Sous Vide Chicken Liver Mousse
By America's Test KitchenPublished on January 19, 2021
Time
Sous vide: 30 minutes to 2 hours; active cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield
Makes about 3 cups
Sous Vide Temperature
154°F/68°C
Ingredients
Before You Begin
To give the mousse its traditional vibrant color, we used pink curing salt. Curing salt goes by many names, including DQ Curing Salt and Insta Cure #1, but it's most commonly labeled pink salt. You can find it in specialty food stores or online. (Do not substitute Morton's Tender Quick or Insta Cure #2.) If omitting the pink salt, increase the table salt to 1 teaspoon in step 3. For more about sous vide cooking, refer to our sous vide guide.
Instructions
- Using sous vide circulator, bring water to 154°F/68°C in 7-quart container.
- Heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat until butter is melted. Add shallots, garlic, thyme, and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until shallots are softened and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, add brandy and let warm through, about 5 seconds. Return skillet to medium heat and cook until brandy has reduced by about two-thirds, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Season livers with pink curing salt, if using, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Place livers and shallot mixture in 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bag. Seal bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Gently lower bag into prepared water bath until livers are fully submerged, and then clip top corner of bag to side of water bath container, allowing remaining air bubbles to rise to top of bag. Reopen 1 corner of zipper, release remaining air bubbles, and reseal bag. Cover and cook livers for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Transfer liver-shallot mixture to food processor and process until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. With processor running, add remaining 11 tablespoons chilled butter, 1 piece at a time, and process until emulsified, about 2 minutes.
- Strain mousse through fine-mesh strainer into bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much mousse as possible; discard solids. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir mousse to combine, transfer to serving dish or individual ramekins, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until fully set, at least 6 hours or up to 3 days. Before serving, let mousse sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then sprinkle with flake sea salt and thyme.To Make Ahead Mousse can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Time
Sous vide: 30 minutes to 2 hours; active cooking time: 25 minutesYield
Makes about 3 cupsSous Vide Temperature
154°F/68°CIngredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
Leave it to the French to take the lowliest of poultry parts and transform it into something rich, decadent, and just as worthy of being on a charcuterie plate as a fancy Iberico ham. Traditionally, to make chicken liver mousse the chicken livers are gently cooked in an aromatic base until they are just pink, and then the mixture gets blended together until it's smooth. Unfortunately, this method is fairly imprecise: The livers tend to cook unevenly and often overcook, resulting in a grainy texture and metallic aftertaste. But sous vide makes chicken liver mousse easy. It guarantees even cooking and, as a result, the perfect texture, every time.
Before You Begin
To give the mousse its traditional vibrant color, we used pink curing salt. Curing salt goes by many names, including DQ Curing Salt and Insta Cure #1, but it's most commonly labeled pink salt. You can find it in specialty food stores or online. (Do not substitute Morton's Tender Quick or Insta Cure #2.) If omitting the pink salt, increase the table salt to 1 teaspoon in step 3. For more about sous vide cooking, refer to our sous vide guide.
Instructions
- Using sous vide circulator, bring water to 154°F/68°C in 7-quart container.
- Heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat until butter is melted. Add shallots, garlic, thyme, and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until shallots are softened and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, add brandy and let warm through, about 5 seconds. Return skillet to medium heat and cook until brandy has reduced by about two-thirds, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Season livers with pink curing salt, if using, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Place livers and shallot mixture in 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bag. Seal bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Gently lower bag into prepared water bath until livers are fully submerged, and then clip top corner of bag to side of water bath container, allowing remaining air bubbles to rise to top of bag. Reopen 1 corner of zipper, release remaining air bubbles, and reseal bag. Cover and cook livers for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Transfer liver-shallot mixture to food processor and process until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. With processor running, add remaining 11 tablespoons chilled butter, 1 piece at a time, and process until emulsified, about 2 minutes.
- Strain mousse through fine-mesh strainer into bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much mousse as possible; discard solids. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir mousse to combine, transfer to serving dish or individual ramekins, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until fully set, at least 6 hours or up to 3 days. Before serving, let mousse sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then sprinkle with flake sea salt and thyme.To Make Ahead Mousse can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
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