place some of the pickles to the side, along with 1-2 cornichons. Top the parfait with the candied bacon and serve along with the grilled bread.

Tips

Buy the freshest livers you can find. If they're dull or grey, avoid them.
It's important to soak the livers in milk as it reduces bitterness and helps to neutralise odour. It also helps to tenderise them. You only need to soak the livers for half an hour or so.
Likewise, trimming sinew and membrane from the livers helps to improve the taste and texture of the parfait.
You can cook the parfait in any cermaic or glass bowls or containers you have.
It's easy to double the recipe and freeze any extra parfait you make - it keeps well.

How to prepare chicken livers

Chicken livers are easy to clean!

Trim away any visible connective tissue, sinew, or greenish parts (from bile), as these can contribute to bitterness. Wash the livers and then pat dry.

For a milder flavor and softer texture, soak the livers in milk for 30 minutes or so, then drain and pat them dry again. Once cleaned, the livers are ready.

Oven vs steam oven

If you have access to a full steam oven, I feel that it gives the superior result for cooking, and it saves the hassle of using a bain-marie in the oven.

The recipe card has instructions for using both an oven and bain-marie.

Make ahead and freezing chicken liver parfait

The chicken liver parfait can be made a few days ahead - it will keep in the fridge up to 3-4 days.

The parfait freezes well. Make sure the butter seal has set and then cover in cling wrap. It will freeze for 1-2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.