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If you’ve been following my story here on the blog or elsewhere on social media you likely know that I’ve never been (and still am not!) a big fan of the taste of liver. I’ve long struggled with anemia however, due to both celiac and Hashimoto’s disease, and I know that I need to keep iron-rich foods in good supply in my diet in order to keep my stores up.
Until recently, my Bacon-Beef Liver Paté has been a near-weekly addition to my diet (and prepared that way, I’ve learned to accommodate the taste!). I wanted to create another recipe, however, that didn’t use bacon to mask the flavor of the liver, but still tasted palatable. Here I use pastured chicken livers (I got mine from US Wellness Meats) which have a milder flavor, along with rosemary, apples, and a fair bit of coconut oil to create a smooth “mousse.”
As for which vehicle to use to get some paté into your system, I’ll use any complimentary fruit or veggie “cracker” handy — vegetable slices like carrots, celery, or cucumber, or even fruits like apple. By far, my favorite way to eat this was on a freshly-toasted Yucan Crunch cracker (pictured here), which used to be a treat I ordered occasionally from Mission: Heirloom in Berkeley, but now they’ve unfortunately been discontinued.
Pro tip: Liver is so potent that I find I can’t go through this recipe before it goes bad, as I only eat about an ounce or two a day as a snack in the afternoons. Because of this I like to portion it into two containers, one to keep for the current week, and the second to freeze and then pull out later for the next week.
- 1 pound pasture-raised chicken livers
- 4 tbsp coconut oil, divided
- 1 onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 green apple, cored and roughly chopped
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- To prepare your chicken livers, clean them under running water and place on a paper-towel-lined-plate to dry, using another piece of paper towel to blot any water left on top. Set aside.
- Add half of the coconut oil to the bottom of a heavy-bottomed skillet on medium heat. When the fat has melted and the pan is hot, add the onions, and cook, stirring, for about five minutes or until lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Clear a space in the center of your skillet by moving the onions and garlic to the outside of the pan. Place the chicken livers in the pan one-by-one, making sure they each get enough surface area to cook. Allow to cook about 2-3 minutes on one side before flipping and giving the onion mixture around the edges a little stir. After another 2-3 minutes and browned on both sides, add the rosemary, salt, and stir the entire mixture.
- Add the second half of the coconut oil to the pan, along with the apple pieces. Stirring occasionally, cook for 5-10 minutes, or until chicken livers are just pink in the middle and the juices are no longer running red (you can check by slicing one open if you need to). Turn off the heat and stir in the cider vinegar. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
- Once your mixture is cool enough to handle, add to the body of your food processor or a high-powered blender. Process until a smooth paste forms, adding additional coconut oil or salt to taste if necessary.
- Serve on raw vegetable or apple slices, or AIP-compliant crackers.
29 comments
Hi, this looks lovely! I was wondering whether it’s safe to re-freeze the pate when it’s been made from frozen livers? I can only get hold of organic chicken liver in frozen format.
Julia – I do this all the time! It is safe to re-freeze meat that has been fully cooked. You don’t want to re-freeze anything that was thawed and kept raw.
Yum! Thanks!
Where do you get the yucan crunch from? Amazon stopped carrying them! It’s been a few weeks now.
Peggy, they are waiting for a shipment to be delivered. Should be soon now!
Thank you for this recipe! I am wondering though if I could replace the coconut oil with lard or tallow or another fat? I struggle with coconut oil (it took me ages to work this out), I can tolerate small amounts. Thank you for all the information and help you guys post, your help has been invaluable to me in my recovery journey.
Hey Angeline! I would cook in lard or tallow, and then add the rest of the oil as olive or avocado for the best flavor. It will totally work without coconut! Hope it helps 🙂
I am moderately reactive to apples right now, but would love to try this recipe!!! What do you think would make a good substitute for the ACV and apple?
Hi Kelly, I would try lemon juice and pears!
This is a wonderful recipe! I’m making it for the 4th time now. Definitely our favorite way to eat liver! We pair it with plantian chips, cucumber slices, and even radish slices. Thanks so much for all your hard work Mickey!
I’m so happy you love it Katie!
[…] a recent Sydney AIP-catch up, one of our regulars brought a large batch of Mickey’s Chicken Liver Mousse. Let’s just say, it didn’t last very long with all those serious nutrient […]
I love this recipe even more than your original pâté using beef liver. Wondering if anyone has tried this one with beef or venison. I have more of that in the freezer. Thanks for sharing your thoughtful and delicious recipes!
That makes me happy Stacy! I do think it would work well with beef or venison… you can also try playing with different herbs, and pear instead of apple!
Hi, are there any substitutes for the green apple? I cant eat raw apples due to an allergy (oral allergy syndrome). Or can I cook the apples? Thanks
Hi Chantal, how about pears?
Can’t wait to try this! Love, love, love chicken liver…but have never been brave enough to make it. Cook and Savor suggested your recipe on Instagram. If I wanted to add bacon…would you suggest 6 slices, like in your other recipe or less? Thanks!
Adrienne, I hope you love it! Yes, you can add bacon, but I would use only 2-4 slices. There are already a lot of flavors there!
[…] Try this Autoimmune Paleo take on Chicken Liver Mousse recipe! […]
wow! thank you this IS amazing. I love love pate and I’ve always been intimidated to make it. I am curious though, on the instruction at #4. it says add apples slices – yet apples weren’t on the ingredient list..is that a misprint? Either way its delicious spread onto apple slices. Thank you, very much looking forward to exploring more of your recipes.
Jaqueline, you’ll see I call for an apple in the ingredients above!
I just made this with Duck liver and hearts. So Good!!!
Constance – YUM!
Hi Mickey!
I’m new to AIP and to preparing and eating offals. I just made this recipe and it is so yummy! I could eat the whole thing in one sitting, lol! So that is my question – what amount is a serving? Thank you!
Hi Erin! I’m so happy you love it! About 2 ounces of pate is a serving.
Whoops I thawed lamb liver instead of chicken livers! Do you think I could substitute the lamb in this recipe?
Nancy, absolutely! Lamb liver is fantastic here.
Hi Mickey…When you say clean the livers by running them under water is that all you need to do or do I also need to remove the filaments or do they just disappear when going through the food processor? Thanks so much for your help and your wonderful recipes 🙂
Looks delicious…can’t wait to make it 🙂
Laura, the chicken livers I get are usually cleaned pretty nicely when I buy them, but if they have any extra tough tissue I just remove that with a sharp knife. The food processor can handle them if they are missed. Good luck!