Leverpostej (Danish Liver Pâté)

Denmark’s favorite sandwich topping: pork liver, milk, butter, flour and egg, blitzed together and baked from a cold oven. Eaten warm or cold on dark rye with pickled beets.

Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here for the Pâtés and Terrines section and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.

Ingredients

• 300 g pork liver, in small pieces
• ¼ liter (250 ml) milk
• 150 g butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon wheat flour
• 1 onion, cut in wedges
• ½ dl (50 ml) oregano leaves
• 1 egg
• 1½ teaspoons coarse salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Chop the liver in a food processor at top speed for about 30 seconds.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed and process at top speed about 30 seconds more.
3. Divide among 5 small ovenproof dishes (about 2 dl each). Put them in a cold oven, set it to 175 °C (350 °F) and bake in the middle of the oven about ½ hour.
4. For one 1½-liter dish instead: cold oven, 175 °C, about 1 hour, then 10 minutes in the switched-off oven.
5. Serve warm or cold on coarse rye bread with pickles.

Notes

Source Adapted from Arla, “Leverpostej” (arla.dk), translated from Danish.

Variations from the source For Christmas (juleleverpostej), add allspice, cloves and thyme. The unbaked mixture freezes; bake from frozen in a cold oven set to 175 °C for about 45 minutes.

A note on the seasoning Oregano is Arla’s choice. The classic Danish seasoning is allspice, which Arla keeps for its Christmas version, and many recipes use lard rather than butter.

Serving Warm on rugbrød with pickled beets, crisp bacon or sautéed mushrooms.

The Pâtés and Terrines section’s Around the World page (/pates-and-terrines/around-the-world/) covers the history and technique behind this dish.

The photo The photograph shows leverpostej on rye bread with pickled beets.