Jewish-Style Chopped Liver
This recipe is very near and dear to my heart. My dad makes chopped liver for (literally) every occasion; whether it is a Jewish holiday or not. He even will freeze it and send it over-night across the country to me in DC. Anyone who knows me well, has probably tasted this famous chopped liver- it is truly such a treat!
Ingredients:
About 3 lbs (3 cartons) of chicken livers; drained
2 pears; peeled and sliced
2 large yellow onions; roughly chopped
6 - 7 hard boiled eggs
1 tbsp of pear liqueur (honey or agave also works)
Salt & Pepper, and Lawry’s Seasoning Salt to taste
1 tbsp of schmaltz (you can use veggie oil, if you can’t find schmaltz)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Note: this is make you a very large bowl of chopped liver. To adjust the amounts, just make sure you have equal part liver to onions. This also freezes well!
In a large pan (the largest pan, with sides, you own), on a medium high heat, add in your schmaltz and your oil. Once the oil/schmaltz is hot, add your onions and cook them down completely. You want them to start to caramelize, but not burn.
When your onions are starting to getting to a golden color, make a hole in the middle of you onions, and add in your drained chicken livers. Do not stir this too much, as you don’t want the livers to break apart. Cook until the livers are no longer pink, inside and on the outside, and have a nice sear.
When everything is starting to cook down, add your pear slices and cook until they are soft. The key to a very delicious chopped liver is adding sweetness to compliment the mineral/savory flavors of the liver. Add in your pear liqueur (or honey/agave) and flambe it so the alcohol taste has been cooked out.
Stick a clean spoon in the liquid and taste it. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Lawry’s. When it tastes amazing (aka you could drink the liquid). Turn the heat off and let everything cool completely.
Note: You can do all the prep steps (above) the night before and let everything sit in the refrigerator, or you can do it the morning of and just let it cool down.
When everything is completely cooled down, get your food processor, or Kitchen Aide/meat grinder attachment ready. If you are using a meat grinder, alternative between liver, onions, pears and hard boiled eggs. If you are using a food processor or a strong blender, you can put everything in together.
Keep the chopped liver in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it. Serve with crackers, rye bread, matzah or (my favorite) pieces of iceburg lettuce.