Name: Old Country Chopped Liver
Ingredients: 1 lb. chicken livers (fresh, not previously frozen); 2 cups finely chopped onions; 3 hard-boiled eggs; 6 Tblsp. schmaltz; salt and black pepper to taste; a few gribenes (optional)

Gehockte Leber

This forspeis is so simple and straightforward that it is underappreciated as the gourmet dish it really is. My general rules for making chopped liver are:

1. Use only chicken liver to make this dish. Do not use beef or calf liver. Their flavors are too strong.
2. Use schmaltz. Do not substitute oil or any other fat. If you are concerned about cholesterol, eat chopped liver less often, but eat the uncompromised version. Anyway, the amount of schmaltz per portion of chopped liver in this recipe is the equivalent of no more than one pat of butter.
3. Chop all the ingredients by hand rather than by machine. Chopped liver should not look like a puree or a pâté. In texture it resembles French pate du campagne or the Quebecois rillets du gran'mère, coarse and rustic.
4. Eat it in small portions — it is very rich — and make it only for special occasions. Then you eat it less often and enjoy it more when you do.

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