Post by rachel on Jul 26, 2016 2:38:01 GMT -5
I’ve finally got around to typing up my liver recipes, so I thought I’d share them with you. I know liver’s sort of fallen out of popularity in the last few generations, along with its friends kidney and tongue, but it deserves a bit more attention as it’s probably the most versatile of the offal.
Devilled Liver
Or “fried”, whichever you prefer. Usually it’s “devilled kidneys”, but kidneys have a much stronger taste, so I prefer liver.
1 – Chop the liver into thin strips, about ½cm (quarter of an inch) thick, 1cm (half inch) wide, about a finger long (or the width of the liver).
2 – If you have time, soak it for several hours in milk and lemon juice. If your liver is frozen, place the strips in a saucepan with the lemony milk and heat until sort of grey-brown and/or the milk and the liver are the same colour.
3 – Coat in seasoned flour. A good basic seasoning to start off with is salt, pepper, chives and rosemary. But experiment! My father likes curry powder seasoning.
4 – Roughly chop an onion. You want 1 onion to every 500g (1 pound) of liver. Fry the liver and onions together until warm brown and cooked through. Be careful not to overcook!
Serving options:
1 – Serve on toast with eggs and baked beans for breakfast
2 – Serve with mashed potato, vegetables and gravy for dinner
3 – Replace Step 3 with a marinade of garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oregano and thyme, and then serve in a wrap with:
>-> lettuce
>-> garlic chummos
>-> tabouleh (tomato, parsley, onion, and mint) or
>-> Israeli salad (tomato, cucumber and mint)
This last option is usually lamb or chicken and where I live is called “yiros”, but every country and state seems to have its own name, be it “souvlaki”, “kebab”, “donner”, “shuwarma” or something else.
Liver Meatballs
The technical name for this dish is “f*gg*ts”, but I understand that word has gained a different meaning in the US.
1 – Chop the liver and onion finely. Again, you want about 1 onion to every 500g of liver. Liver minces fairly well with the application of a large knife; I’ve never done it in a food processor or even a mincer and I fear the result might be paté rather than finely-chopped liver.
2 – Beat an egg with the seasoning you want. Again, a good basic seasoning to start off with is salt, pepper, chives and rosemary. Again, experiment and find your own taste.
3 – Mix liver, onion and egg together until well-mixed. Don’t be afraid to use your hands.
4 – Add porridge oats or breadcrumbs gradually until the mixture is stiff enough to form into balls, and do so.
5 – Brown the meatballs in oil. Once they hold their shape against a stirring wooden spoon, add a good chunk of butter, a good dash of Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce, vinegar and honey), beef stock or French onion soup, and seasonings.
6 – Simmer until cooked through and serve with mashed potato, peas and other vegetables.
Other serving options:
1 – In Step 5, add instead diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and/or tomato paste, parsley, basil, minced garlic, diced onion, and pepper. Serve with spaghetti and cheese.
2 – In Step 3, add diced carrot, corn and peas, or whatever other vegetables you want, to make rissoles or patties.
So next time you slaughter a sheep (or other animal), don’t waste the offal. Eat it instead! (Except, of course, for the heart and blood – see Genesis 9 and Acts 15). If you buy your meat from the shops, as we do most of our red meat, liver is usually ridiculously cheap – I can feed four people with $1 of lamb liver or more on ox liver.
Devilled Liver
Or “fried”, whichever you prefer. Usually it’s “devilled kidneys”, but kidneys have a much stronger taste, so I prefer liver.
1 – Chop the liver into thin strips, about ½cm (quarter of an inch) thick, 1cm (half inch) wide, about a finger long (or the width of the liver).
2 – If you have time, soak it for several hours in milk and lemon juice. If your liver is frozen, place the strips in a saucepan with the lemony milk and heat until sort of grey-brown and/or the milk and the liver are the same colour.
3 – Coat in seasoned flour. A good basic seasoning to start off with is salt, pepper, chives and rosemary. But experiment! My father likes curry powder seasoning.
4 – Roughly chop an onion. You want 1 onion to every 500g (1 pound) of liver. Fry the liver and onions together until warm brown and cooked through. Be careful not to overcook!
Serving options:
1 – Serve on toast with eggs and baked beans for breakfast
2 – Serve with mashed potato, vegetables and gravy for dinner
3 – Replace Step 3 with a marinade of garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oregano and thyme, and then serve in a wrap with:
>-> lettuce
>-> garlic chummos
>-> tabouleh (tomato, parsley, onion, and mint) or
>-> Israeli salad (tomato, cucumber and mint)
This last option is usually lamb or chicken and where I live is called “yiros”, but every country and state seems to have its own name, be it “souvlaki”, “kebab”, “donner”, “shuwarma” or something else.
Liver Meatballs
The technical name for this dish is “f*gg*ts”, but I understand that word has gained a different meaning in the US.
1 – Chop the liver and onion finely. Again, you want about 1 onion to every 500g of liver. Liver minces fairly well with the application of a large knife; I’ve never done it in a food processor or even a mincer and I fear the result might be paté rather than finely-chopped liver.
2 – Beat an egg with the seasoning you want. Again, a good basic seasoning to start off with is salt, pepper, chives and rosemary. Again, experiment and find your own taste.
3 – Mix liver, onion and egg together until well-mixed. Don’t be afraid to use your hands.
4 – Add porridge oats or breadcrumbs gradually until the mixture is stiff enough to form into balls, and do so.
5 – Brown the meatballs in oil. Once they hold their shape against a stirring wooden spoon, add a good chunk of butter, a good dash of Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce, vinegar and honey), beef stock or French onion soup, and seasonings.
6 – Simmer until cooked through and serve with mashed potato, peas and other vegetables.
Other serving options:
1 – In Step 5, add instead diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and/or tomato paste, parsley, basil, minced garlic, diced onion, and pepper. Serve with spaghetti and cheese.
2 – In Step 3, add diced carrot, corn and peas, or whatever other vegetables you want, to make rissoles or patties.
So next time you slaughter a sheep (or other animal), don’t waste the offal. Eat it instead! (Except, of course, for the heart and blood – see Genesis 9 and Acts 15). If you buy your meat from the shops, as we do most of our red meat, liver is usually ridiculously cheap – I can feed four people with $1 of lamb liver or more on ox liver.
