Down to Basics Pâté Recipe

When you want all the nutrients, you go for the holy grail, offal, or organ meats. I try to include them in my diet about once per week and my favorite way to prepare it is as pâté. Pair it with any raw vegetables and some apple slices and it’s a most satisfying meal. I make mine with lots of bacon and caramelized onions, which are always a winning combination.

I’ve pointed out the numerous health benefits that come with eating non-musculature parts of the animal in this post

As I know so many are hesitate to jump on board the offal train, this recipe is for you. It’s more of a creamy, bacon onion dip. What’s threatening about that? Once you get past the name, it becomes incredibly delicious!

This recipe gets back the the basics of pâté, an easy one to keep on hand so that you eat your weekly dose of organ meats.

Down to Basics Pâté Recipe

Down to Basics Pate

Down to Basics Pâté Recipe
Yields 16
Basic pâté recipe with bacon and caramelized onions.
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
15 min
Total Time
30 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
15 min
Total Time
30 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 ½ lbs beef kidney or liver
  2. 4 pieces bacon - chopped
  3. 1 tbsp lard from bacon
  4. 2 cups onion - chopped
  5. 1 + ½ tsp salt
  6. 1 tsp black pepper
  7. 2 tbsp dry red wine
  8. 1 tsp ground marjoram
  9. 1 more tbsp lard
Instructions
  1. Cook bacon over medium high heat until crispy, about 4 minutes. Remove bacon from pan and pour off grease into separate bowl.
  2. Use 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease to sauté the onions over medium heat for three minutes. Add 1 tsp salt, pepper, red wine and marjoram and cook for five minutes. Pour into a food processor and set aside.
  3. Sauté the kidney or liver in two batches over high heat. They’re cook fast so you have to work quickly. Sear on each side for 1 minute. Add 1 tsp lard to the pan for each batch and sprinkle ¼ tsp salt as they cook.
  4. When all the cook is cooked, add it to the food processor with the onion bacon mixture. Also add in the final tbsp of lard. Puree until nice and smooth, about 3-5 minutes. Scrap down the sides of the processor to make sure all is incorporated.
  5. Store in mason jars in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freeze any leftovers.
Sparkle Kitchen https://sparklekitchen.com/

 Down to Basics Pâté Recipe

 

 

Fegato alla Veneziana (Liver & Onions)

It happened the first time while watching cartoons with my cousin. My grandmother brought us a huge plate of liver and onions. I was seven. Most kids my age would have turned up their noses. I was a strange kid though. I loved everything I was supposed to hate and vise versa. A few of my favorite foods included turtle soup and oysters. Pizza, french fries and ketchup were never on my plate. They just weren’t in my palate. I wanted the “adult’ food. So my grandmother made me liver and onions as a test. This was sadly to the detriment of my cousin who’s diet solely consisted of spaghetti o’s and chicken fingers. The liver and onions were all for me and I ate every last bite of that delicious dish.

That was my one and only liver encounter for the next 20 years until I learned about the nutrient density of this super food. Liver contains an exceedingly high concentration of nutrients in one small serving. Katie at Wellness Mama has answered all the FAQs and more about liver in one excellent post. She’s listed out all that liver provides and why it should be a part of your weekly diet. A few of these include: high levels of B12 vitamin, the most concentrated food source of vitamin A and it’s our best source of copper. Next time you need an energy boost, reach for some liver instead of that afternoon coffee fix.

I know most people are quick to discard organ meats and get grossed out by them. But really, if you look back two generations, many families consumed offal more often than muscle meat. It packed triple the amount of nourishment for their dollars and would sustain them longer.

Even if you think you hate liver, just try this recipe. It may surprise you and your own liver will thank you.

Liver and Onions
Makes 2 servings.

1 lb chicken livers
3 pieces of bacon – chopped
1 onion – chopped
1 tbsp garlic – minced
1 tsp fresh sage – chopped
2 tbsp dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper

►Cook the chopped bacon in a large frying pan until crispy. Remove the bacon and pour off half of the grease. Reserve this for cooking the liver.
►Using the same frying pan, over medium heat, sauté onions with 1/2 tsp salt in half of the bacon grease. ►Once the onions are translucent, add the garlic, sage and white wine. Reduce the liquid down over low heat, 3-5 minutes.
►Add the bacon back into the pan, pour in the chicken stock and cook over low heat. The liquid will reduce almost completely.

►Season each piece of liver with salt and pepper.
►In a separate pan, add 1 tbsp of bacon grease over medium-high heat. Place each piece of liver in the pan and cook on each side for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown.
►Toss in the cooked onions and bacon. Sauté together a bit and serve immediately.