Liver & onions with side of steamed broccoli & cauliflower

Ah, cringe! Liver? I don’t like it! Well, guess what?! There are many more favorable reasons to eat liver than than are not to, so, be an adult and make an educated decision.

Why you should eat liver:  I don’t think I could condense it better than this, from WAPF website…

http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/liver-files

So what makes liver so wonderful? Quite simply, it contains more nutrients, gram for gram, than any other food. In summary, liver provides:

• An excellent source of high-quality protein
• Nature’s most concentrated source of vitamin A
• All the B vitamins in abundance, particularly vitamin B12
• One of our best sources of folic acid
• A highly usable form of iron
• Trace elements such as copper, zinc and chromium; liver is our best source of copper
• An unidentified anti-fatigue factor
• CoQ10, a nutrient that is especially important for cardio-vascular function
• A good source of purines, nitrogen-containing compounds that serve as precursors for DNA and RNA.

~ The anti-fatigue factor is a phenomenon studied where rats fed powdered liver would fight for their lives, paddling in water and never exhaust compared to rats fed a basic diet or a basic diet plus B-complex vitamins~

“A 1975 article published in Prevention magazine described the experiment as follows: “After several weeks, the animals were placed one by one into a drum of cold water from which they could not climb out. They literally were forced to sink or swim. Rats in the first group swam for an average 13.3 minutes before giving up. The second group, which had the added fortifications of B vitamins, swam for an average of 13.4 minutes. Of the last group of rats, the ones receiving liver, three swam for 63, 83 and 87 minutes. The other nine rats in this group were still swimming vigorously at the end of two hours when the test was terminated. Something in the liver had prevented them from becoming exhausted. To this day scientists have not been able to pin a label on this anti-fatigue factor.”

COOL, right?! Animals and traditional cultures know what they are doing when they eat this stuff. I can only imagine facilitating that study and being utterly amazed.

Why not to eat liver: The top complaint I’ve heard is a mixture of liver’s unpleasant taste & texture. I think this stems from not being exposed to organ meats from an early age. Organ meats have a taste and texture which differs from muscle meats. It is a different part of the body, different chemical make-up(Liver gets top notch in this category!) and therefore, not comparable to a tenderloin.

Solution: From food science, we know that marinating meats in an acidic, enzyme-rich substance will break down tissue fibers and make the finished product more tender. Examples of this: marinating chicken in buttermilk, marinating beef in yogurt, marinating meat in citrus juices or wine, etc. It is also common practice to soak liver in milk or dairy of some sort to draw out the “gaminess” or iron-rich taste. (~Sidenote: I wonder why most human taste buds are perturbed to this when iron is an essential mineral and we should be attracted to it, right? Of course, it is possible to get too much of a good thing. Animals, however, don’t seem to mind. They go for organ meats right off the bat on a fresh kill.) Anyway, in this recipe I used enzyme-rich, raw dairy to tenderize the liver & neutralize the game-like taste of liver. I haven’t had much liver in my lifetime but I was actually craving these leftovers, so that’s saying something!

How I prepared the liver: First, I acquired liver from a top-notch source.

** While liver from the average grocery store is an excellent source of fat-soluble vitamins, minerals & folic acid, it is also a disturbingly excellent source of toxins from commercial, grain/$#i+-fed animals. Pastured, grass-fed animals are a must for consumption of liver. **

I bought beef liver from Gramen Farms in Tomball, TX. I also purchased raw cream which I was using for some amazing “Pina Colada” smoothies. Eventually, the cream started to turn sour so I needed another use for it. Alas, I decided to marinate the liver in the souring cream. (AKA – an abundance of pro-biotic, hard-working bacteria)

I let the liver soak in the cream overnight. The butcher had already cut it into pieces but I decided to chop them down further into stir-fry like slices. Then, I got my ingredients together. Spoiler alert: Liver & onions requires A LOT of onion for optimal satisfaction.

Onions in the cast iron, frying in bacon or duck fat

Chopped liver, Balsamic vinegar & thyme

Then, I cooked down the onions. I used relatively high heat & stirred them up quite a bit. I added salt, pepper, fresh thyme and my favorite Christmas gift from 2012: locally made, honey ginger balsamic vinegar. This stuff is SO good because these are some of my favorite things! I could sing about it. I smell it for pleasure, that’s kind of weird to do with vinegar.

These are the browned & caramelized onions

Next, I fried the liver in batches in plenty of quality fat. Then, threw the onions back in the pan to mix altogether. The hearty liver goes well with the sweet onions, satiating duck/bacon fat, the acidity of the vinegar & aroma of fresh thyme. I loved it. I knew it was good though because my mom was actually picking pieces out of the pan after I gave her the allotted small portion she asked for. Yes, liver!

Liver & Onions Recipe

• Pastured, grass-fed beef liver (~1 lb.)
• 1/2 pint of raw, pastured cow cream or buttermilk or raw milk or milk/cream/sour cream/yogurt with some added vinegar if not unpasteurized
• 1 HUGE sweet onion, or several smaller onions – sliced in half-moons
• Bacon fat, duck fat, tallow, coconut oil or butter — plenty
• Fresh thyme, about 1 1/2 tbsp.
• Balsamic, red wine vinegar or wine, 1-2 tbsp.
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

• 1) Soak liver in dairy source overnight
• 2) Rinse liver and chop it into stir-fry slices
• 3) Heat cast iron skillet to medium high heat w/ desired fat
• 4) Add onions with S&P and cook down. ~10 minutes
• 5) Add thyme & vinegar and stir
• 6) Remove onions
• 7) Add more cooking fat, if needed
• 8) Throw in a batch of liver to coat bottom of pan
• 9) Brown & move around ~about 5 min total per batch
• 10) Remove batches as they finish cooking & add new batch
• 11) Return all ingredients to warm skillet and mix to combine flavors
• 12) Serve warm!

I’m not sure what sides liver is served with traditionally but broccoli & cauliflower worked well. Let me know what you think & don’t be afraid to try something different! Now that I think about it, I didn’t like kombucha at first….. I was WRONG. First impressions don’t always hold true. I learned that in the latest book I read, Blink. It’s a great read!