How To Make Duck Liver Pâté

How to make a quick and easy Duck Liver Pâté recipe from the giblets of your roasting bird or store-bought liver. This simple recipe is decadent, rich, and delicious and the best way to use liver, in my opinion.

Jump to:

• ❓Why this is the best recipe
• 📖 Ingredients List
• 👩🏼‍🍳 Instructions
• 👩🏼‍🍳 Chef's Tips & Serving suggestions
• 🍷 Wine pairing for Duck Liver Pâté
• ❄️ Storage & Freezing
• 🥣 Equipment
• ❓Recipe FAQ
• 🍽 Related recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

❓Why this is the best recipe

1. It's fast - you can make this duck liver pate in just 20 minutes. It's a great appetizer to serve before a main meal, as part of a grazing board, or as a delicious lunch with some salad and a piece of bread.
2. It's low waste - I hate wasting food. Using the liver to make this easy liver pate recipe and the rest of the giblets to make giblet gravy is one of the best ways to use up the whole bird and reduce food waste. Buying a good quality roasting bird is expensive, and this way you stretch it as far as possible.

📖 Ingredients List

This pate is very rich, so I would say that one duck liver will serve 2-3 people as a pre-dinner snack with some toast or with salad and bread for a light lunch. If you are spreading it onto small crostini to make canapes, it could make around 10. Here is what you will need to make it.

1. Duck Liver - When you buy a whole roasting bird from a butcher or a farm, it will normally come with a bag of giblets inside that you can use. Alternatively, you can buy whole duck livers separately in some grocery stores. One duck liver weighs around 60 grams or 2 ounces. This recipe uses one duck liver, and you can scale it up accordingly with what you have. You can also substitute for chicken livers or goose livers.
2. Butter - We need butter to cook the liver, and also make the clarified butter seal for the top. Using clarified butter on top of liver pate will help it to last longer. You can also use ghee or lard for the seal, as this already has the butter fat solids removed.
3. Shallot—I prefer shallot to onion in duck liver pate recipes as it has a milder, sweeter taste. You can substitute white or yellow onion.
4. Garlic - A small amount of garlic adds some depth of flavor.
5. Thyme - I saute the liver and vegetables with a sprig of thyme to add flavor but remove it before blending the pate.
6. Sweet wine/vermouth/sherry - I use sweet wine to add depth of flavor and a small amount of sweetness, as the liver can have a slightly bitter taste. Some recipes add tomato paste, but I think this masks the taste of liver. I often use Vermouth, sweet sherry (e.g. Pedro Ximénez), or dessert wine like a German Beerenauslese. You could substitute the wine for a small pinch of sugar.
7. Cream - For that velvety smooth pate texture and rich taste, we add a splash of cream. Use a cream with a high-fat content, like heavy cream (US) or double cream (UK).
8. Salt and black pepper

👩🏼‍🍳 Instructions

How to make duck liver pâté

1. If needed, trim any sinews from the liver with a small, sharp knife. Dice the shallot and garlic.
2. Heat a tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the melted butter is bubbling, add the shallot, garlic, thyme, and a pinch of salt, and saute until translucent.
3. Sear the duck liver on either side for 20 seconds, then add the wine and simmer it down to a syrup whilst the liver finishes cooking for a couple of minutes.
4. Stir through the cream, and then remove from the heat. Remove the sprig of thyme.
5. Blend the duck pâté in a mini food processor until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed. You may need to scrape around the blender with a rubber spatula a few times before continuing to get a finer textured pâté.
6. Transfer the duck liver pate into a shallow dish and smooth off the surface so it is completely flat and even.

How to make the clarified butter cap

1. Heat the remaining butter in a small saucepan until it melts and the butter solids separate and sink to the bottom. Do not stir or disturb it.
2. Slowly pour or spoon the clarified butter on top of the pâté to form a seal, covering the whole surface to the edges. Refrigerate to allow it to set before serving.

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef's Tips & Serving suggestions

I serve this duck liver pâté recipe with pieces of toast or crusty baguette. To make liver canapes, spread a small amount onto canape bases for an easy appetizer to hand around at parties. Sometimes I'll grate some orange zest into the pate before blending as duck and orange are flavors that work so well together.

🍷 Wine pairing for Duck Liver Pâté

Wine pair duck liver pâté with a chilled Montalado sherry or a dry Madeira which can stand up to the rich taste and contrast the intensity. I personally also love sweet Sauternes or other dessert white wine with smooth duck liver pate.

Read more easy food and wine pairing tips here to elevate all your meals!

❄️ Storage & Freezing

With the clarified butter seal intact, you can store duck liver pâté in the fridge for up to one month, but only if the seal is not broken. Once broken, consume within 2 days.

You can also freeze duck liver pate. To freeze it, allow it to cool in the fridge after doing the butter cap, and then cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn. Consume within one month.

🥣 Equipment

You will need a Frying pan to cook the duck liver pate ingredients, and then a Mini food processor to blend it to a smooth and velvety texture. I would always recommend using a small blender as it is a small amount and this will give you a smoother texture. Clarify butter in a small Saucepan to finish it off.

❓Recipe FAQ

🍽 Related recipes

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📖 Recipe