The Venison Liver Pâté Challenge

I would not consider myself to be someone who likes liver. However, I had a desire to utilize more of my deer, and that meant tackling a portion that many claim is inedible. I wanted to challenge myself to not only consume the entire 2 pounds of liver from my most recent doe harvest but to produce something that would actually make me look forward to eating it. 

At first it seemed unlikely that would happen, but then I realized I actually have a history of enjoying liver in ways that I don’t often think about. A common condiment on Vietnamese hoagies or bánh mì is pork liver pâté. My maternal grandmother lived in a tiny village in Vietnam, and there was a bánh mì food cart parked near the end of her driveway. If you’ve never had bánh mì, it is – like many other Vietnamese foods – a flavor explosion. I always looked forward to getting those when I visited. 

When we spent summers at my paternal grandmother’s house in the suburbs of Philly, she would make us cold-cut sandwiches. One of the meats she often included was liverwurst. I found the flavor odd but somehow pleasant, at least when mixed with the other flavors of the sandwich. And to this day there’s a sort of nostalgia I associate with that flavor.   

Organs Are Primal Sustenance

And let’s face it, eating organ meats isn’t exactly odd. Both humans and wild predators have a long history of not only consuming organ meats but prioritizing their consumption. Part of that is probably just practical. Organs (sometimes called offal) spoil faster than skeletal muscle and need to be consumed first. It also makes sense from a survival perspective. Organs like the liver, heart and others make up a substantial portion of an animal’s weight and can add significantly to the overall harvest. Why waste it? 

To top it all off, organs are also nutritional powerhouses containing high levels of protein, essential fatty acids, and a wide array of vitamins and minerals. Organ meats just scream primal sustenance. I heard a rumor that alpha wolves become alpha wolves by consuming organ meats. Turns out there isn’t much science to support that, but I still secretly wondered if consuming organ meats might somehow help me develop superpowers. And so the Venison Liver Pâté Challenge was born.

Soaking and Preparation

First, I’d like to start by saying that I did chicken out and add bacon to my recipe. Venison liver has a reputation for being some of the strongest-tasting liver out there. However, in my defense, I kept the protein ratio at 4:1, leaning heavily in the direction of liver. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t create a giant batch of something I couldn’t eat. I also pre-soaked the liver to remove blood and the metallic taste that is associated with venison liver. 

Some people use saltwater, lemon juice, vinegar, milk, buttermilk, soda, or other liquids for the soak. I simply sliced the liver into pieces no thicker than half an inch, sliced those into 2-inch long pieces, and soaked them over a 24-hour period in a few changes of tap water. After each change, I smelled the liver to see if the metallic scent was still there. I never managed to make it go away in its raw state, but I fried a piece and found that cooking made the rest of the metallic quality disappear.

I rounded out the remainder of the recipe with homegrown shiitake mushrooms, butter, marsala wine, heavy cream, rosemary, thyme, and basic spices (salt, pepper, garlic, and onion). After cooking, everything went into the food processor until it formed a fine paste. Then I portioned it out into little quarter pint jars for sharing since I had a hunch this was going to be enjoyed by a lot of people. I then sealed the top of the pâté with a layer of clarified butter and duck fat and placed a little garnish of rosemary.

High-Stakes Taste Test

The process of cooking filled the house with such a glorious smell that I got two unlikely volunteers for sampling – my mom and my brother. Neither one had ever eaten anything I had hunted, so this was a big moment. And they were starting with liver? If they didn’t like it, they might not want to try any wild meat I brought home ever again. The stakes were high. I put some on a cracker and had a few toppings they could choose to go with it. And to my surprise – and relief – they liked it!

Soon after, I participated in a habitat improvement event and brought some to share with the group of about a dozen people. Every person who tried it loved it, and there was a little bit of competition over who was going to get more before it ran out. I gave a full jar to one lucky guy who promptly hid it in his vehicle.

Some people cut away the membrane and other chewy bits before cooking. I didn’t. I just let the processor chop them up. Some people push the pâté through a strainer at the end to smooth out the consistency. I tried that with a portion of the batch and found it not worth the effort. It was hard on the hands, it ended up removing too much of the good stuff, and nobody cared about the rustic texture of the unstrained jars. Everything gets minced so finely that the final result is smooth enough to everyone’s liking without the extra labor. It’s also a very forgiving recipe, so you can change the proportion of the ingredients and still end up with something tasty. You just have to fine tune the texture in the food processor by changing the amount of liquid you add.

Venison Liver Pâté Pairings

As for the pairings, pâté can go with a surprising variety of flavors from savory to sweet. I used a neutral base like salty crackers or crostini and then topped the pâté with mixtures of fruits, veggies, cheeses, pickles, jams, and honey. Here are a few of my favorite combos:

• Sharp cheddar and figs or strawberry jam
• Parmesan and arugula
• Feta and roasted red peppers
• Brie, grapes, and honey
• Cornichons, pickled red onions, and roasted tomatoes

Many people enjoyed it on a cracker with nothing added or with a simple drizzle of honey. However you choose to dress it up, I’m declaring the Venison Liver Pâté Challenge officially conquered, and I will certainly be saving the liver of every deer I harvest from now on. The challenge at this point isn’t whether I can stomach all 2 pounds of liver without gagging. The challenge is whether I’ll have any left over after everybody takes some. But that’s ok. I don’t mind sharing superpowers.

Recipe

• Prep time: 30 minutes (plus up to 24 hours for soaking)
• Cook time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 12 quarter-pint jars

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. venison liver, sliced ½-inch thick and 2 inches long
• 8 oz. bacon, chopped
• 3/4 cup clarified butter* or ghee, divided 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 5 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1-1/2 cups marsala wine
• 1 sprig of rosemary, stem removed, plus 12 small tips for garnish
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, stem removed
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup rendered duck fat*

*Clarified butter or ghee will form a better seal than regular butter, because milk solids and water have been removed. You can buy it pre-made or simply make it at home. If you don’t have duck fat, you can use clarified butter for the entire seal.

Instructions

1. Place liver in a bowl and cover with water. Refrigerate covered for 24 hours, changing the water twice.
2. Drain and pat the liver dry.
3. Heat a pan with 1/4 cup of butter. Add the bacon and liver and cook until the liver is brown on both sides.
4. Add garlic, onions, and shitake mushrooms to the pan. Cook until onions are translucent.
5. Add marsala wine and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Mix in the rosemary and thyme and transfer mixture to a food processor.
6. Puree the mixture, adding salt and pepper to taste.
7. Add small amounts of heavy cream until the mixture reaches the desired consistency. Mixture should be thick but spreadable.
8. Put the pâté in jars with a spoon, packing it to eliminate air pockets and leaving headspace for the duck fat and butter seal. Smooth and level the surface. Wipe the rims and upper portions of the jars clean with a paper towel. Allow jars to cool.
9. Melt the remaining butter with the duck fat and pour enough into each jar to cover the surface, then top each with a garnish of rosemary. Allow mixture to cool without moving the jars.
10. Add lids and freeze for up to a year or keep refrigerated and use within a few days. 
11. Serve with crackers or crostini and your favorite toppings. Don’t forget to share!