Chicken Liver Terrine

Course:

Appetizer

Practical information

Prep time

40 min
Cooking

15 min
Difficulty

Pause

3 h
Ready in

3 h 55
Price

Recipe
Comments (0)

Like many other great chefs, Oliver published a grand tome of recipes. His has been reprinted many times in multiple languages since it was originally published. It is from this book that the following recipe is adapted. Like others in the book, the recipe reflects classical French cooking as it was practiced after the second world war when ingredients were often in short supply. The recipe requires none of the exotic ingredients normally associated with three-star cooking.

Recipe's Ingredients

1 large sprig fresh thyme
1 fresh bay leaf
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 egg whites, at room temperature
1 tablespoon minced shallots

300 g chicken livers
150 g fatty bacon, 3/16" dice
100 g soft butter
100 ml port wine

Recipe preparation steps
1

Scrape the thicker veins from the livers with the side of a small knife. Remove any discolored or green areas. Cut the livers into 1" pieces and set aside.
2

Place the bacon in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the bacon until the fat melts substantially. The bacon should not be browned.
3

Add the shallots to the frying pan and cook them until they start to soften. Add the livers, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cook the livers until firm but still quite pink in the center.
4

Drain the contents of the frying pan reserving the livers, shallots, and bacon in a bowl. Marinate with the wine for about an hour.
5

Discard the thyme and bay leaf and place the livers, shallots, bacon, and wine into the bowl of a food processor. Process the mixture until very smooth. Add the butter and continue to process until thoroughly blended. Finally, work the mixture through a fine sieve.
6

Beat the egg whites to a soft-peak stage. Fold the egg whites, half at a time, into the liver mixture.
7

Pack the mixture into a 300-gram ceramic terrine. Cover and refrigerate until firm.
Ready !