Leverpostej (Danish Liver Pate) is a wonderful pork liver pate that is lighter in texture than normal pate and is served hot on rye bread for the most exquisite of eating experiences. If you’ve never tried it then you have seriously been missing out!
What is Leverpostej?
Leverpostej, pronounced Liwer-po-stigh is a traditional Danish pork liver pate which is served hot on rye bread and garnished in various ways.
Wanting to recreate the pork liver pate that my mother used to buy from the Danish Centre when I was a child, I set about doing some research as this was not a recipe that she had ever made. Taking her advice I created a stripped back version of all the recipes I could find to get something resembling what I had eaten.
I also wanted to create something a little healthier so used milk instead of cream and fatty bacon bits rather than pure pork fat from a butcher. Many of the recipes called for anchovy paste which was winced at by my mother so I decided a slug of Worcestershire Sauce might be winning compromise!
I had never made Leverpostej until today and I really don’t know why I’ve never done it before as it was so easy, so cheap and far more delicious than anything shop bought. Not that you can buy anything remotely similar. I made 3 small foil tins of pate (just like the originals) for about £1.30 compared to the shop bought variety which can cost around £2.00 for one slim pre-packed slither.
If you have children and they are a bit squeamish I suggest you don’t show them the raw liver as I managed to put my daughter off completely. Her brother though was fine and helped whizz the mixture in the blender. He later wolfed down his open Danish sandwiches asking if there were any more, as did his dad.
My husband insisted on having cooked red cabbage with the pate. I wasn’t up for cooking this as well, so was very pleased (when he failed to find any in Ikea) that the Polish section in my supermarket had jars of cooked red cabbage and apple. Hence, we were spoilt with fried mushrooms and bacon on the warm pate as well as warmed red cabbage. It was like being a kid all over again. Delicious!
The Leverpostej must be removed from their water bath immediately once cooked.
More toppings for Danish Open Sandwiches (Smørrebrød):
- Egg & Prawn Open Sandwich
- Ploughman’s Open Sandwich
- Micro Quail Egg & Smoked Ham Danish Open Sandwich
- Kartoffelmad (Danish Potato Sandwich)
- Herring Smørrebrød
I’m sure you’ll love my Leverpostej recipe so don’t forget to leave a comment if you make it or tag @fabfood4all with your creations on social media! I love seeing my recipes come to life!
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Leverpostej (Danish Liver Pate)
Ingredients
- 500 g / 1lb Pork liver
- 300 g / 10oz Bacon bits the fattier the better
- 1 medium onion roughly chopped
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 2 tbsp flour
- 125 ml / 4fl oz milk
- dash of Worcestershire Sauce
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 175°C.
- Blitz the liver, bacon and onion in a food processor or blender until fairly smooth (you’ll probably need to poke down the onions from the sides).
- Mix in the rest of the ingredients until well distributed.
- Pour mixture into a well greased loaf pan or smaller foil dishes.
- Put warm water into a deep baking tin so that it comes half way up the side and bake for about 1 hour.
- If the pate starts to brown too much, place some foil loosely over the top (shiny side down).
- Once cooked (the juices should run clear when tipped) invert onto a dish and cover with fried bacon bits and button mushrooms if desired.
- Serve on rye bread (or your own choice). Enjoy.
Notes
Cooked pate can be kept in the fridge for a few days and be re-heated or eaten cold.
Pickled cucumber, cooked beetroot, pickled (or home made) red cabbage and Danish crispy onions also go well with Leverpostej.
John B
My mom has a recipe from her Grandmother and I think they called it Finka. Is it the same thing?
John B
Camilla
Hi John, not heard of Finka I’m afraid.
Tom
I think what is meant here would be ‘finker’
Adrianne
Do you cook the bacon prior to mixing with the liver or is it raw? Making for my Danish father in law for new years! Hope it brings back great memories!
Camilla
Hi, the bacon is added raw.
Didi
Hi Camilla; I was an exchange student at a Folk Highschool way back in 1976… and I still dream of the leverpostej I had both at the school and with the Family I lived with up in Fjerritslev. I tried to make some from an internet recipe years ago and it was dreadful.. I am very excited to try your recipe! Mange tak!
Camilla
Awesome Didi, do let me know how you get on:-)
Lene
Hi Camilla
I’m a Danish born Australian and came with my parents to Australia when I was 4 years old. In 2018 I visited some family in Copenhagen and fell in love with Danish liver paste. Am also vegan now, so as we speak I’m baking the paste after swapping TVP (textured vegetable protein) for the pork and plant based bacon along with ground flaxseed for the egg and soy milk for the milk. Will let you know how it comes out!
Camilla
Hi Lene, that sounds very inventive! Hope you succeed in your quest:-)
Jodi James
Camilla,
When I was in Herning, DK many years ago as an exchange student. My host father found it odd that my first try of Leverpostej I put onions on it, but as an American, I had never heard of anything different to go with liver.
After that, I began to eat it the way that my host family did, with thinly sliced cucumbers on it.
In your article you stated that your daughter would not try it. See if she would be willing to after it is cooked, with some fresh raw cucumber on it.
I found with the Cucumber there was no lingering taste from the liver when I had “Smørbrød med Leverpostej.” It was common practice to spread butter on the “femkorn” (the bread they used for the open-faced sandwiches) before spreading the leverpostej on it. That may have also been regional.
I am looking forward to trying your recipe to see if it is how I remembered it from when I was 17. (too many years ago to admit here)
Camilla
Hi Jodi, thank you for your suggestion. I’m afraid my daughter is now a pescatarian (having been a vegetarian too) as she just never did like meat really. Did you also try pickled Asier (pickled cucumber) with leverpostej, that’s lovely too! My daughter did ask to have herring on rye bread the other day having avoided it for the past 18 years and really enjoyed it so at least the Danish genes are making a mark:-)
Jan
The thought of adding fat to any recipe grosses me out. However, your recipe calling for bacon put a whole new spin on it. Thanks for sharing this recipe and for using both metric and US measurements. Please add the baking temperature to complete the perfection! Can’t wait to try it. Thank you!
Camilla
Hi Jan, when I was a kid we grew up with pounds and ounces and then sometime in the 70’s I think the UK went metric. I had no idea that this was US measurements, I thought those were cups. We have digital scales that can measure ounces, grams, mls etc so what sort of scales do you use? When I was growing up I used my mothers caste iron ones with the little weights that went on one side. Is that what Americans still use? I have said the oven temperature on the first line of the recipe.
Rob
OMG, just made this recipe for a friend who was missing it from childhood memories! Definitely going to become a regular in my house. Such a simple recipe and wow what an outcome! Thank you.
Camilla
Aaw, that’s wonderful Rob, so happy to hear this, thanks for sharing:-)