Mile End Deli’s Chopped Liver and Pickled Onions

Serves
serves 8
Time
1 hour 15 minutes

Published on December 3, 2015

While Noah Bernamoff of Mile End Deliserves these toppings over latkes as a holiday breakfast, they're just as delicious served as part of a charcuterie board at a cocktail party.

Featured in: Go Eat Latkes in Your Pajamas

Ingredients

For the Chopped Liver

¹⁄₄ cup schmaltz or unsalted butter
1 ¹⁄₄ lb. cleaned chicken livers
Kosher salt
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. quatre-épice
3 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped (see How to Make Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs)
2 scallions, finely chopped

For the Pickled Onions

1 cup distilled white vinegar
¹⁄₂ cup (3 1/2 oz.) sugar
¹⁄₂ tsp. whole black peppercorns
¹⁄₄ tsp. yellow mustard seeds
2 whole allspice berries
2 whole cloves
1 fresh bay leaf
1 medium white onion, thinly sliced

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Instructions

Step 1

Make the pickled onions: In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, mustard seeds, allspice, cloves, and bay leaf to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat, let cool, and then pour over the onion in a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Step 2

Make the chopped liver: In a 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons schmaltz over medium-high. Add the chicken livers, season with salt, and cook, turning once, until caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the livers to a food processor and return the skillet to the heat. Pour in the remaining 2 tablespoons schmaltz, add the onion, and cook, stirring, until lightly caramelized, 6 to 8 minutes. Scrape the onions and schmaltz into the food processor, along with the quatre-épice, eggs, and scallions, and pulse until the livers are finely chopped. Scrape the chopped liver into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and keep warm. Serve with crispy Latkes.

Make the pickled onions: In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, mustard seeds, allspice, cloves, and bay leaf to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat, let cool, and then pour over the onion in a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Make the chopped liver: In a 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons schmaltz over medium-high. Add the chicken livers, season with salt, and cook, turning once, until caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the livers to a food processor and return the skillet to the heat. Pour in the remaining 2 tablespoons schmaltz, add the onion, and cook, stirring, until lightly caramelized, 6 to 8 minutes. Scrape the onions and schmaltz into the food processor, along with the quatre-épice, eggs, and scallions, and pulse until the livers are finely chopped. Scrape the chopped liver into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and keep warm. Serve with crispy Latkes.