Chopped Liver
Chopped liver is part of most Jewish people’s upbringing. My two grandmothers made their chopped liver a little differently from each other, but both were tasty. This recipe combines the best of each. Chopped liver is a developed taste, but to get the full Jewish experience at Passover, we recommend you at least try a little bit on a piece of matzah.
Ingredients:
1½ pounds chicken livers, trimmed
3 eggs
1 large onion, sliced
2 tablespoons chicken schmaltz* (or 2 tablespoon olive oil)
2 tablespoons Kiddush wine, brandy, or chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
*Chicken schmaltz (SHMALTZ) is rendered chicken fat.
Instructions:
- Hard-boil the eggs for 10 minutes, drain, and set aside.
- In a sauté pan, cook the onions on low heat until a nice golden brown color appears. Remove from the pan and let cool on a paper towel.
- Add wine and chicken schmaltz to the sauté pan and bring to simmer on medium heat.
- Add the livers and cook for 5 minutes or until the livers are firm to the touch.
- Pour mixture into a food processor and mix until the ingredients come together, but not too smooth.
- Scrape mixture into a bowl.
- Grate the eggs and add to the bowl. Then add the onions and mix together.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Refrigerate overnight and serve the next day.
To make chicken schmaltz:
- Take the spare fat from a raw chicken. This can be done by removing the skin and fat from chicken thighs and cutting into strips.
- Cook on low heat in a sauté pan with 2 sticks (8 ounces) of butter for 60 to 90 minutes until all fat has been rendered gently out of the chicken skin.
- Remove skin from pan and drain on paper towels to form gribenes (Yiddish for “cracklings”).
- Pour the fat (schmaltz†) into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.
†The schmaltz (fat) will keep for up to 3 to 4 weeks in the fridge if stored correctly with a lid.
Meet the Chef
Mitch was raised in a traditional Reform Jewish home near Boston. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Massachusetts and focused on a culinary career. Mitch worked at some of the finest kitchens in Boston including the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, The Parker House and Le Meridien, achieving his goal of cooking with the best chefs in the world. In 1982 Mitch moved to San Francisco and cooked at some of the top restaurants on the West Coast as well. Mitch had a chance to work with other top chefs who introduced a new and lighter style of cooking to America, which became known throughout the United States as New American Cooking.
His destructive lifestyle, however, was detrimental to his career and he could no longer keep up with the high demands and pressures of cooking at the top. He was eventually fired from his job at Stars, once a top restaurant and one of the most creative kitchens in the country. He realized that his life was a wreck and prayed to God for the first time in years. The next day, he quit smoking and drinking. As Mitch began to trust God for the first time in his life, he talked with a Christian co-worker about the Bible and finally began to grasp the Gospel message. Mitch accepted Yeshua (Jesus) into his life in 1987.
Mitch now serves as Vice President of U.S. Ministries for Chosen People Ministries and oversees all recruitment, training, mentoring and leadership of the entire U.S.-based missionary staff. Mitch is married to Kina, a second-generation Jewish believer, and they have two daughters, Kaelee and Alana, and a son, Joshua.