Delicious liver recipes

When I was a kid, I hated liver. It was tough, strong tasting, weird texture. Horrid stuff.

Now I'm older, I really like liver. I get a deep craving for it about once a month. It's nutritious, great for boosting B12 and other important nutrients. Considering the nutritional punch, it's a pretty affordable cut of meat, only a couple of dollars per person for the good stuff. The thing is, it has to be cooked just right to be yummy.

What are your favourite liver recipes?

My favourite liver recipe at the moment is a special take on Liver and Onions I adapted from a Nigella Lawson recipe.

Fry about 2 rashers of bacon per person, plus one for snacking on. While that's on the go, chop some onions (about one onion per person and one for the pot), and slice the liver into 1/2 inch strips. If the liver is from an adult animal or from a source I don't know, then I soak it in milk. If I know the animal, then I will often just make certain it's clean and cut out the chewy bits.

When bacon is nice and crispy, put it to one side, and slow fry the onions. The goal is to caramelise the onions, which involves frying them low and slow. If this takes less than half an hour, then the burner is too hot. If it takes just over an hour, you're on the right track. Personally, I find this method of cooking onions to be the easiest to digest, so I pay a lot of attention to make sure they are lovely and sweet.

Remove onions, put on paper towel to drain off any extra grease. Add oil to the fry pan if necessary. Crank up the heat to med-high. Coat the liver in flour if desired. Fry the liver so that it's cooked to the point you like it. It cooks pretty fast as the strips are so small. Put liver on the plates, take pan off burner.

Deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar and water mixed about 50/50. Stir this around until it becomes a syrupy sauce. Put it back on the heat to cook if necessary. Don't skimp on the vinegar, this is what make the dish!

Add onions to liver (on or beside), pour a generous helping of sauce on top, season with salt and pepper if desired, crumble bacon on top.

I grew up having fresh beef liver, always 'breaded' with flour and sauteed with onions in lard and I really liked it.
The best liver I've had since was just recently from our jacob sheep butchering. I sauteed in a bit of olive oil and we ate it along with a big plate of vegetables, including onions very flavorful and none of the strong flavors from old overcooked liver that turn so many against eating liver.

I could really go for some liver, but my husband hates it too much to even have it in the house.

Be sure to only eat liver from animals that aren't exposed to unusual levels of toxins (in other words, avoid your average liver from the store).

Tyler Ludens wrote:

Be sure to only eat liver from animals that aren't exposed to unusual levels of toxins (in other words, avoid your average liver from the store).

I agree....I think liver is best just eaten fresh from the butchering and isn't something to buy off the shelf, unless you know the farmer. I look at it as a seasonal thing just like many vegetables or fruit...it is really perishable and never the same good flavor when it's old and I suspect not the same nutrition either as when fresh

edit to add....I've been taking a b vitamin supplement for years

How about liver pate?

this is my recipe for goat liver pate, but you can use any liver you like.

Bacon grease
onions- dices
liver- cubed
red wine
parsley- finely chopped
plain yogurt
sour cream

Saute onions in bacon grease till translucent. Add liver and quickly sear. Cover with red wine and simmer till reduced by half. Add large handful parsley (don't be stingy here) and 50/50 mix of plain yogurt / sour cream. All yogurt makes sauce thin, all sour cream is too heavy for my taste. Serve over noodles or rice.