Liver cooking problems ... Hayulp!

[learner]

I was hoping you had a 'rotten cooks' section where I could blend in (ha!), but not so, so here I am.

Problem; my liver and bacon dish NEVER tastes how it should, whether I use lambs or pigs liver.

What am I doing wrong?

I cook the onions and bacon gently in a little sunflower oil, then I put the strips of lamb in, covered in flour, herbs and seasoning. I might add a bit of tomato juice or a bit of chilli powder, and a couple of oxo's go in, and enough water to make it thick but liquid. I cook it either on the top or in the oven, but it doesn't make a difference; it turns out RUBBISH!

Gotta go, the spuds will be boiling dry!

 

[GhettoRacingKid]

well howdy and welcome to the board

why is the liver rubbish?

I found just pan searing it in some fat with it being floured and seasoned is good. once some moisture is coming threw the top flip it.

im just not a fan of liver so good luck with that one.

 

[ChefJune]

I can't even picture how you're cooking that!

We fry the bacon and pour off most of the drippings, then saute the onions in bacon fat. When that's done, they come out of the pan and a little more bacon fat goes in and gets nice and hot before the liver goes in. We usually use calves liver, just lightly dusted with seasoned flour. The liver gets seared on each side, and when the second side gives up the bottom of the pan, the liver gets pushed aside and the bacon and onions go back into the pan to warm back up.

No mush, no mess... three separate components that together equal waaay more than the sum of their parts.

 

[learner]

well all that sounds good to me, and I have enjoyed plain and simple fried liver meself, but dear hubs fondly remembers a dish his mum used to make, which was liver and bacon in thick gravy, so I have tried to give him that - but the mess I get just doesn't seem right....
I did think I would try just frying it with the bacons and onions and forget the gravy next time. I think it would be much nicer. I think there has to be so much flour to make the gravy thick that it takes all the taste away.

thank you for your help folks. I feel encouraged

 

[sattie]

I just wanted to welcome you to the forum. I had to eat liver when I was younger and don't care for it much now. But I do like me some chicken livers!

 

[giggler]

I think you're doing it backwards...

render the bacon , then remove the bits...

fry the liver just 'till brown, and remove to a plate...

then fry the veggies 'till done,.. I like mine Well Done...

then put the meats back in at the very end, to just warm them...

Eric, Austin Tx.

 

[learner]

thankyou Sattie
Eric your method sounds delicious, but it doesn't address the thick gravy problem which I think is the villain. I am going to try offering hubs the dish sans gravy next time, the way you folks do it. Perhaps liver and bacon with 'gungy gravy' is a British dish as you on t'other side of the pond do not seem to recognise it. I had it as a child, thou t'was never my favourite, and until I married my fella a few years ago, I had never bothered with it

 

[Elf]

Try doing it the way ChefJune does, but before you add the bacon and onions in, take out the liver, add a little flour to the fat to make a rue, add some milk and sour cream, stir till it thickens, your call on how thick, add back in the liver, onions and bacon. Season to taste.

 

[ChefJune]

thankyou Sattie
Eric your method sounds delicious, but it doesn't address the thick gravy problem which I think is the villain. I am going to try offering hubs the dish sans gravy next time, the way you folks do it. Perhaps liver and bacon with 'gungy gravy' is a British dish as you on t'other side of the pond do not seem to recognise it. I had it as a child, thou t'was never my favourite, and until I married my fella a few years ago, I had never bothered with it

Learner, Fat and flour in equal proportions will start your roux for you, and I would stir in Milk to thicken it, if your dh remembers a "white" gravy, and chicken stock if a beige gravy.

Then, I'd present it by putting the sauce down first and the elemts on top. That way it won't look like a "mess."

 

[learner]

thank you ChefJune and Elf - I will give it a go, sounds good

 

[Alix]

Learner, go for the calves liver too, it is a lighter taste than the others.

 

[babetoo]

i only eat chicken livers. never ever since childhood have i eaten any other liver. babe

 

[CharlieD]

How about you cook liver first andd then make gravy separatly and then poor over the liver before serving. Also I'd go with beef liver, not pig. I like chicken liver, I eat beef liver but pig liver is yuky.

 

[mcnerd]

I used to get out some of my aggression by tenderizing it with a meat mallet briefly before doing the above. I would love some right now but it gives me the Gout in my old age.

 

[Dave Hutchins]

When I cooked at the county jail we had a old short order cook who was all but a permanent member of the jail any how he fixed liver so I could eat it he braised off the live then the onions then he made a beef gravy not to thick and then he potted the liver for 2-3 hours and it was so tender and did not have that awfull liver taste
It is the only way I can eat liver now.