The perfect make-ahead appetizer for your holiday feast, this creamy duck liver mousse is flavorful and rich. Serve with sliced baguette and let guests dig in!
I was practically skipping up to the cashier when I unexpectedly found duck liver in my local grocery store. Turns out they have it in the refrigerated section quite often so I don’t how I had missed it up till then. But I knew exactly what I wanted to make!
One of my favorite party dishes from years past was a chicken liver pâté that was always popular and I was just imagining how much richer and more lovely one made with duck liver would be.
I was not wrong! We really loved this. Processing the just-cooked liver with chilled duck fat made such a smooth and creamy mixture that I decided it deserved to be called mousse rather than plain old pâté!
Creamy Duck Liver Mousse
If you can’t find duck liver, chicken liver can certainly be substituted.
This makes two dishes of about 5 1/3 oz or 150g each. This recipe was adapted from one on the BBC Good Food website. bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/velvety-duck-liver-parfait
Ingredients
For the mousse:
10 1/2 oz or 300g duck liver
1 cup or 240ml milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons brandy
1 1/2 teaspoons port
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 1/2 oz or 100g duck fat, chilled
For the sealing the top:
1 3/4 oz or 50g duck fat or butter
For decoration:
1/2 teaspoon whole black or mixed peppercorns
Small sprigs fresh thyme
Method
In a small mixing bowl, soak the duck liver in the milk for an hour, refrigerated.
Drain and discard the milk. Cut away and discard any large sinews from the liver. It’s messy to do this but the only really successful way to make sure you remove all of the sinews is to grab the end of one with one hand and then press along the sinew with your other hand to separate it from the liver. Repeat till the sinews are all removed.
Wash your hands with hot water and lots of soap and reward yourself with a tot from that bottle of brandy you have out for later in the recipe. You've earned it! Cut the liver up into big chunks.
Heat the butter in a large frying pan, then gently fry the shallot and garlic for 3-4 mins until soft.
Remove the shallot and garlic to a small bowl, leaving behind as much butter as possible. (I prop up one side of the pan so the butter will collect on the other side, then remove the shallot and garlic.)
Turn up the heat then fry the liver until just browned on all sides. It spits and spatters a lot so I recommend using a spatter guard. DO NOT cover the pan with a lid! We don’t want the liver to steam or cook through, just brown.
Add the brandy and port then boil those off as quickly as possible.
Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the liver to a plate. Season the liver generously with the salt and freshly ground black pepper and leave it to cool completely.
Tip the cooled liver into a food processor with the shallot, garlic and the cold duck fat, and blitz until smooth and creamy.
Push the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl.
Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper, if necessary. Spoon into serving dishes or ramekins. Place in the refrigerator to set.
Once the mixture has set, make the topping. Gently melt the duck fat in a small pan or in a bowl in the microwave.
Put the peppercorns and thyme on top the mousse to decorate and gently pour in the melted duck fat to cover. Leave to set in the fridge.
Serve with slices of baguette for spreading.
Enjoy!
It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing appetizers for your Thanksgiving feast. Many thanks to our host Amy from Amy’s Cooking Adventures. Check out all the links below.
- Baby Corn Rumaki by Palatable Pastime
- Baked Brie with Dried Cranberries, Apples and Walnuts by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Charcuterie Bites Pumpkin Centerpiece by Our Good Life
- Cranberry-Chevre Twice Baked Potato Skins by Culinary Cam
- Creamy Duck Liver Mousse by Food Lust People Love
- Date and Walnut Bites by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
- Membrillo - Quince Paste with Manchego Cheese by Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Mini Bread Cornucopia by Amy's Cooking Adventures
- Mini Pumpkin Cheese Balls by Mayuri's Jikoni
- Mixed Vegetable Sliders by Sneha's Recipe
We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.
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