I am 61 years old and have spent most of my life being "afraid" of liver. When I was a young girl, I went to spend the night at the home of an aunt and uncle. Aunt Gloria was so kind to me and she fixed a very nice dinner. The main course was fried calf's liver. I remember being conscious of the fact that it was a delicacy and that she had gone to a lot of trouble for me. So, I ate it with a smile on my face and told her how delicious it was. But it nearly gagged me. Oh, it was awful to my young pallet! After reading Nourishing Traditions, I realized we need to eat some liver (and other organ meats) on a regular basis. I bought some nice sliced beef liver at our local meat market. Sadly, I do not yet have a source of grass - fed beef, but will work on that. I cooked it, and it was tender, delicous and just all - round wonderful! My husband is very happy. He loves liver!
Here is how I did it for 2 people:
1/2 pound fresh sliced beef liver
1/2 cup unbleached flour with 1/4 teaspoon Celtic salt and some freshly ground pepper
1 large onion
2 T kettle lard
Peel and slice the onion thinly
Slice the liver into strips, maybe 1/2 inch wide
Heat a good frying pan on medium and melt the lard in it
Add the onions and cook until they are limp
Dredge the liver pieces in the seasoned flour and add to the hot pan
Saute', stirring with a spatula and cook until you cannot see any red at all on the liver pieces
Serve!
Makes my mouth water, just to be writing about it. It is so easy and CHEAP. I was able to buy the liver for $1.39 a pound. That means this main course for the two of us costs less than a dollar.
We used to eat liver and onions three or four times a month. I hated it as a kid, then as I got older, I liked it better. I dont think I would eat it unless it was from my own cow or one of my neighbors who has their beef on grass. I worry about the chemicals and how they concentrate in the organs. How much land do you have? Do you have enough to grow your own beef?
ReplyDeleteWe really could not keep a cow here and have it be grass fed. We have 2 acres of "yard" that includes the house, garden, barn, goat pen, etc. And we are shaded quite a bit, which discourages much growth of grass and we have close neighbors. :) But I think if I research carefully, I'll be able to find a local source. At least I hope so! We really eat meat very sparingly anyway. We eat a lot of eggs and I have a source of nice fresh local eggs that are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI think Sally Fallon said the other day that the liver doesn't hold the toxins, but rather filters them out. I took that to mean that even if it's a questionable cow, the liver would be ok since the toxins don't stay?? What do I know though LOL.
ReplyDeleteYou've convinced me (and Millie too) to try the liver. I've got an order placed for Friday at the meat market, so I'm going to pick up a liver. Onions are fresh @ the farmer's market too. I'll give it a shot, even though I'm chicken!
Good for you motherhen68! I hope you and Millie will like it. Of course, it tastes like liver! But the onions make it sweet and the salt and pepper... well, it's just really good good.
ReplyDeleteI will have to read my nourishing traditions closer because if the liver doesnt hold toxins then it wouldnt be necessary to get a grass fed beef. Or is there a Sally Fallon web site? I need to fix liver and onions once in a while like mom did. Seems like I read somewhere that if you sort of make it like baked steak with a mushroom soup that it is really good. I will have to look this up again.
ReplyDeleteI believe that grass fed beef, one of the reasons it is healthier is that being grass fed changes the lipid profile to something better for us. I would assume that would affect the liver. However, I feel that liver, even if not the very best, is important.
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