On Sundays, my mom tried to cook my father’s favorite. One of them was liver pate (either chicken or beef). She made pate with onion and garlic. I wouldn’t say I liked liver when I was a child. They were too smelly for me. I did not even try it, even though the GAPS Diet suggested it. But a few years ago, my husband and I were in Mexico. We found a great outdoor restaurant with an exciting menu! When I saw a chicken liver pate there, my mouth got watering. My body knew that I needed it.
They were delicious!
Properly raised animal livers are not smelly or gamy. Also, soaking them in milk before cooking, which I learned by reading a couple of online recipes (unfortunately not from my mom), does help to clean up impurities that probably cause the smelliness.
After the experience in Mexico, I make liver pate often because my body tells me to.
Liver pate was not popular in Japan. Probably because raising cows is not natural for Japanese land and climate. But my mother attended a cooking school right before marrying my dad. So, I guess she must have learned there.
The super easy recipe is below.
Ingredients:
1 lb liver
The liver can be from chicken, beef, pork, or any animal is fine. However, the liver is the laundry machine of our body, so it collects a lot of toxins entering the animal body. So, if possible, I suggest you buy pasture-raised and naturally fed without antibiotics, hormones, or other toxins. If not, at least an organically fed-animal’s liver is fine. Dr. Natasha always tells us that animals have a natural way of releasing toxins that plants do not have.
1 cup milk
Ideally, raw milk. Raw milk contains a lot of good bacteria. Naturally, where good bacteria’s healthy habitat, it is difficult for bad bacteria to proliferate. To purify the liver, those good healthy bacteria are necessary. The second choice is organic pasteurized whole milk if you cannot get raw milk. Please never use homogenized,ultra-pasteurized, low fat or skimmed milk!
Butter as you want (about 3tsp for me)
1 large or 2 small onions
1 to 2 cloves of garlic
This is an option. If you do not like garlic, you can omit it.
Also, you can add herbs, cinnamon powder, nuts, or anything you can think of as you want.
Natural salt to taste (about 1 tsp for me)
Always use natural salt from the sea or mountains containing some minerals. Table salt is called sodium chloride, an artificial salt, and our human body can not break it down to utilize them. It can cause retaining water means, swollen body tissue, and also possibly cause high blood pressure is believed.
Instruction:
- Wash the liver in a bowl of cold water.
- Cut and remove the membrane for beef liver and ligaments for chicken.
- Use a fork, pierce make some holes in each piece of liver.
- Soak the liver in a bowl of milk overnight in the refrigerator.
- Drain and discard the milk.
- Slice the onion and garlic and cook with butter until soft and golden brown in a skillet or saute pan. Add salt and mix well.
- Add the liver and cook it all together. Do Not OVER-COOK! Medium rare is the best.
- Stop the frame and cool down a little.
- transfer to a food processor or blender, and blend well till the texture you want.
- Transfer to a mason jar, cool down to room temperature and then refrigerate.
- This is another idea to serve. I transferred it to a baking dish and refrigerated till stiff enough to shape. I can decorate and serve for a party also. Or slice it as you like.
