Chicken Liver & Smoked Turkey Sandwich With Sous-vide Chicken Liver Paté & Chopped Sweet Onion Recipe
Chicken liver isn’t for everyone but if it’s for you, this sandwich delivers for those who appreciate its savory bite. Chicken liver paté cooked sous-vide is the star. The chopped sweet onions—Walla Walla or Vidalia—add some crunch and tang, and the smoked turkey provides structure. - John F
For the sandwich:
Ingredients:
• Sandwich roll or thick-sliced sandwich bread
(this sandwich can get messy, you want a robust bread to hold things together)
• 1 medium slice of onion coarsely chopped
• 2 oz chicken liver paté (recipe below)
• 1 oz delil-sliced smoked turkey
• Mayonnaise
Preparation:
1. Lay out the bread or roll and slather with mayonnaise.
2. Lay down a layer of smoke turkey.
3. Spread the paté on top of the turkey.
4. Smush the chopped onions into the paté.
5. Assemble the sandwich and cut in half for easier handling.
Serving:
For a maximum comfort-food experience, serve with a pickle or some pickled onions, Cole slaw and some potato chips. Pairs with a tall glass of chocolate milk or cherry soda, a medium-dry wine or some cognac.
To make the paté:
Equipment
You will need an immersion cooker and good-size basin to accomplish the sous-vide cook called for in this recipe. The fun and convenient way to cook is to use 2 oz. mason jars with screw-on caps, but feel free to choose your own packaging.
Plan for 10 to 12 jars.
Preparing the puree calls for a food processor, blender, or—my preference—an immersion stick blender.
Ingredients
• 1 lb fresh chicken livers
• ½ cup milk, yogurt (not Greek) or kefir• 6 tbsp butter
• 1 small yellow onion, sliced
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper to taste
• ¼ cup Grand Marnier (or other orange liqueur)
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup heavy cream
Preparation:
1. Rinse the chicken livers in cold water and drain. Trim off fat or connective tissue as needed.
2. Place the livers in a bowl and cover with the dairy product. Milk is traditional, I use kefir because I have it. Set aside for 30 minutes.
3. In a sauté pan, melt 3 tbsp of the butter over a medium-low heat. Toss in the sliced onion and ¼ tsp of the salt.
4. Sauté slowly until the onion is soft and transparent and just starting to caramelize. Avoid making them crispy.
5. Remove the onions from the heat.
6. Drain the livers and dump them in your food processor or blender or, if using a stick blender, a splash-resistant glass or ceramic bowl.
7. Add in the onions with their butter, the remaining butter and salt, and the pepper.
8. Blend thoroughly, until there are no obvious solids of onion or liver.
9. Add the Grand Marnier, the egg and the cream.
10. Continue to blend on a low speed until perfectly smooth and uniform.
11. Dispense the puree into the jars, leaving 1/8 to ¼ inch of space at the top. If you spill any of the puree on the thread of the jar, wipe it off with a moist paper towel.
12. Gently screw on all of the lids. You want to find the sweet spot where they don’t leak but can still vent any pressure during cooking. This sounds complicated but isn’t really that difficult.
If you can sort of, kind of undo the cap by holding the jar in your palm and twisting the lid with your thumb you are probably going to be fine.
13. Most official sous vide instructions say to preheat the cooking water before adding the food. I find it convenient to start with hot tap water so that you can arrange the jars by hand and avoid shocking the glass jars.
14. Cook the jars at 170F for 2 hours.
14. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then chill in refrigerator.
