The most nutrient-dense food on the planet, beef liver pate is one of my favorite ways to add nutritional value to my diet. Although it may seem intimidating, making pate at home is very easy, and this beef liver pate recipe only requires a few ingredients. If you want to get the benefits of this superfood without the downsides, it’s important to only use grass-fed, grass-finished liver. With a few tips and tricks, you’ll learn how to make a delicious pate at home, even if you’ve never been a fan of liver.
I’ve always been a fan of liver pate. Preserved liver pate, on a slice of toast, topped with a slice of fresh tomato, was a convenient and delicious snack when I was a student and had nowhere to cook. And I even loved it as a kid.
However, when I learned to read labels and realized what was in a canned liver pate, I started making it at home. It took a while to learn all the tips and tricks to make it tasty, without the bitterness and strong liver taste that some people rightly dislike.
Why is beef liver a superfood?
Beef liver (and other organ meats), if grass-fed and grass-finished, is possibly the most nutritionally dense food on the planet. It is high in protein, low in calories and full of vitamins and minerals. And you don’t have to eat a lot to reap its benefits. In just a small amount, beef liver includes 100% (and even more) of the RDI for many essential nutrients that your body will easily absorb.
Eating just 50-100 grams of liver will provide an impressive amount of the following nutrients in an easily absorbable form and packaged in a form that will make them work synergistically.
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin A
- Riboflavin (B2)
- Folate (B9)
- Heme iron (easily absorbed by the body)
- copper
- hill
- All essential amino acids
A valid concern about eating liver is that it can raise uric acid (due to high levels of purines), so you may want to avoid it if you have high uric acid levels or have been diagnosed with gout.
If in doubt, talk to your doctor or nutritionist to understand if just a small amount (which will provide you with a lot of nutrients) will be fine for you.
My favorite ways to eat liver:
I don’t have any other liver recipes, but I’d love to hear from you about interesting ways to cook and eat liver (leave a message in the comments section below the article).
Tips and tricks for making a delicious beef liver pate at home
Most people don’t like liver and liver pâté because:
- it’s bitter
- it has a strong taste
- they don’t like the texture
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Using the right ingredients and the right cooking method, you can make a liver pate that you and your family will love. However, texture-wise, there’s not much I can do. You either love it or you don’t. I hope you like my beef liver pate recipe.
So what are the tips and tricks for making a good pate at home?
- Choose the right liver. In the case of beef, you only want to buy 100% grass-fed (grass-fed, grass-finished) liver. Find a good source where you can get small amounts of fresh liver.
- Clean the liver well. No, you don’t need to soak the liver in milk if you have good quality liver. Ideally, your butcher will clean the liver and cut it for you, but if not, make sure to remove all the membranes. These parts will be difficult to chew and will give the final product that specific strong taste that no one likes and a bitterness. Then wash with cold water, drain and dry. The pieces of liver should be roughly the same size and thickness so that they cook evenly. If this is not possible, you can remove the thinner pieces that are cooked and continue cooking the rest.
- Do not overcook the liver. I cannot stress how important this is. Overcooked liver will not only have fewer nutrients, but will be bitter and tough. And this is exactly what makes beef liver unappetizing.
- Use lots of fresh herbs. They will add nutritional value, help neutralize histamines in the liver and make liver pâté delicious. They also help with storage, extending the life of the pate.
- Use lots of onions. The onions give the liver pâté its sweetness and will dominate the specific strong taste of the liver (along with the herbs and garlic).
- Do not add salt when cooking the liver. Adding salt before the liver is fully cooked will make it bitter. Only add the salt after transferring everything to the food processor.
- Add some spice. Although nutmeg is often used to make liver pate, I prefer allspice. It will add a subtle flavor and further neutralize the taste you don’t like.
- Add some bourbon. This is not included in the recipe card below, but if you want to take it a step further, add a shot of good quality bourbon when the liver is almost cooked.
Ingredients for homemade beef liver pate
Although this recipe is created for beef liver, know that you can use it to make chicken liver pate or even lamb liver pate. The same rules apply.
