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Chopped liver is a mainstay in most Jewish families. Given that it is best made with schmaltz, chicken fat, it is not often made. It is a real delicacy and also one of those dishes that is great to eat especially when you do not know what is in it. I have made it now for the past couple of years for our Seder. So now I know, why it is so good. If you are going to make, then you might as well go all the way.
Chopped Liver
This recipe is the best one yet for Chopped Liver. The livers are browned in the schmaltz, and then, the onions are added to the same pan with a little more schmaltz if needed. I drained a fair bit of the schmaltz and liquid from the browning process of the livers before I added the onions. It should also be noted here, there is a delicate balance to browning the livers. You need to make sure they are cooked all the way through but not overcooked because overcooking the liver will make them tough. Do any of my readers know a good method for determining when the chicken livers are cooked? I have not made this recipe enough to share a sure method for telling doneness.
There is so much flavor from the liver that you do not need to add much to the final product. When it is good chopped liver, it needs to be accented. Don’t to do much to it. I like to take hard boiled eggs and chop them up and add them on top. They make look like garnish but they add a little something to the texture to make this just right.
- 2 pounds chicken livers
- 1 cup rendered chicken fat, schmaltz
- 2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 onions)
- 1/4 cup Madeira wine (or a red wine if you do not have Madeira)
- 4 extra-large eggs, hard-cooked, peeled, and rough cut
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- Drain the livers and saute them with 2 - 3 tablespoons of the chicken fat over medium-high heat. Turn them once after about 5 minutes and cook for another 5 minutes.
- You want the livers to be just cooked through.
- Be careful not to overcook the livers or they will become dry. Transfer them to a large bowl.
- In the same pan, saute the onions in 3 tablespoons of the chicken fat over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, or until browned. Add the Madeira and deglaze the pan, scraping up all the bits.
- Add the eggs, parsley, salt, black pepper, and cayenne to a bowl. Toss quickly to combine. Transfer each component to the bowl of a food processor working in batches. Pulse 6 to 8 times, until coarsely chopped. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Season, to taste, and chill. Serve on matzah (or crackers).
- Top with chopped eggs for appearance.
Liver and Schmaltz Added to Pan
Liver Browning
Drain the chicken livers and caramelize the onions in the same pan.
Onions Added to Pan
Caramelized Onions
Everything gets put into the Cuisinart to be ground up for the final dish. Do not overmix.
Ingredients Added to Cuisinart
The final product.
Plated
I’ve never had chopped liver but this looks delicious!
Thx Sarah. It is hard to make chicken livers look good but it tastes great.
Looks delicious, Peter ! I haven’t had liver in a long time !
This is about the only way I eat liver.
I love all things liver, liver and onions and pate. It’s big in England. This is my kind of recipe and I wish I had some right now.
I didn’t even need to read beyond your first words to know that your love of liver had a lot to do with you being from England.