I'm doing some batch cooking today, after processing a group of fryers earlier in the week, and decided to try out rabbit organ meats (Liver, kidney and heart) in my usual liverwurst recipe.
It was FANTASTIC (closest I've gotten to a commercial liverwurst so far, I think!)
It was all done in my somewhat improvised style, so I'll have to try this a few more times with better record keeping in order to get a recipe with exact amounts. But for the bold or creative, I thought I'd document the process. (There were no search hits for liverwurst... go figure!)
Ingredients:
- Liver, heart and kidneys from 7 fryers.
- Salted Butter (approximately 3/8 of a cup - adjust per your preferred texture, more will make for a firmer chilled spread)
- An indeterminate amount of salt - to taste
- Fresh grated nutmeg - to taste
Equipment:
Pot, colander, food processor (or potato masher + large biceps), spatula, wax or parchment paper
Process:
- After rinsing the meat, place it in a pot of salted water and cook just below boiling until the liver exteriors are grey, they feel firm, some "scum" forms on the surface, and the interior of the livers remain pink.
- Strain meats out of the water, and leave to cool for "a while"; If the meat is too warm, butter will melt in the following step, and your liverwurst will be separated/layered on cooling. If the meat is too cold, butter will not integrate as well, and you may end up with butter chunkies. I Aim for maybe body temperature or slightly above room temperature.
- Place meat in food processor with chunked butter. Add salt and grate in nutmeg - be sparing at first. Pulse until ingredients combine and become paste-like. Do shorter and fewer pulses for "coarse liver sausage" and more for "fine liver sausage"
- Taste cooked liver sausage and adjust seasoning to your liking. Blend by hand if you want coarse, or pulse more for fine sausage.
- Scrape liver sausage out of processor and place on wax/parchment paper. Roll sausage in paper to form a "tube" and then twist the ends closed - place in refrigerator to firm up, or give up on this step and smear directly on to bread.
Edit: Note, move the liver to an AIRTIGHT wrapper after it had chilled and firmed up! The parchment or wax paper may not keep it from drying out so cling wrap, a plastic bag or other airtight container will be necessary for storage beyond a day.
My batch today made 575g (or 1 1/4 lbs) of liverwurst.
I've found the nutmeg is a huge part of what makes this taste like the store-bought liverwurst I know and love - but it's definitely not obligatory.
It was FANTASTIC (closest I've gotten to a commercial liverwurst so far, I think!)
It was all done in my somewhat improvised style, so I'll have to try this a few more times with better record keeping in order to get a recipe with exact amounts. But for the bold or creative, I thought I'd document the process. (There were no search hits for liverwurst... go figure!)
Ingredients:
- Liver, heart and kidneys from 7 fryers.
- Salted Butter (approximately 3/8 of a cup - adjust per your preferred texture, more will make for a firmer chilled spread)
- An indeterminate amount of salt - to taste
- Fresh grated nutmeg - to taste
Equipment:
Pot, colander, food processor (or potato masher + large biceps), spatula, wax or parchment paper
Process:
- After rinsing the meat, place it in a pot of salted water and cook just below boiling until the liver exteriors are grey, they feel firm, some "scum" forms on the surface, and the interior of the livers remain pink.
- Strain meats out of the water, and leave to cool for "a while"; If the meat is too warm, butter will melt in the following step, and your liverwurst will be separated/layered on cooling. If the meat is too cold, butter will not integrate as well, and you may end up with butter chunkies. I Aim for maybe body temperature or slightly above room temperature.
- Place meat in food processor with chunked butter. Add salt and grate in nutmeg - be sparing at first. Pulse until ingredients combine and become paste-like. Do shorter and fewer pulses for "coarse liver sausage" and more for "fine liver sausage"
- Taste cooked liver sausage and adjust seasoning to your liking. Blend by hand if you want coarse, or pulse more for fine sausage.
- Scrape liver sausage out of processor and place on wax/parchment paper. Roll sausage in paper to form a "tube" and then twist the ends closed - place in refrigerator to firm up, or give up on this step and smear directly on to bread.
Edit: Note, move the liver to an AIRTIGHT wrapper after it had chilled and firmed up! The parchment or wax paper may not keep it from drying out so cling wrap, a plastic bag or other airtight container will be necessary for storage beyond a day.
My batch today made 575g (or 1 1/4 lbs) of liverwurst.
I've found the nutmeg is a huge part of what makes this taste like the store-bought liverwurst I know and love - but it's definitely not obligatory.
