Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh, never frozen organic chicken livers, trimmed of any green spots, gristle or tubules – ideally, have the butcher do this for you
- 2 cups finely-chopped onions
- 2 ounces chicken skin, chopped
- 6 Tbsp. schmaltz (rendered chicken fat)
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 barely hard-boiled organic free-range duck egg or 3 organic free-range chicken eggs
- Hirshon chopped liver seasoning blend to taste, made by combining all these in a spice grinder – one or two brief pulses should be sufficient
- 1 ½ Tbsp. kosher salt
- ½ Tbsp. ground chicken bouillon cube
- 2 Tbsp. medium-grind black pepper
- 2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
- ½ tsp. dried marjoram leaves
- ¼ tsp. hot paprika
Instructions
- Place a cast iron pan over low heat and add the schmaltz, thyme sprig and bay leaf.
- Once heated, add the chicken skin to the pan and slowly render the fat from the skin, turning the pieces of skin every few minutes.
- Sauté the skin in the chicken fat until the pieces are golden brown.
- Remove the crispy rendered skin bits (aka gribenes) and set aside.
- Then, sauté onions in the fat until lightly golden brown – add to gribenes.
- Pour off all but one tablespoon of the liquid chicken fat, reserving the rest of the fat for later use when mixing the chopped liver. Discard thyme and bay leaf.
- Place the pan over medium heat. Pat the chicken livers dry with a paper towel and add to the pan. Sauté over medium-high heat until the surface is golden brown and the interior is still slightly pink, about 4 minutes.
- Remove the livers from the pan and set aside. The livers will still be cooking slightly as you remove them, making the interiors perfectly tender.
- Place the cooked chicken livers, onions, crispy chicken skin, and boiled eggs on a clean cutting board.
- Using a knife or mezzaluna, rock the blade back and forth, finely chopping the mixture until it reaches a medium-fine consistency. DON’T CHOP IT INTO A PURÉE!!!
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and blend further with a spoon. Dribble in the reserved chicken fat until the mixture is creamy – about 5-7 Tbsp. equivalent should do it.
- Add seasoning salt to taste. Remember that the chopped liver will be served chilled, so salt a little more aggressively than you think it needs.
- Category: Recipes