Liver and Onions

 

Liver and Onions

      

1 lb. liver (preferably pork) but feel free to us beef or venison
1 cup whole milk (optional)
3 medium onions
3 cloves garlic
1 cup flour
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
½ tsp. pepper
1 stick butter


Soaking the liver in milk for 20-30 minutes tames the taste. If you don’t like that sharp flavor that that liver has, try this.

 

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large cast iron skillet (or other fry pan).   Add onions and garlic and cook until tender and slightly browned. Remove from pan and cover with a piece of aluminum foil to keep warm.

Combine flour, paprika and pepper in saucer. Drain milk from liver and dredge liver through flour mixture.  Coat really well and shake off excess. Dredge through a second time if there is any flour left.

In wiped out skillet add remaining butter and let it melt over moderately high heat. Add liver; cook 2-3 minutes per side until no longer pink inside. Add onions and garlic back to skillet to warm.  Serve with mashed potatoes and stewed tomatoes…or whatever your favorite sides are.

 

© Crackerberries 2020

Liver + Onions

So liver and onions was a meal my mother served once a week when I was a kid. Liver is cheap now, imagine how cheap it was back then. I loved liver and onions night. However, I did not care for what she served it with: mashed potatoes and stewed tomatoes. That was what my sister loved. I remember sitting at the dinner table saying “I don’t like mashed potatoes.” My father would say, “Shut up and eat it”. “But that’s not fair,” I’d retaliate, “Penny gets a hot dog because she doesn’t like liver”. Then my father would give me that look and say, “If you keep running your mouth, you can have more mashed potatoes.” That meant I better shut up. My mother always liked my sister better than me. (I’m just kidding) When we’re kids and things like that happened, that’s what your brain told you, isn’t it? Parents just know what is best for their kids … whether it’s eating stewed tomatoes and mashed potatoes or liver and onions; or in my sister’s case, a hot dog. Guess my mother really like me better. I’ll take liver and onions over a hot dog every day.



1 lb beef or pork liver
1 cup whole milk
3 medium onions
8 slices bacon (optional)
½ cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp pepper
2 Tbsp butter




Soak liver in milk for 20 minutes. While liver is soaking cook bacon in skillet over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and add sliced onions and salt and cook until golden brown. Remove onions and add to bacon. Cover with a piece of aluminum foil to keep warm.

Drain milk from liver (if you have a dog, he will love this mixed with his dog food.) Combine flour, paprika and pepper in saucer. Dredge liver through flour and shake off excess.

In wiped out skillet add butter and let it melt over moderately high heat. Add liver; cook 2-3 minutes per side until no longer pink inside. Serve with bacon and onions.


© Crackerberries 2009

Spiedini

Spiedini is an Italian word that means “skewer” or “kebab”. This would make one think of Shi-K-Bobs, right? Add zucchini, cherry tomatoes, baby portabella mushrooms, green pepper, Vidalia onions and beef or shrimp; grill it and serve it with rice. That would be a big YUM, and all good and healthy if you like all those veggies. Tall Cool One likes his meat…and to quote him “Shrimp does not pass as the meat dish.” So I found this interesting combination of Spiedini and thought, wow, let's see if this is a keeper. A little time consuming but it’s a very tasty combination.

6 slices bacon
1 large, whole, boneless, skinless chicken breast (halved lengthwise)
½ cup Dale’s marinade (you can marinate however you like)
2 large sweet Italian sausage links
3 whole large chicken livers
6 fresh basil leaves
6 large mushroom caps
2 Tbsp melted margarine or butter

In a skillet, cook bacon just until it starts to brown but do not let it get crispy; drain well. Rinse chicken breasts and cut each breast in half crosswise into thirds; marinate in ½ cup Dales for about 15 minutes. Cut the sausage into 6 pieces. Cut each chicken liver in half.

Place one of the basil leaves on each liver half. Roll each liver half in a slice of bacon, wrapped snuggly. On each of the 6 - 12 inch skewers, place a sausage, followed by a chicken breast piece, and a bacon wrapped chicken liver. Top each end with a mushroom cap. Brush kabobs with margarine.

Place Kabobs on the cooking grill (we put aluminum foil down so that the fire wouldn’t flair up and crispy fry them). Grill for about 14-22 minutes, turning a few times through the grilling time. Internal temp should be 165º for chicken and 170º for sausage.

Following the Italian tradition, Spiedini should be served with a pasta side dish but we served ours with Cole Slaw.

© Crackerberries 2009