Liver: Discuss

Liver (whole and chopped, beef or chicken, any method of preparation) is one of those foods that either sends people into swoons or into spasms of disgust. What is your take?

Disgust. 100%.

I'm marinating mine.

Cut into chunks and tossed into the dog's food bowl. She gets at least one deer liver every year!

Cook bacon & onions in a skillet. Flour liver slices and fry in bacon grease.

As long as it keeps working, I can keep brewing. Other than that, I could care less.

I like your thread title, seems familiar

I had a bad experience with some sort of liver when I was six. Never again in a modern society.

Now the type I prefer is giving mine a workout from beer.

I echo general sentiments about how the only liver I'm aware of is mine, I pray it keeps working, and homebrewing is awesome.

Absolutely freakin vile. I love those who hear that and respond with "oh, it's great, it just has to be cooked right." You might as well try to convince me that feces tastes great when prepared with bacon and onions. I will eat absolutely anything on this earth, with the exception of that nasty crap.

Never could even swallow the smallest bite!

LabRatBrewer said:

I'm marinating mine.

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I don't think drinking homebrew counts as marinating.

Liverwurst & Braunschweiger!!!! Yum!!!

wait a minute! i answered the poll but THEN read that the only options are cow or chicken. don't really like either. chicken is ok in a good pate. but give me fried duck, goose, rabbit liver any day!
for example: today would be fine

adiochiro3 said:

Liverwurst & Braunschweiger!!!! Yum!!!

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This! Actually, most kinds... But had this on some rye bread for lunch today!

OCBrewin said:

This! Actually, most kinds... But had this on some rye bread for lunch today!

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me too but dark brown wheat bread! with sun dried tomato

Liver and onions FTW.

I love both chicken and beef liver but I am the only one in my family that does so I don't have it very often.

When my family is out of town I usually treat myself to either or both. Nothing goes better with a nice crisp Pilsner.

We used to eat deer liver the day it was shot, talk a about gamey. Chicken livers are great in everything, thanksgiving day stuffing, gravy, ect. I remember when parents thought it was good for you and mad kids eat it. It's kinda the detox center of the body.

I love liver & onions (beef), but swmbo won't let me eat it in front of her anymore because it "makes her sick".

Fried chicken liver and gizzards is my #1 go-to hangover cure.

Thunder_Chicken said:

Liver (whole and chopped, beef or chicken, any method of preparation) is one of those foods that either sends people into swoons or into spasms of disgust. What is your take?

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Depends on the type of liver & how it's prepared. If it's beef liver & is fried (liver & onions) I think it's vile & I won't eat it. If it's pork liver & it's in the form of liverwurst, I love to eat it on crackers or Vienna rolls, or even right off the spoon.

Chicken liver is great bait for catfish, but the chopped liver sandwich is not my fav. I can choke it down if I have to, but I won't like it. That being said, my BIL makes an awesome gravy with chicken livers. It doesn't taste like chicken liver at all; I think that's why I think it's so tasty.
That's my 2 cents worth. Regards, GF.

Love it, all kinds.

Try chicken liver tikka or in a masala, the stronger flavour of the liver works great with indian sauces.

I live for this

I think this is a good example of why people can't agree on the taste of a particular beer.

For me, liver is the worst food ever. If you can't fix it with bacon, it ain't fixable.

Chicken livers whole sprinkled with Salt pepper and garlic, wrapped in bacon, and broiled. Yum.

Remember that the liver filters out all the nastiest stuff that goes through the animal.

I do like my liver though... Right where it is!

True. Most chickens don't live past six months.. how bad can it possibly be?
If you eat liver from an organic animal that has no hormones, etc can it be bad?

I love liver, so far in any style of preparation i have tried. As others have said, I am the only one in my family to enjoy so it is a treat when I get it. i also like the the diversity of livers available to me:

Moose, Caribou, Sheep, Goat, Pig, most birds, even beef and chicken and since Bizarre Foods, fish livers.

One of my favorite liver meals I had was in McGrath. We had shot a large, old moose and our Tlingit friend cooked some thin slices of the liver with onions, butter, some garlic, salt and pepper and scrambled eggs. Served with sour dough toast, buttermilk and coffee, for breakfast the following morning. My mouth is watering just with the memory!

As I have stated on another thread, I'm a big fan of all organ meats - when properly handled.

Classic German preparation: Salt, pepper, lots of onions and fried (not deep fried). Maybe add some apples. Done!

Raw Liver and Cold Coffee!

I think I'm going to make some calves liver tonight if my HR call goes as I hope.

It's the only thing I ever get when I got to Luby's!

Luby's?

Sorry, I forgot they don't exist everywhere. I think it's only Tx/OK, and maybe Arkansas. It's a cafeteria style restaurant, known for feeding little old people at 4pm for dinner. It's pretty decent food, and their liver is awesome!

Melana said:

True. Most chickens don't live past six months.. how bad can it possibly be?
If you eat liver from an organic animal that has no hormones, etc can it be bad?

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and preferably lightly killed

Here's a nice "recipe". Toast some nice crusty bread with a little olive oil and a little sea/kosher salt.

In a nice hot pan with a tablespoon or two of chicken fat, add your rinsed and cleaned livers with a little salt. Brown on both sides until still a little pink in the middle. Add some nice balsamic to the pan (if its good enough quality to eat with strawberries its good enough for this dish) and toss your livers in the balsamic until the livers acquire a nice glaze. Your pan should be a total PITA to clean at this point.

Put the livers on the toast. Sell at high-end restaurant for upwards of $11. Pair with a nice red.

I forgot to include my oldest son. He got to try Seal Liver in Kotzebue and really liked it alot but he won't eat calf or chicken liver, go figure.

kh54s10 said:

Remember that the liver filters out all the nastiest stuff that goes through the animal.

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It's not a filter really, more a processing unit. It takes bad stuff and turns it into stuff the body can excrete, and then sends it on. There is no more "nasty stuff" in liver than there is in the rest of the animal.

shelly_belly said:

I live for this

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I'm going to have to try this some time. How does it compare to liverwurst or braunschweiger?
Regards, GF.

Last night I fried up some slab bacon in cubes in a little olive oil, and then dredged two slices of calves liver and let it hit the pan just until it stopped being pink on the inside. Served with some onions that I fried in the bacon/olive oil and boiled potatoes. I would totally do it again.

Sounds delicious Creamy. My grandfather used to order fried liver and onions when we'd go out for dinner and he'd always let me try a piece. I thought it was delicious, and your recipes sound great. Unfortunately, this would be far, far, far too adventurous eating for the wife. Have you had kidney's? I've been intrigued by those too (and sweet breads).

Sweetbreads, when prepared by someone who knows what they are doing, are simply sublime. Think the texture of gnocchi with a savory, meaty flavor. It makes me happy just thinking of them...

And then you have kidneys. Frightening things. I havent had them many times, and I havent had them made by an expert, but every time Ive had them they smell like a urinal. Difficult to choke down something that smells like someone peed on it.

Brains on the other hand I would eat again in a minute. Ali at Kabob Cafe makes them in a simple lemon sauce, and its like eating a cloud.