Beef liver

[Hard H2O]

I do not like liver. I have tried it many times. I tend to retry food that I find distasteful because you never know with a different cook, recipe, seasoning I might be turned around. With Andrew Zimmern eating odd stuff and loving it, it might just be me that is off and not the food.

We get a half a beef cow every year. We still have three packs in the freezer from last year's and just took delivery on this year's.

My buddy at work said that he would take it all.

I decided to try to cook some myself.

I researched a few recipes and decided on a simple approach. I rinsed the heck out of it and soaked it in milk. Meanwhile I prepared flour seasoned with salt and pepper for a dredge. While the liver was soaking I fried some bacon and then threw in a sliced onion. After the bacon was rendered out I set aside the onions and bacon. I tok the liver straight from the milk bath to the flour and breaded up the whole batch. I fried it in the bacon drippings until it the coating was crispy. the fried liver went onto the bed of onions and bacon.

I tucked in and it was absolutely delicious. I be on the lookout for liver on menus and I will have to keep trying it to see if I can duplicate my eforts.

[Magictofu]

This is pretty much how my mom cooked liver when I was growing up and I never grew tired of it. Key is to make sure not to overcook liver.

[Hard H2O]

This is pretty much how my mom cooked liver when I was growing up and I never grew tired of it. Key is to make sure not to overcook liver.

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I guess my mom did not know how to cook liver. I hated it.

There was still blood coming out. It was still a bit pink in the middle.

I fall into the rare steak camp. Cold pink center.

[Beebs]

Mmm... I love liver, all types! There used to be a Greek restaurant here that quickly grilled beef liver on a very hot grill. It was fabulous! Lovely charred flavour on the outside, a bit crusty, the inside nice and pink and creamy.

[Sabrosita]

One of my lifetime best things I ever ate was the beef liver sashimi at Hagi in NYC. Don't know what they do with it but it is incredible!

[Marlene]

I read this the other day, and it had me craving liver, so it's on the menu tonight. I have to eat this when no one else is home, cause no one in my family will eat it except me.

This is also how I cook liver, although sometimes I make a reduction sauce from the pan drippings as well.

[Magictofu]

I read this the other day, and it had me craving liver, so it's on the menu tonight.  I have to eat this when no one else is home, cause no one in my family will eat it except me. 

This is also how I cook liver, although sometimes I make a reduction sauce from the pan drippings as well.

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My mom often made a sauce by adding tea to the drippings and thickening it with flour. As a kid, I always thought the taste of tea was too strong for a sauce but now I would like to try it again.

[hummingbirdkiss]

we just had a beautiful well loved ..grassfed steer butchered and it is hanging aging to perfection ...we have the single the best butcher in the northwest I swear!

Just a hint ..if you are willing to go to the butcherings (and I do not want anyone butchering with out me there to be honest ..then I know it was humanely killed and everything is done in a clean manner) they give you what you want from not just your animal ..but rather than waste "unwanted" parts from the other animals being butchered as well) ..you can take all you can haul with you for no charge! With things like liver, heart, tails and feet going for crazy high prices now ..it is so worth it to go and get it yourself ..free!

this butcher is so good he actually choose the best livers, the best hearts for me out of all the animals he butchered that day!

We ended up with buckets of feet, hearts, livers and best of all for me are my favorite those yummy tails!

I myself pretty much eat anything if it is well prepared and fresh.. but liver is not one of my favorites ...I keep trying however! ....and last night curiosity got the best of me and I thinly sliced and pan fried until med rare a nice piece in some butter with fresh sage leaves

the flavor of fresh grassfed beef liver is out of this world ..however the texture was really not good ..my husband and I both ate it agreed on the wonderful flavor ...but wondered what we could do with the liver to enjoy this flavor and not have to deal with that strange texture ..it is like eating mini bubble wrap ..it kind of pops in your mouth when you chew it normally I am intrigued by unique food texture but this is not appealing at all to either one of us ..but that flavor ...the flavor is clean fresh and really good ..too good to overlook here and not try again!

so please I need recipes ..perhaps a differing cooking technique for beef liver?

I plan to make some liverwurst/pate and liver dumplings (when I say I have a lot of liver I am not kidding have you ever seen an entire steer liver? I have four of those suckers sliced up n the freezer now ..even sharing with the dogs there is still a ton for us to enjoy!) ... but that kind of prep looses the flavor of the actual meat once you grind it and mix in the spices

I never in my life thought I would say "I love liver" ..and I dont just yet ...but I did love the flavor! A LOT! I think if I could get the texture thing more agreeable I could say it however!!!

so thank you in advance

I am looking forward to your answers

Edited May 8, 2009 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[Beebs]

I don't have any advice on beef liver that has a bubble wrap texture, but I'm intrigued by all the other stuff you got. What are you planning to do with the heart, feet & tails? Did you get any other parts like tripe?

