Top 8 patés tested
Watch for bargains in butchers, but expect to pay €4- €5.50 per kilo of chicken livers. Pork liver costs much the same, but smells quite strong. So, if it’s your first time making paté, it may be a good idea to start with chicken liver.
There are plenty of recipes on line, but for me frying the livers in butter with a clove or two of garlic and fresh thyme is best of all.
Cook through and liquidise, adding knobs of butter (and some salt to taste) until you are happy the mixture is smooth and silky. It will firm up as it cools.
Press through a sieve to be sure there are no stringy bits left. Spoon into pots or bowls and cover with a layer of clarified butter.
Make this by using a paper towel to soak up the milky solids that come to the surface of the melted butter.
This way it will keep for weeks. As it’s so buttery it’s also calorific, so resist thick chunks and instead serve a scraping on chunky brown bread to fill up and avoid over-indulgence.
For this survey we tried both pork and chicken liver versions.
A thick top layer of butter seals in this rich, light-coloured paté.
43% chicken livers with butter, olive oil, shallots, brandy, thyme, garlic and salt makes for a pale, smooth, well-balanced mixture flecked with thyme, like a rich foie gras. A good all-rounder and the favourite of tasters.
Score: 8
A darker colour than other samples from the addition of brandy, there is a hint of garlic in this smooth paté. The overall taste is rich and quite salty. Topped with a layer of butter to preserve it.
Score: 7
33% pork liver has 19% chicken fat mixed with coconut oil and rapeseed oil. There is also water held in place by rice flour and the emulsifier E412 (guar gum) and the emulsifier E472c (citric acid esters of mono and diglycerides of fatty acids).
There is also palm fat which we don’t like from a sustainability viewpoint. It tastes very salty and at 2.1% has a high enough salt content.
There is also a slightly strange acidic aftertaste.
Score: 4
Blind tasters did not guess that this was called a garlic paté as it was not discernible at all. Quite meaty with a deep flavour which is not too salty.
A mixture of 29% pork liver, pork backfat and 21% pork meat, there is water to lighten it, held in place by potato starch and the emulsifier E412 which is guar gum. There are also onions and eggs. Quite a pleasant taste.
Score: 6
A smooth mixture made from 38% pork liver, a higher amount than many samples, mixed with pork fat, water stabilised with tapioca starch.
The taste is not too salty and at 1.7% salt is an acceptable amount. It’s pleasant, though slightly bland.
Score: 6.5
The first taste hit of this paté is of alcohol, provided by 1.5% Madeira. This separates slightly after a few days which is not so pleasant.
It is called ‘lighter’ on the tub and feels quite loose from the addition of water thickened with cornflour, but at 31% it is high in pork liver and 20% pork fat, pork rind, single cream, onions, salt, and sugar. 1.7% salt is not too much, but the overall feel is quite fatty. It’s also nicely meaty, with thyme and ground coriander to balance.
Score: 6
33% pork liver and 30% pork fat with 8% pork and pork rind makes this a pork-rich paté, along with onion and, at 1.7%, not too much salt. Potato and rice starches are the thickeners. Fair value.
Score: 6.5
Slightly grainy in style, yet buttery. We didn’t detect the other ingredients listed — thyme, garlic or red wine — but overall it had a gently rich flavour. Made from 34% chicken livers, 34% butter, egg, 8% red wine, onion, garlic, salt and thyme. Tasters liked it.
Score: 7
