Most of the chopped liver I’ve seen in the deli cases look more pureed, and look more like pâté, like it’s been “chopped” in a food processor, but some of the die hards (I read over a lot of recipes researching this question) say that any “real” chopped liver should be chopped by hand and should retain a bit of the chunks.
This is one of the Devices used to chop liver. Here’s another One
Some recipes also call for an old fashioned Meat Grinder or Food Mill
But you can also make chopped liver with a regular kitchen knife, but I think it would take a lot longer and you would get a chunkier, less smooth, product.
Tori Avey is a fairly well known Jewish food writer. Here are 2 recipes, one for regular chopped liver and one for a vegetarian version.
Regular Chopped Liver
Vegetarian Version of Chopped Liver
The consistency of chopped liver varies upon the recipe, the means of chopping, and invidual taste. Here is a fairly Chunky chopped liver while This One is rather smooth. Sometimes people even put chopped liver into a Loaf Pan and turn them out so they have a shape rather than just a blob of spread.
Here’s another Vegetarian version of chopped liver.
And if anybody thinks that being vegetarian is inconsistent with Judaism, Read This or This
Now is anybody hungry? I guess I better put out a spread.