When Planters came out with this chicken liver pâté recipe, it was nothing like a traditional pâté.
The classic version is made with butter, often a splash of cream, and a little brandy or cognac.
Planters skipped the butter completely and used half a cup of peanut oil instead. And as if that wasn’t unusual enough, they added a hard-boiled egg.
When I first read it, it actually sounded good.
The peanut oil was the part I wasn’t sure about. For years I’d heard, somewhere in the background, that peanut oil isn’t good for your health, but I’d never looked into it myself. Before making this recipe I had to, because I wasn’t going to buy an oil that might be bad for my family. I was already looking at substitutes. Here’s what I found.
So, Is Peanut Oil Bad for You?
The usual claim goes like this: peanut oil is full of omega-6, omega-6 causes inflammation, so stay away.
I’ve completed a long research and would like to share my findings.
In short: studies find that peanut oil is a healthy oil and I went ahead and bought it.
I will post more scientific information below if you are interested. If you are, like me, get lost in scientific terms and numbers, then I won’t bore you :).
Where This Recipe Comes From
Peanut oil had its big moment in North America during the Second World War.
Margarine was made with coconut oil, the coconut oil came from the Philippines, and the war cut that supply off.
Butter supply was also scarce.
Peanuts were grown at home and they were cheap, so Planters started selling its oil as the replacement for rationed fats. After 1945 the coconut oil came back and peanut oil slipped into the background.
Company came up with a recipe for chicken pate where no butter/margarine were used. And, of course, sale of peanut oil increased tremendously.
The cookbook I found this in has a short note from the author, who stirs in about two tablespoons of brandy but says it’s good either way. I did not use any brandy, but it sure sounds divine 🙂
Alternatives to Peanut Oil
Every drop of oil ends up in the pâté, so pick something mild.
- Light olive oil: easy to find and neutral.
- Avocado oil: neutral and a little buttery, but pricier.
- Canola or sunflower oil: the cheapest option.
- Butter: half a cup, melted. You’ll get a richer, more classic pâté that sets firmer in the fridge.
Skip toasted peanut oil and strong extra-virgin olive oil. Either one will take over the whole thing.
Chicken Liver Pâté Recipe
Makes about 1½ cups.
Ingredients
- ½ cup (125 ml) Planters Peanut Oil, or any refined peanut oil
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 lb (450 g) chicken livers, cooked
- 1 hard-cooked egg
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- About 2 tbsp brandy (optional, I did not use it)
Method
- Heat the oil in a heavy skillet. Add the onion and cook until it’s soft and see-through, about 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool.
- Put the cooked livers, the egg and everything from the skillet into a food processor, oil included. The original says to “grind or chop,” which meant a meat grinder back then. A food processor makes it smoother.
- Blend until smooth, then stir in the salt and pepper, and the brandy if you’re using it.
- Spoon it into a dish, cover, and chill until you’re ready to serve.
Serve it with crackers, toasted baguette, rye bread or pickles.
How to Cook Chicken Livers for Pâté
The original recipe just says “cooked chicken livers,” as if everyone already knows how. Here’s how I’d do it.
Preparing chicken liver: Don’t rinse raw livers under the tap. It only splashes bacteria around your sink. Pat them dry with paper towel, trim off the white stringy bits, and cut away any spot with a green tinge. That’s bile, and it tastes bitter.
Making chicken livers for this recipe: You can go one of two ways.
- Fry them: Heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the livers 3 to 4 minutes per side, until they’re browned outside and no longer pink in the middle. This gives the most flavour.
- Poach them: Drop them into simmering salted water for 8 to 10 minutes, until firm all the way through. Milder taste, and a very smooth pâté.
Either way, cook them through, to 74°C (165°F) inside. Underdone chicken livers are a known cause of food poisoning, and pâté is exactly where they turn up.
How It Turned Out
Really good. It’s smooth and mild, the onion gives it a little sweetness, and the egg makes it softer than a plain liver spread. Because it’s made with oil instead of butter, it stays spreadable straight out of the fridge, so you don’t have to wait for it to soften before people show up.
It takes about half an hour of actual work, and you can make it the day before. I went into this suspicious of the oil and came out with a pâté I’d happily put out for guests, plus a bottle of peanut oil I’m actually using.
More Science About Oils
Peanut oil is about half monounsaturated fat, mostly oleic acid, the same fat everyone praises olive oil for. About 30% is polyunsaturated, mostly omega-6. The rest, around 20%, is saturated.
In 2009 the American Heart Association reviewed dozens of studies about health risks/benefits of peanut oil. Eating more omega-6 didn’t push inflammation markers up, and in some studies it brought them down. When people swapped saturated fat for omega-6 fat, their risk of heart attack dropped by about a quarter. The AHA’s advice was simple: if you want a better balance, eat more omega-3. Don’t cut the omega-6.
Frank Sacks, a Harvard researcher who later led the AHA’s big advisory on dietary fats, said there’s no good clinical research showing that omega-6 does harm. The studies that exist point the other way.
Then there was the part I didn’t expect. One tablespoon of peanut oil gives you about 14% of your daily vitamin E.
And what about avocado oil and light olive oil, the two everybody calls the healthy ones? All three are mostly unsaturated fat. Avocado and olive oil have more monounsaturated fat and less omega-6, but since omega-6 isn’t the problem it was made out to be, that difference matters a lot less than people think. Refined, all three handle high heat well. And light olive oil isn’t light in calories. It’s just refined olive oil with a milder taste.
So my verdict on the oil: peanut oil is no worse than avocado oil or light olive oil. Facsinating!!!
The one thing that is real is allergies. Refined peanut oil has most of the peanut protein taken out, and in the US it doesn’t even have to be labelled as an allergen. In Canada it still does. Cold-pressed peanut oil keeps the protein. If you’re serving this to guests, tell them what’s in it.
As for the rest of the bottle, it’s great for stir-fries, roast potatoes and popcorn.
References
- American Heart Association science advisory: Harris WS et al., “Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Risk for Cardiovascular Disease,” Circulation, 2009.
- Harvard Health Publishing, “No need to avoid healthy omega-6 fats”: https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/no-need-to-avoid-healthy-omega-6-fats
- Center for Science in the Public Interest, interview with Frank Sacks on fats and oils: https://www.cspi.org/daily/fat-in-food/what-are-common-oils-made-up-of/
- Healthline, “Is Peanut Oil Healthy?”: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-peanut-oil-healthy
- Allergic Living, “Peanut Oil and Allergy: When Is It Safe to Eat, When Is It Not?”: https://www.allergicliving.com/2022/11/22/peanut-oil-and-allergy-when-is-it-safe-to-eat-when-is-it-not/
- National Peanut Board, refined vs. unrefined peanut oil: https://nationalpeanutboard.org/news/why-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-peanut-oil-allergy/
- Ruth Reichl, “Things I Love: Peanut Oil” (peanut oil and WWII rationing): https://ruthreichl.substack.com/p/a-surprising-legacy-of-ww-ii-rationing