If you’ve been following my story here on the blog or elsewhere on social media you likely know that I’ve never been (and still am not!) a big fan of the taste of liver. I’ve long struggled with anemia however, due to both celiac and Hashimoto’s disease, and I know that I need to keep iron-rich foods in good supply in my diet in order to keep my stores up.
As for which vehicle to use to get some paté into your system, I’ll use any complimentary fruit or veggie “cracker” handy — vegetable slices like carrots, celery, or cucumber, or even fruits like apple. By far, my favorite way to eat this is on a freshly-toasted Yucan Crunch cracker (pictured here), which used to be a treat I ordered occasionally from Mission: Heirloom in Berkeley, but now can be easily purchased on Amazon Prime.
Pro tip: Liver is so potent that I find I can’t go through this recipe before it goes bad, as I only eat about an ounce or two a day as a snack in the afternoons. Because of this I like to portion it into two containers, one to keep for the current week, and the second to freeze and then pull out later for the next week.
To prepare your chicken livers, clean them under running water and place on a paper-towel-lined-plate to dry, using another piece of paper towel to blot any water left on top. Set aside.
Add half of the coconut oil to the bottom of a heavy-bottomed skillet on medium heat. When the fat has melted and the pan is hot, add the onions, and cook, stirring, for about five minutes or until lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Clear a space in the center of your skillet by moving the onions and garlic to the outside of the pan. Place the chicken livers in the pan one-by-one, making sure they each get enough surface area to cook. Allow to cook about 2-3 minutes on one side before flipping and giving the onion mixture around the edges a little stir. After another 2-3 minutes and browned on both sides, add the rosemary, salt, and stir the entire mixture.
Add the second half of the coconut oil to the pan, along with the apple pieces. Stirring occasionally, cook for 5-10 minutes, or until chicken livers are just pink in the middle and the juices are no longer running red (you can check by slicing one open if you need to). Turn off the heat and stir in the cider vinegar. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
Once your mixture is cool enough to handle, add to the body of your food processor or a high-powered blender. Process until a smooth paste forms, adding additional coconut oil or salt to taste if necessary.
Serve on raw vegetable or apple slices, or AIP-compliant crackers like Yucan Crunch.
Hi, this looks lovely! I was wondering whether it’s safe to re-freeze the pate when it’s been made from frozen livers? I can only get hold of organic chicken liver in frozen format.
Julia – I do this all the time! It is safe to re-freeze meat that has been fully cooked. You don’t want to re-freeze anything that was thawed and kept raw.
Where do you get the yucan crunch from? Amazon stopped carrying them! It’s been a few weeks now.
Peggy, they are waiting for a shipment to be delivered. Should be soon now!
Thank you for this recipe! I am wondering though if I could replace the coconut oil with lard or tallow or another fat? I struggle with coconut oil (it took me ages to work this out), I can tolerate small amounts. Thank you for all the information and help you guys post, your help has been invaluable to me in my recovery journey.
I am moderately reactive to apples right now, but would love to try this recipe!!! What do you think would make a good substitute for the ACV and apple?
Hi Kelly, I would try lemon juice and pears!
This is a wonderful recipe! I’m making it for the 4th time now. Definitely our favorite way to eat liver! We pair it with plantian chips, cucumber slices, and even radish slices. Thanks so much for all your hard work Mickey!
I’m so happy you love it Katie!
I love this recipe even more than your original pâté using beef liver. Wondering if anyone has tried this one with beef or venison. I have more of that in the freezer. Thanks for sharing your thoughtful and delicious recipes!
That makes me happy Stacy! I do think it would work well with beef or venison… you can also try playing with different herbs, and pear instead of apple!
Hi Chantal, how about pears?