Making duck liver pate - advice?

Cafe Society
#1

I picked up a couple of ducks to smoke for Christmas, and realized that I now have 7 oz. of duck liver. Never having cooked a whole duck or goose before, I find myself with a new opportunity - I realize I don’t have foie gras, but I’ve heard that even regular duck liver pate can be quite good. So I started poking around a bit online, and it looks like there are a couple issues - first, what type of fat to use? Since I am smoking my ducks, I figure any fat that comes off (and doesn’t burn up) will be pretty smokey, and probably less than ideal. Recipes I’ve seen use duck fat (which is probably out), butter and cream. I also have some chicken fat in the freezer that I was going to use for Matzo balls, but that’s an option too. Any experiences?

Next, how to cook? There’s one recipe on epicurious that calls for just sauteing the liver, but it seems some people favor using a bain-marie, which I don’t have. I’ve used a metal bowl over a pot of water for double-boiling before, but that’s kinda crude, and usually some of what’s cooking gets scorched. Any recommendations?

Extra Credit: What do I do with hearts and gizzards?

#2

These guys have sprung up in the cooler where I shop. There products are great and their recipes and advice work like a charm. Even though they sell tubs of duck fat they don’t use any in the simple recipe they give.

#3

Cool, thanks. That recipe does, however, call for double cream, whereas I can only get my hands on heavy whipping cream, which is a little less fatty. I may end up just straining to get higher butterfat, but does anyone have a more American-friendly recipe?