Instant Pot Chopped Liver (Chicken Liver Pâté)

Instant Pot Chopped Liver is a delicious, elegant, and healthy appetizer that is also easy to make. Chicken Liver Pâté is great to add to a charcuterie platter. It only requires a few steps to put together and it’s also very affordable.

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Various kinds of pâtés have always been a staple in my kitchen when I was growing up. I suppose it’s a Russian thing as offal cuts are a standard part of Russian cuisine.

Pâtés are often considered fine dining and French but they are surprisingly easy to make. They are also quite affordable as liver is most often very inexpensive. And they are also high in iron and vitamin A.

Chopped Liver is most commonly referred to a Jewish recipe made with chicken livers, fried onions, schmaltz, and often hard-boiled eggs.

I am not an expert in Jewish cuisine so I won’t say that this recipe for Instant Pot Chopped Liver is authentic but it is delicious and it tastes very similar to Chopped Liver that I buy at my local Jewish grocery store.

Whether you call this recipe Instant Pot Chopped Liver or Instant Pot Chicken Liver Pâté, it’ll still be delicious, healthy, and easy to make.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Chopped Liver

• Shallot (or onion)
• Vermouth (or wine or broth or water)
• Chicken livers
• Butter (or dairy-free butter if you are following a Kosher diet or schmaltz if you have it)
• Seasonings (I use: salt, pepper, fresh thyme, nutmeg, paprika)
• Eggs (can be omitted if following egg-free diet)

How to cook chicken liver in Instant Pot

Cooking chicken liver for chicken liver pâté in Instant Pot is actually super easy.

1. Add all the ingredients except for eggs to Instant Pot.
2. If you are adding eggs to Chopped Liver, then cook them at the same time. Place a trivet on top of the liver and put eggs on it.
3. Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes, then do a quick release.

How to make Chopped Liver

Once chicken liver and eggs are cooked, you only need a few more minutes to make Chicken Liver Pâté.

1. Add all the cooked chicken liver and onions to a small food processor and pulse a few times.
2. Add a bit of a cooking liquid to get the desired consistency.
3. Add peeled hard-boiled eggs.
4. Process until the desired texture is reached.
5. Transfer to a bowl and cool in the fridge completely before serving.

Questions and Answers about Instant Pot Chopped Liver

Will it work with only 1 tablespoon of liquid in Instant Pot?

I have made Instant Pot Chicken Liver Pâté about dozen times in two different models of Instant Pot without any issues.

The recipe has shallot (or onion) which has a lot of liquid when softened, liver has a lot of juices, as well as butter (margarine) that melts and Vermouth (or broth). Once everything heats up, there will be plenty of liquid to create steam and bring your electric pressure cooker to pressure.

You can see in the video that once everything is cooked, there’s close to a cup of liquid in Instant Pot. If you are worried about it, feel free to add another 2-3 tablespoons of broth or water.

How long does it actually take to make Instant Pot Chopped Liver?

Prep time to cut up shallot and measure all the ingredients: 5 minutes
Time for Instant Pot to come to pressure: 8 minutes
Cooking time: 4 minutes
Quick release time: 2 minutes
Transfer to food process, peel eggs, pulse: 5 minutes

Total time: 24 minutes

Can you cook chicken in Instant Pot faster?

I have tried the cooking time of 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 4 minutes. I personally like 4 minutes the most because I prefer firmer chicken liver. I am also a bit paranoid and prefer to overcook meats.

Cooking for 2 minutes yields soft and pink chicken liver that is cooked to the correct internal temperature (160F).

Note: if you cook liver for less than 4 minutes, you would not be able to cook eggs at the same time as they will not be hard-boiled.

How much cooking liquid to add to Chicken Pâté?

This really depends on your taste. If you prefer smoother and softer pâté, then add more liquid.

For firmer and choppier style of pâté, something that is closer to Chopped Liver, use less liquid.

Remember, Chopped Liver will harden in the fridge as it cools.

Variations for Chopped Liver

• Eggs
  • I like to add eggs for extra flavour, protein, and also to stretch the ingredients even further.
  • They can be fully omitted. Or you could add more eggs if desired.
• Butter
  • Use butter if you don’t follow Kosher diet.
  • Use non-dairy spread if you need to avoid dairy.
  • Use schmaltz for extra flavour.
• Vermouth
  • I use Vermouth a lot in cooking. I love its bitter and savoury taste. I also love that the bottle will last a long time as opposed to wine that needs to be finished soon after the bottle is opened.
  • If you don’t have Vermouth, use white wine, chicken or vegetable broth, or just water.
• Seasonings
  • Feel free to use your favourite spices and herbs if you’d like.
  • I don’t use a lot of salt, so you may need to increase salt.
• Chicken Liver
  • It’s important to make sure that the chicken livers are clean and don’t have any green pieces attached to them. Green sack is a gallbladder and it’s extremely bitter. It needs to be cut off and discarded.
  • In all my years of cooking chicken liver, I’ve only stumbled upon it once, so it’s rare but something to be aware about.

Equipment to make Chicken Liver Pâté

• Instant Pot. I tried this recipe with my Duo and Smart Wifi models.
• Ceramic liner. Optional. Whenever I cook something with very little liquid, I like using my ceramic liner. It is not necessary and will work fine with standard stainless steel insert but ceramic insert gives me a peace of mind.
• Small food processor. I like this brand a lot. My first model lasted for 10 years and I just recently upgraded to another one.

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