Duck Liver, Heart & Gizzard Pate.I must admit to never having actually trying gizzard before. Heart yes, chopped and lightly fried in butter it was pleasant enough, but gizzard? Seriously?
I forgot to get any pics of how to dissect the gizzard, I will do that next time. They are particularly weird looking things, a muscular pocket of stones inside a bird, used to grind up their food in lieu of teeth. When you cut them in half, they look like limpets, freshly prised off a rock. I can tell I’m making you hungry.
I used the offal of a 3 month old Muscovy drake. The liver, heart & cleaned gizzard weighed in at 100g. Of course you can use 100g of liver if that’s all you can find from your butcher, but if you are growing your own meat birds you won’t want to waste a thing. And if you are in the market for another tasty pate recipe, go take a peep at my yummy venison liver pate. It’s just delicious!
Duck Liver, Heart & Gizzard Pate
Roughly 100g of duck (or chicken) offal, cleaned and diced
3 shallots, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp tomato puree
a Pinch of salt, pepper & chilli powder
Heat 1 tbsp of butter in a large frying pan on a medium heat. Sweat the shallots & garlic for a couple of minutes till softened. Turn up the heat & add another tbsp of butter and the chopped meat, letting it brown all over.
Empty it all into a food processor, adding the remaining ingredients and pulse until as smooth as you like your pate.
Tip into a small pot and cool in the fridge. Cover tightly with clingfilm and eat within a couple of days, or store in the freezer for up to a month.
The verdict? Really, really good! Piled up on hot toast or crackers, it is a soft, gentle flavoured pate, perfect as a starter or light lunch.
Tammy/Our Neck of the Woods says
Very interesting! I have to say gizzards don’t sound very appetizing! But you made the final product look appealing :)
I appreciate the fact that you used up as much of the duck as you could!
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Tammy, I am also collecting the feet of all the birds I am currently dispatching.
Not sure when I’ll feel brave enough to defrost them and put them to use though! :o/
Drew says
If you haven’t used the feet yet, they are great braised. They take a copious amount of washing through braising, and about 12 hours of actual cooking time to make them palatable.
An easy recipe, is to clean them thoroughly, cook them until they begin to be tender in chicken stock, strain them off, then finish them in a sweet and sour sauce. They compliment the flavor well, and are a great easy snack (easy to eat by this time).
Jane Sarchet says
Drew, that is brilliant! Thank you so much :)
Janie x
Ben says
I just made this recipe with the hearts and livers of all of the wild ducks that I got hunting this past season. It turned out fantastic, wonderful recipe!
Jane Sarchet says
Awesome! Ben thank you for letting me know, you’ve made my day!
Janie x
Susie says
Ok I have just skinned and drawn 3 brace of pheasant. Lucky me. How do I clean a gizzard?
Karri says
3 shallots?! Seems like a lot for that little bit of “meat”…
Ai Solare says
I made this. I like it!
Jane Sarchet says
Glad you enjoyed it Ai!