I am definitely not pretending to know the answer. I don’t know how many people have ever seen a beef liver, but I would estimate the size to be around 10 pounds. That is a lot of meat that many people probably don’t think they like.

When I get one, I try to pre-process it a bit. I cut it into chunks, de-skin it and make it generally more easy to cook straight out of the freezer. The question still remains what to do with it. Maybe it will help if I talk about what I do and what I have tried.

There are at least a few tips that I use pretty routinely.

  1. Soak the liver in milk overnight. I suppose you can use milk, cream, half and half or buttermilk. I usually try to use was seems to be on the verge of expiring and cut with the balance of milk. This technique seems to remove some of the minerally taste that is usually part of the turn-off for liver.
  2. Cook liver rare (or medium). One of the things that turns it into shoe leather is over cooking. It also seems like overcooking also brings out the stronger flavors and the rarer it is, the more mild it is.
  3. Prepare only what you think you will eat for the meal. Reheating results in over-cooking.

Here are some things I have tried over the years with liver

  1. By far and away, it seems like the most successful preparation is liver and onions. I think one reason is that you can avoid over cooking.
  2. Boudin – a cajun sausage that is made with pork, rice, and spices. My result was OK, the problem was that it was too dry and needed more fat. I am going to try this again someday.
  3. Chili – I thought that maybe I could spice my way out of liver, but it still ended up being pretty livery, so not recommended.
  4. Fake foie gras or pate – I have tried grinding cooked liver with butter and spices but I didn’t find it terribly appetizing on a cracker.
  5. Hash – This one has some promise. Fry with potatoes, onion, pepper, bacon, and serve with eggs.

Traditionally, liver is a fresh meat. It has been one of the first cuts and eaten immediately after butchering. The lore is that organ meat provided a source of essential nutrient when choices are limited.

I think that it is also worth observing that organ meat is the first thing animals eat when eating other animals. So, there is something to this, I am still looking for the right combinations of recipe and technique. Until then, I would be interested in other people’s ideas because I still have a lot of liver in the freezer.