Over at Stacy’s Instagram and the Paleo Parents Facebook page Stacy has been talking and sharing pictures of her new favorite food ever since I first made it (here, here, here, here, and here). She gives credit to it for keeping her skin clear, improving her moods, and for keeping her healthy. She takes it to the movie theater, eats it as breakfast and dessert, and makes me make it for her constantly. When you all have patiently asked for the recipe, she has repeated said, “I’ll get Matt to share the recipe soon!”
Yes, I’m talking Stacy’s Chicken Liver Mousse.
But I haven’t shared it yet for a couple reasons. First of all, I didn’t invent this recipe at all. This is classic French cooking, making an appearance in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a form similar to what you’ll read here. People have done this for, likely, a couple centuries at least.
Second, there’s dairy fat in here, and not an insignificant amount. This is the very first (and probably only) recipe we will ever publish that contains dairy.
So let me whip out my handy dairy warning boilerplate for you. Dairy is not for everyone. I, myself, haven’t had a glass of milk in years. I can’t even eat cheese in a significant amount without getting sick. I wrote a, in hindsight, pretty silly post two years ago about how no human should be consuming dairy of any kind. There are milk proteins that are meant to interact with baby cows and often don’t agree with adult humans. There are many people out there that should not be drinking milk of any kind because their bodies can’t handle it.
But dairy fat is a bit different, especially from grass-fed cows. Many more people can handle dairy fat because most of the offending proteins have remained in the milk when the cream is removed. The more the percentage of dairy fat is in your product, the easier it should be to digest. That means the heavy cream is easier than whole milk, and much easier than skim milk, which is practically water and of little use to anyone.
Not only that, but dairy fat is incredibly nutrient dense and energy packed. Don’t believe me? Listen to Chris Masterjohn, Master of All Johns. Frankly, this was the very talk that convinced me that some occasional grass-fed butter or cream might be useful. Oh wait, did I just link to the WAPF? I made Stacy a liar already!
That said, if you’re intolerant or concerned about the butter and cream, we’ve included alternate instructions in the recipe. However, it’s not as nutrient dense. And, we want to tell you that we tested the dairy-free version and although it’s edible we think it tastes like cat food compared to the real deal. So… knowwhatImsaying?
Last but not least, we HIGHLY recommend you eat this with tart apples – preferably Pink Lady. There is a huge difference in how this mousse tastes on a tart apple vs. a cucumber slice or carrot. If you’re trying to make organ meat palatable, you want to start with the apple route. Trust me. This is truly a terrific super food, so if you can learn to enjoy it we highly recommend doing so often!
Ingredients
- 1 pint free-range* chicken livers, drained
- 1 shallot or small onion, finely diced
- 2 TBSP grass-fed* butter (use lard for dairy-free)
- 1/3 C white wine or tequila (traditionally this would be cognac or brandy, which are both distilled wines, but white wine is much more available and cheaper and the taste of tequila works well if you have it - if you must avoid alcohol then apple juice for dairy version and apple cider for dairy-free would work here)
- 1/4 C grass-fed organic* heavy cream (or 3 Tablespoons full fat coconut milk and 2 Tablespoons homemade broth for dairy-free)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp fresh thyme (replace with 1 tsp cinnamon and a 1/2 tsp nutmeg for dairy-free)
- 3 peppercorns
- 3 allspice berries
- 1/2 C melted grass-fed* butter (use lard for dairy-free)
Instructions
- In a cast iron skillet, melt the two tablespoons of butter over medium heat.
- Saute the livers with the shallots for about 90 seconds per side. The inside of the liver will still be pink.
- Transfer shallots and livers to a blender. Pour in the cream and wine and add the salt, thyme, allspice and peppercorns.
- Blend on high until completely smooth.
- Pour in the melted butter and pulse to combine.
- Pour into mason jars and chill for two hours or until cold.
- Serve with a tart apple or veggies for dipping. When it scoops from the jar it should have a pink undertone and have the texture of softened ice cream.
Notes
* Because this recipe is for the purpose of nutrient-density and promotion of health, eating the chicken livers, butter and heavy cream from quality sources is essential. They will be much higher in vitamins and minerals, taste much better and be more easy to digest. These ingredients are not overly expensive and often available at local health food stores, Whole Foods or your local farm or farmer's market.
Stores well in an airtight container for up to 10-12 days. Once exposed to air the color will brown and top layer will harden over time. You can just scrape that layer off if bothers you - but storage in small mason jars prevents this from happening.
The recipe is very much like Julia’s but has my instructions and some modifications.
Oh.
One other bit of instruction: hold the lid of your blender down or learn the hard way! Chicken Liver Mousse is a disgusting fashion statement no matter how cool your t-shirt.