- Beef liver (grass-fed and grass-finished)
- A generous amount of fresh herbs: fresh sage, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme and fresh oregano
- Aromatic: lots of onion and garlic
- Spices: salt, pepper and allspice (or nutmeg)
- Extra virgin olive oil and ghee or melted butter
- Optional: If you want to get fancy, add a splash of bourbon when the liver is almost cooked.
How to make liver pate at home
Once the ingredients are ready, you only need about 10 minutes to cook everything and a few more minutes to turn it into a paste with a food processor or blender. You can make it completely smooth or with a little texture.
Here are the steps to make beef liver pate:
- Rinse the liver with cold water and pat dry. If your butcher hasn’t already done so, be sure to remove all the membranes and cut the liver into roughly equal pieces so that it cooks evenly.
- Wash and dry the herbs, and prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Heat a large frying pan or skillet over medium heat, add the chopped onions and sauté until fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the crushed and chopped garlic, stir well and cook for another minute.
- Add the liver, chopped herbs, pepper and allspice (DO NOT add salt while the liver is cooking!).
- Cook on one side for about 2 minutes, flip and cook for about 2 more minutes. The time will depend on the thickness of the pieces, but you must try not to overcook the liver, as it will become bitter, and you will also kill some of the nutrients. To test for doneness, cut into one of the thicker pieces and see if it’s still raw in the middle. You don’t want it to look raw, but you want to retain some pink and softness. If thinner pieces are ready, remove them to a cutting board and continue cooking thicker pieces of beef liver, still raw in the middle. It won’t take long, so don’t leave the stove on.
- Remove the whole cooked liver to a cutting board, chop it into smaller pieces and add the chopped liver to the food processor, along with all the onions and spices in the pan, 2 tbsp olive oil and salt Add the first teaspoon of salt and add more after tasting. For my taste, I add up to 2 teaspoons of sea salt flakes. A little salt is more powerful; so it is better to add it little by little.
- Process until desired consistency is reached. Taste and add more salt if needed.
How to store liver pate
After making the pâté, put it immediately in an airtight glass jar or tightly covered with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. Although pâté can be safely stored for a week in the refrigerator, I prefer to eat it within two or three days at the most due to the histamine build-up. The top layer of ghee (clarified butter) or melted butter will protect the pate from rusting.
I freeze the rest in small portions in Souper Cubes. When I want to eat it, I take it out of the freezer an hour or two before. It can also be thawed overnight in the refrigerator.
How to eat beef liver pâté
My favorite way to eat pate is with:
I hope you enjoy this Beef Liver Pate recipe!
*This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you decide to purchase something through one of my links, at no extra cost to you.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (for the pan)
- 400 grams of 100% grass-fed beef liver
- 3 medium red onions, chopped or sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 3 tablespoons of mixed fresh herbs: sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 2 teaspoons of salt (add little by little and taste)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (to be added to the pate during processing)
- 1 tablespoon of soft butter
Instructions
Rinse the liver with cold water and pat dry. If your butcher hasn’t already done so, be sure to remove all the membranes and cut the liver into roughly equal pieces so that it cooks evenly.
Wash and dry the herbs, and prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add the onions and sauté until fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the crushed and chopped garlic, stir well and cook for another minute.
Add the liver, chopped herbs, pepper and allspice (DO NOT add salt while the liver is cooking!).
Cook on one side for about 2 minutes, flip and cook for about 2 more minutes. The time will depend on the thickness of the pieces, but you must try not to overcook the liver, as it will become bitter, and you will also kill some of the nutrients. To test for doneness, cut into one of the thicker pieces and see if it’s still raw in the middle. You don’t want it to look raw, but you want to retain some pink and softness. If thinner pieces are ready, remove them to a cutting board and continue cooking the thicker pieces that are still raw in the middle. It won’t take long, so don’t leave the stove on.
Remove the whole cooked liver to a cutting board, chop it into smaller pieces and add it to the food processor, along with all the onions and spices in the pan, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt. Add the first teaspoon of salt and add more after tasting. For my taste, I add up to 2 teaspoons of sea salt flakes. A little salt is more powerful, so it’s better to add it little by little.
Process until desired consistency is reached. Taste and add more salt if needed.