Cognac is often used in duck liver pâté.
Duck liver pâté is a mixture of duck liver, spices, onions, fats such as butter and cream, and sometimes spirits such as wine, brandy or sherry. The ingredients are quickly cooked in a pan and then ground in a food processor to form a batter or whipped paste. The duck liver pâté recipe is very similar to the foie gras recipe, except that the liver comes from duck instead of goose and is usually much cheaper. The resulting pate can be used as a pate for crackers or toast, or used in dishes like Beef Wellington.
Duck liver pate resembles the foie gras recipe, except the liver comes from duck instead of goose.
The main ingredient in duck liver pâté is duck liver. Before use, the liver must be cleaned and possibly soaked. To cleanse the liver, all tissues, bits of fat, gallbladder, and other irregular sections must be removed. After that, the liver can be soaked in water or milk for several hours to remove some of the bitter and unpleasant taste.
Duck liver pâté is often served as an appetizer.
There are several recipes for duck liver pâté, but they usually start by melting the butter in a pan and frying the chopped onions until golden brown and the butter begins to brown a bit. Duck fat is sometimes used instead of butter. Other ingredients (garlic, thyme, star anise, oregano, or even bacon) can be placed in the pan and fried to extract their flavor.
When the ingredients are cooked, add the liver and fry. It only takes a few minutes for the liver to cook completely. If wine or other liquor is used, it can be added to the pot and reduced with the liver. In the last minute of cooking, sour cream can be added to the mixture and slightly reduced.
The entire mixture is removed from the heat and placed in the food processor. Everything is then crushed to form a very fine paste. The more cream that is added, the lighter the end result will be. If a large amount of cream is used, the final duck liver pâté will have an almost mousse-like texture. The finished pate is allowed to cool, after which it can be placed in a container and refrigerated for a few hours until set.
When served, Duck Liver Pâté can be spread on crackers, toast or vegetables. It can also be used in dishes that require pate or foie gras, such as Beef Wellington. The pâté should be used quickly, as it can only be kept for a few days in the fridge.