Leverpostei med Sylteagurk
Leverpostei med Sylteagurk·(leh-ver-poh-stay med seel-teh-ah-goork)
Matpakke & Smørrebrød: Rhythms of the Nordic Midday
For a kid growing up Scandinavian in the American Midwest, the smell of warm liver pâté in the oven is the ultimate trigger of home. Unlike a dense French terrine, a proper leverpostei is velvety, deeply savory, and aggressively spreadable—the undisputed heavyweight champion of the packed midday lunch. The secret is a simple white sauce binder and a stealthy hit of anchovy that delivers massive umami without a whisper of fish. Slather it thick on dark, dense rye bread, and crown it with sharp, sweet-sour pickled cucumbers to cut through the beautiful, rich fat.
Before you start
Freeze the raw batter for a quick weeknight bake.
Instead of baking immediately, cover the filled aluminum tins tightly with foil and freeze raw for up to three months. On a busy weeknight, place a frozen tin directly into the water bath and bake for an hour and fifteen minutes for freshly baked pâté on demand.
Ingredients
- Persian cucumbers or Kirby pickling cucumbers1 lb
- white distilled vinegar1 cup
- water1/2 cup
- granulated sugar1/2 cup
- kosher salt1 1/2 tsp
- yellow mustard seeds1 tbsp
- fresh dill1 small bunch
- whole black peppercorns1/2 tsp
- pork liver or chicken livers1 lb
- fatty ground pork or raw bacon1/2 lb
- yellow onion1 med
- anchovy fillets4 small
- unsalted butter4 tbsp
- all-purpose flour1/3 cup
- whole milk1 1/4 cup
- large eggs2 large
- kosher salt2 tsp
- black pepper1 tsp
- ground allspice1 tsp
- ground cloves1/4 tsp
Method
- 01
Pickle the cucumbers at least a few hours ahead.
Pack the cucumber slices and dill tightly into a clean glass jar. In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, water, sugar, 1 1/2 tsp salt, mustard seeds, and peppercorns to a rapid boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the hot brine directly over the cucumbers, press them down to submerge, and let cool before sealing and refrigerating.
- 02
Build the white sauce binder.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and let it cook for one minute without browning. Gradually stream in the milk, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens into a heavy, porridge-like paste, then remove it from the heat to cool slightly.
- 03
Process the meat and aromatics.
In a food processor, combine the liver, ground pork or bacon, chopped onion, and the anchovy fillets. Pulse until the mixture is very finely ground and completely smooth, mimicking the texture of a grandmother's hand-cranked meat grinder.
- 04
Whisk the batter together.
Transfer the smooth meat mixture to a large bowl. Add the slightly cooled white sauce, eggs, 2 tsp salt, black pepper, allspice, and cloves, whisking vigorously until the batter is entirely homogenous.
- 05
Bake the pâté in a water bath.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Divide the batter into four small aluminum loaf pans and place them in a high-sided roasting pan. Pour hot water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the tins, then bake uncovered for about 60 minutes until firm to the touch and slightly browned on top.
- 06
Serve warm on dense rye bread.
Let the pâté rest for ten minutes out of the oven. Spread it generously onto hearty dark bread, fanning a few slices of the cold, sharp pickled cucumbers over the top to balance the rich fat.