Cooking beef liver. Despite of being dubbed as sinful food, the liver has been in the ranks of superfoods. It has tons of Vitamin A for good eyesight. If you have problem reading this, then it’s time for you to grab some liver.
In addition, beef liver is low in calories and fats. And has high amount of proteins, B vitamins and minerals. It has its role in preventing various inflammations and the infamous Alzheimer’s disease.
However, if you’re experiencing gout symptoms, liver and dishes containing liver are worst offenders. I tell you, liver, if well prepared is exquisite. But don’t be tempted. Your uric acid level will surely skyrocket resulting to painful gout.
Get a beef liver that has reddish-brown color. It should be whole and tender with no signs of sogginess, foul smell, and discoloration. Buy fresh and store if you’re not going to use it immediately. The shelf life of beef liver is 6 days at 0°C and 4 days at 7°C.
Now, let’s get cooking.
Soak the Beef Liver in Milk Before Cooking
You need to soak the beef liver in milk before cooking to purge traces of fluids and lightens the color. Neutralize bitter bile and the weird gamey flavor taste. Thus giving a more awesome flavor.
Two of the liver 500 vital functions are drug metabolism and excretion of toxins. Though a small part, liver become infamous for having toxins and drugs – specifically antibiotics. You may not know, the liver never store any drug or toxin, the liver either convert toxins to neutral substance or immediately throw them out to the dump.
How do you soak the beef liver in milk?
- Rinse the liver.
- Place in a bowl.
- Cover with milk
- Put inside the fridge for one hour.
- Discard the milk and proceed cooking the liver.
Another choice you want to try is soaking the liver in diluted lemon juice.
Do You Really Need to Soak Beef Liver in Milk? Let’s go Back to Farm for a Bit.
Perhaps the farmer have given cow antibiotic and growth hormones. Or, the feeds given have such chemicals. For that reason, they need to give the cow enough time to process and eliminate all questionable substances.
If they slaughter the animal prematurely, the meat including the liver might have growth hormones and antibiotics that will likely end up into your tummy.
You can’t be sure whether the liver you have in hand has been rid of chemicals. So, you need to soak the beef liver in milk.
Let’s go and make some beef liver delicacies.
Cooked Liver with Onions
Get the following ingredients to make four servings of cooked liver with onions.
- ½ kg beef liver
- 2 heads of onions
- ½ cup flour
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup flour
Follow the following steps in cooking beef liver with onions.
- Inspect the liver. See if still covered with thin membrane. Remove carefully if it has.
- Get the sharpest knife you can have and gently slice the liver to desired sizes. I suggest ½ inch thick.
- Get onions, remove the peels, and thinly slice.
- Prepare a breading mix by combining black pepper, salt and flour.
- Gently roll the liver slices on breading mix making sure all the sides are properly covered.
- Place a heavy pan over medium-high heat and cover with olive oil.
- Lay the liver slices on the pan, Let it sear for 1-2 minutes and turn. Continue until all the sides assume brown appearance.
- Toss the sliced onions into the pan, then continually stir for about 3 minutes.
- Pour 1 cup of beef broth, or water if broth is not available. Simmer until the broth has thickened.
Fried Beef Liver
Perhaps the easiest and yet most enjoyable cooking style for any meat. And when it comes to liver, the fried beef liver that goes well with various sauces – soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, and barbecue sauce.
Place the skillet over low-medium heat stove. Then cover with cooking oil. Gently place largely chopped liver on hot bubbling oil. Let fry until brown. Flip and continue frying to achieve the same brown color.
Wonder how to cook meatballs? Find out here.
Broiled Beef Liver
Prepare the broiling pan. For easy cleaning, take off the grill and line the pan with aluminum foil. Put back the grill and line with perforated aluminum foil – also for easy cleaning. Arrange the liver over the grill and dash with salt and spices, or brush with prepared marinade.
Preheat the oven to 375ºF and broil the liver for about 20 minutes. Flip and continue broiling for another 10 minutes.
You may need to adjust time and temperature of broiling depending on beef liver cut sizes.
Why do you need to spend longer time broiling? Because you don’t want the extra oil, and frying instead sucks up a lot.
Your broiled beef liver is ready.
Liver Dumplings
Love Chinese dumplings? If you do, you’ll going to love the liver dumplings more.
To prepare, get a piece of liver and equal amount of preferred veggies, a head of onion, and clove of garlic. Mince the liver and finely chop the veggies, onion and garlic.
Gradually add flour and mix to a tacky consistency.
Get a spoonful of mixture and wrap in a prepared wrapper. Just buy the wrapper from the nearby grocery if you don’t want to trouble yourself further.
Then, you have three cooking options. Either boil, steam, or fry. Whatever method you choose, your liver dumplings will be irresistible.
Breaded Liver
If you’re a fan of deep-fried chicken thighs, then you’re one step ahead.
Make a breaded liver. Get the leftover batter, dip the liver and lastly, deep fry.
Conclusion
Now you know! Beef liver is a superfood. However, you cannot go feasting on liver every day. You need a few things before the feast.
Firstly. You need to be aware of the animal status before slaughter. Did they observe proper withdrawal period? Such is needed to get rid of toxins, drugs, hormones and antibiotics that had been fed.
Is there a way for you to know if they observed proper withdrawal period? Yes, but it’s not foolproof. So you need to do the second thing.
Secondly. You need to soak the beef liver in whole milk and let it rest in the fridge for one hour. This will get rid of questionable substances and improves the flavor further.
Thirdly. If you have underlying health problems, like gout attack, you have to think twice before digging in. I’m not imposing you a complete abstinence. Take it in moderation and consult a doctor whenever in doubt.
Beef liver is a versatile meat. Don’t confine yourself with the recipes I gave you. Search for more recipes, modify, and create your own.
Check my article on 30 Simple Carnivore diet recipes.
