what would you do with 5 lb chicken liver?

Maybe 10 lb. I did not weigh it. My son raised a bunch of chickens and does not like chicken liver so I got them. They're in three or four bags and are frozen.

I'm thinking of smoking them and making a pate from that. Since the livers have a fairly strong flavor, I thought I'd use hickory and a little mesquite. I'll either throw the livers on a grilling basket or perhaps a pie pan (or maybe try both) and put them in my mini-WSM at about 225 or 250.

I'm open to other suggestions.

thanks,
hank

I've never tried them on a WSM, but you could also make Rumaki

Tim

I've never smoked liver, but here are my thoughts.

1. I'd go light on the wood as I think the liver will pick up the smoke easily. I wouldn't use mesquite; too strong and harsh for my tastes. A little hickory if that's what you have or better yet, a fruit wood if available.

2. If you find chicken liver strong in flavor, try soaking it first in milk for 3 to 12 hours. You can pull one out, fry it up and test for taste this way. Soak a little longer if needed.

Paul

Hi guys, thanks for the tips.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by timothy:
I've never tried them on a WSM, but you could also make Rumaki </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
That sounds pretty good. I've had those. In fact... After I smoked the liver, I smoked some ABTs and I bet I could use some liver in those. I wish I had seen your suggestion before I cooked.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Paul K:
I've never smoked liver, but here are my thoughts.

1. I'd go light on the wood as I think the liver will pick up the smoke easily. I wouldn't use mesquite; too strong and harsh for my tastes. A little hickory if that's what you have or better yet, a fruit wood if available.

2. If you find chicken liver strong in flavor, try soaking it first in milk for 3 to 12 hours. You can pull one out, fry it up and test for taste this way. Soak a little longer if needed. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I used two chunks of hickory and one (not very big) chunk of mesquite in my mini-WSM. That did not turn out to be too much smoke and the smoky flavor is still subtle. I did cook the liver in a Corning dish so they were not as fully exposed as meat directly on the grate.

I don't really object to the flavor of the chicken livers. I was just thinking that it was unlikely that a stronger smoke flavor would overpower them.

From one bag of livers, I made almost 4 cups of pâté. I've still got two bags left so I can try some more things. I posted more detail of this cook on my blog.

thanks,
hank

There's no doubt in my mind this would be pate for me as well, with some bacon and some caramelized onion and some apples. Yum.

I like the idea of smoking the liver first, you can put lots of aggressive flavors in pate which will hold up to the smoke.

Throw it away. I'm sorry but that is the first thing that came to mind. Good luck with how ever you prepare it.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">what would you do with 5 lb chicken liver? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hank,
I got a real chuckle when I read the title of your post. My first thought was "that must have been one large chicken to have a 5 lb liver". Thnaks for the laugh.

Ray

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ray Crick:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">what would you do with 5 lb chicken liver? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hank,
I got a real chuckle when I read the title of your post. My first thought was "that must have been one large chicken to have a 5 lb liver". Thnaks for the laugh.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
And what would a chicken that big say?

B-A-W-K [/basso profundo]

They actually were big birds - about 6 lb. each. My son raised them in a chicken tractor.