Whole liver is a great source of iron and B vitamins and should be a regular part of a healthy diet, and if cooked correctly, liver can be delicious. Although the liver has a bad press and many people do not even consider trying it. Sometimes it takes the cook to be somewhat ingenious to get people to try the liver. There are many recipes to choose from and it is worth experimenting.
The best liver is the liver of young animals, since it is the softest and most tender. Calf liver is delicate and delicious but quite expensive. Real calf liver is paler in color than the more mature, reddish baby beef liver. For a mild-tasting liver, choose the palest liver you can find. The darker the color, the stronger the flavor.
Be careful when choosing liver, as baby beef liver is sometimes labeled as veal liver at the supermarket or grocery store. To make sure you buy veal liver, buy it from a reputable butcher or gourmet supermarket.
Calf liver has a stronger flavor than calf liver, but it is very good and preferable to real calf liver. Beef liver is dark red, and the color corresponds to the strength of the flavor. Beef liver is readily available, but is believed by many to be too strong for simple preparations.
Some cooks, after purchasing beef liver, soak it in milk or a flavorful spicy marinade, such as a white wine marinade, before cooking to soften the intense flavor. After marinating, discard the liquid and dry the liver before cooking.
A lovely, tender and well-flavoured liver is lamb’s liver, but it’s usually quite hard to find.
It’s also hard to find pork liver, which has a strong flavor but is extremely tender. Again, for pork liver, it can be soaked or marinated like beef liver.
When choosing the liver, it should be impeccably fresh, without slimy or dry spots, and it should have a clear aroma.
If you are preparing a whole liver, first clean it with a damp cloth and then, using a sharp knife, remove any exposed veins, ducts, or connective tissue. With your fingers, peel off the thin outer membrane without tearing the liver. Then simply slice diagonally to the desired thickness your recipe calls for.
Of course, sliced liver can be purchased and is actually more widely available than whole livers. If the butcher hasn’t already done so, remove the outer membrane from the slices.
Before cooking, make 1/8-inch cuts at 1-inch intervals around the outside of the liver slice. The reason for this is that liver tends to shrink and roll up when cooked and these cuts will help prevent that from happening.
The liver is now ready to cook. The liver should be cooked until it is pink but firm in the center. If the liver is overcooked or cooked on too high a heat, it will become tough.
Liver is much richer in flavor than many other types of meat, so a 4-ounce serving should suffice as a main course for most appetites.