[Marlene]

liver really needs to be soaked in milk first for 40 minutes to an hour to get rid of that bubblewrap texture.

Then do just like you did, lightly dredge in flour, pan sear quickly in butter on each side so it's pink in the middle still, then make a nice red wine pan reduction sauce with the dripping. Liver and onions is good. Liver and crisp bacon is even better!

See how it's pretty creamy inside? That's the texture to aim for.

Edited May 8, 2009 by Marlene (log)

[Sabrosita]

we just had a beautiful  well loved ..grassfed steer butchered and it is hanging aging to perfection ...we have the single the best butcher in the northwest I swear!

Just a hint ..if you are willing to go to the butcherings (and I do not want anyone butchering with out me there to be honest ..then I know it was humanely killed and everything is done in a clean manner)  they give you what you want from not  just your animal ..but rather than waste "unwanted" parts from the other animals being butchered as well) ..you can take all you can haul with you for no charge! With things like liver, heart, tails and feet going for crazy high prices now ..it is so worth it to go and get it yourself ..free!

this butcher is so good he actually choose the best livers, the best hearts for me out of all the animals he butchered that day!

We ended up with buckets  of feet, hearts, livers and best of all for me are my favorite those yummy  tails!

I myself pretty much eat anything if it is well prepared and fresh.. but liver is not one of my favorites ...I keep trying however! ....and last night curiosity got the best of me and I thinly sliced and pan fried until med rare a nice piece in some butter with fresh sage leaves

the flavor of fresh grassfed beef liver is out of this world ..however the texture was really not good ..my husband and I both ate it agreed on the wonderful flavor ...but wondered what we could do with the liver to enjoy this  flavor and not have to deal with that strange texture ..it is like eating mini bubble wrap ..it kind of pops in your mouth when you chew it  normally I am intrigued by unique food texture but this is not appealing at all to either one of us ..but that flavor ...the flavor is clean fresh and really good ..too good to overlook here and not try again!

so please I need recipes ..perhaps a differing cooking technique for beef liver?

I plan to make some liverwurst/pate and liver dumplings (when I say I have a lot of liver I am not kidding have you ever seen an entire steer liver? I have four of those suckers  sliced up n the freezer now ..even sharing with the dogs there is still a ton for us to enjoy!) ... but that kind of prep  looses the flavor of the actual meat once you grind it and mix in the spices

I never in my life thought I would say "I love liver" ..and I dont just yet ...but I did love the flavor! A LOT!  I think if I could get the texture thing more agreeable I could say it however!!!

so thank you in advance

I am looking forward to your answers

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If it is really good beef, and the milk soak helps with the texture, I have to tell you one of the best bites I ever had was beef liver sashimi--slice thin and dress with sesame oil, have mashed garlic and mashed ginger on the side for dipping, garnish with chives.

[hummingbirdkiss]

I don't have any advice on beef liver that has a bubble wrap texture, but I'm intrigued by all the other stuff you got.  What are you planning to do with the heart, feet & tails?  Did you get any other parts like tripe?

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I am going to cook the hearts thin sliced Korean marinade and grilled

the feet I use either for Caribbean cow foot soup (or my spoiled brat dogs get them)

also the tails are for soup

no tripe I wanted it ..I love it ...but when I saw it fresh from a slaughtered animal I instantly changed my mind (I am tough but not that tough!) I will buy it prebleached or whatever is done to it at the butcher so I do not have to deal with the smell and cleaning it ..tripe in its pure form is not at all like the nice clean stuff in the markets that is for sure!

thanks for the advice I will try the suggestions since I have a ton of it I can try it until I get it right ..I had soaked it in yogurt but next time I will try the milk

I thought maybe I had cut it wrong but then realized a lobe is a lobe and there does not seem to be a "direction" to it!

I tried raw liver one time with a hot sauce shot .. but it was after some beers and really after some beers I could not really tell if I liked it or not!

[TdeV]

I used some of the tips from this thread. Just had some beef liver and onions and bacon. Delish!

[tsp.]

Calf's liver is delicious too.

[TdeV]

My friend, whom I was just visiting in California, will only buy calves liver. Calves liver wasn't available at the University Meat Science Market, but the beef liver looked fresh. And it was very good.

[tsp.]

Is it calves liver or calf's liver, both are correct? What's more common on menus?

[rumball]

when i am in the alps in austria - i pounce on calves liver. i can't get enough of it (or grostl). it's a specialty, it's all organic and alpine fed. Tiroler KalbsLeber if you look it up.

[liuzhou]

Is it calves liver or calf's liver

I would say that if you want to be pedantic, then 'calves liver' is definitely wrong. At best, it should be calves' liver(s), if the liver(s) in question came from more than one beast.

Calf's liver is fine if it came from one specimen.