I think that ‘Country Pate; is usually a kind of watered-down version, usually using chicken livers.
I’ve just got to find a recipe that’s milder than the ones I’ve tried.
Thanks for the diversion from the BS and the path to what is important in our lives.
Gnight Dear
FAMILY RECIPE FOR CHOPPED CHICKEN LIVER:
First, make chicken skin cracklings and rendered chicken fat.(I save skin and fat in the freezer until I have A LOT before making this).
Cut chicken skin into 1” pieces; place in frying pan with raw chicken fat, cover with cold water, cook over low heat until water evaporates, fat is liquid and skin fries to a crisp. Remove cracklings. Drain. Salt. Cool. Reserve rendered fat for later cooking use. Besides the livers, it makes wonderful roux for chicken gravy.
You can use the same pan, but usually it is fairly encrusted with bits of stuck skin. I prefer to clean the pan. Into the clean pan, put 1-3 TBS or so of rendered chicken fat. Add drained chicken livers that have been patted dry before cooking. Over medium heat, gently turn livers in hot fat until cooked through. Only cook until no longer bloody. They can be a bit pink inside. Drain livers on toweling until cooled.
While livers cool, boil 1 egg per 1.25 lbs livers. Finely chop a little (1/4 cup) sweet onion. By the time egg is boiled and cooled, it is time to chop. Use a wooden bowl and a hand chopper. I actually use a pastry cutter. First, place onion in bowl and chop until minced. Next, add livers,diced egg and generous amounts of crushed chicken skin cracklings (you can chop them separately first) and chop and turn quickly. Don’t go for paste. You want this sort of crumbly. It should hold together without being mush. Salt to taste every 2-3 chops. IF it’s dry, you can add melted chicken fat by the 1/4 tsp &/or more cracklings. Taste for salt and dryness. This takes practice. Entire process goes very quickly. Actually, making cracklings takes the most time.
Now, refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight, so liver, onion and chicken fat flavors meld. Pack mixture firmly in container. Serve with crackers or just mounded on a lettuce base and eat with a fork. It is quite mild.
My husband hates this. I make it when he’s not home and air the house out after. Then I ration myself to maybe 1/4-1/3 cup at a time. It won’t keep and I’ve never tried freezing it, so I usually finish it off in a few days. If you are prone to heartburn, this dish may not be for you.
Both the extra rendered chicken fat and the cracklings can be frozen separately. The cracklings are great in mashed potatoes. I make a fried cabbage dish that is based on bacon-fried cabbage, only I use chicken fat instead of bacon grease and lots of cracklings instead of bacon.