Boil a calf’s liver until very tender in water that has been slightly
salted, and in another vessel a nice calf’s tongue. It is best to
do this the day before you make your _pâté_, as they should be not
only cold, but firm when used. Cut the liver into bits, and rub these
gradually to a smooth paste in a Wedgewood mortar, moistening, as you
go on, with melted butter. Work into this paste, which should be quite
soft, a quarter-teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, or twice the quantity of
white or black, half a grated nutmeg, a little cloves, a teaspoonful
of Worcestershire sauce, salt to taste, a full teaspoonful of made
mustard, and a tablespoonful of boiling water, in which a minced onion
has been steeped until the flavor is extracted. Work all together
thoroughly, and pack in jelly-jars with air-tight covers, or, if you
have them, in _pâté_-jars. They give a foreign air to the compound, and
aid imagination in deceiving the palate. Butter the inside of the jars
well, and pack the _pâté_ very hard, inserting here and there square
and triangular bits of the tongue, which should be pared and cut up
for this purpose. These simulate the truffles imbedded in the genuine
_pâtés_ from Strasbourg. When the jar is packed, and smooth as marble
on the surface, cover with melted butter. Let this harden, put on the
lid, and set away in a cool place. In winter it will keep for weeks,
and is very nice for luncheon or tea. Make into sandwiches, or set on
in the jars, if they are neat and ornamental.
The resemblance in taste to the real _pâté de foie gras_ is remarkable,
and the domestic article is popular with the lovers of that delicacy.
Pigs’ livers make a very fair _pâté_. If you can procure the livers
of several fowls and treat as above, substituting bits of the inside
of the gizzard for truffles, you will find the result even more
satisfactory.