Braised Calfs Liver Recipes

SAUTEED CALF'S LIVER

Steps:

• Place liver in a nonreactive (ceramic or glass) bowl and pour milk over. Refrigerate, covered, 5 to 6 hours.
• In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. When butter is shimmering, add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring more frequently until onions are very soft and brown, 30 to 40 minutes more.
• Drain liver and discard milk. Pat liver dry with paper towels.
• Spread flour on a plate and season with salt and pepper. Thoroughly coat liver with the flour mixture, shaking off excess.
• Heat a large (13-inch) saute pan over medium heat and add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the oil and heat until shimmering. Cook (in batches, if necessary, to avoid crowding pan) until liver is firm (but not hard) and browned on the outside but still slightly pink in the center, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining liver, adding more oil to the pan as necessary. Add sage and cook for 1 minute more.
• Divide liver among plates and top with onions.

BRAISED BEEF LIVER

Steps:

• Cut liver into 1 in strips.
• Soak in milk for one hour.
• Remove from milk and dredge in flour/salt mixture.
• Saute in hot oil until browned on all sides.
• Remove and set aside.
• Brown onions in same pan.
• Remove onions and set aside on top of liver.
• Add beef broth, lemon juice and sugar to hot pan and deglaze.
• Place liver and onion back into pan and cook for 5 minutes.
• Turn off heat and add sour cream.
• Serve with parsley whipped potatoes and your favorite green vegetable.

BRAISED CALF'S LIVER

Steps:

• Slice liver in small, thin pieces. Brown the onions in shortening. Stir in the paprika and tomato paste. Add the liver. Cover and simmer over a low flame for 15 minutes, or until the liver is done. Add salt just before serving.

BRAISED CALF'S HEART

Steps:

• Using scissors, cut all inner tubes, sinews and arteries from inside of hearts to leave clear, hollow shell. Wash inside under running cold water. Pat dry.
• Sprinkle inside of each heart with salt and pepper. Combine parsley, onion and lemon rind. Place half of filling in each heart. Add 1 tablespoon butter, diced, to each heart. Sew opening closed across top. Sprinkle salt and pepper on outside of hearts.
• Place remaining butter in casserole and melt. Slowly brown hearts on all side. Remove when brown. Add minced carrot, onion and celery to pan and saute slowly until vegetables just begin to turn golden brown - about 10 minutes. Stir in paprika and saute for 2 minutes.
• Place browned hearts on top of vegetables, add bay leaf and pour in beef stock. Cover and simmer gently but steadily over moderate heat for about 2 hours, or until hearts are completely tender when pierced. Turn hearts about every 20 minutes during cooking, adding stock if needed.
• Remove hearts when tender and remove thread.
• Skim fat off pan juices, then strain juices, rubbing vegetables through sieve. Discard bay leaf.
• Return strained juices to casserole. Stir flour into sour cream and stir into pan juices. Adjust seasonings.
• Cut hearts in half and serve with sauce on side. Noodles, spatzle or boiled potatoes go well with this.

CALF'S LIVER WITH BACON AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Soak liver in milk in a bowl 20 minutes.
• While liver is soaking, cook bacon in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, turning over occasionally, until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain and reserve 2 1/2 tablespoons fat in skillet, transferring remaining fat to a small bowl.
• Cook onions with salt and pepper to taste in fat in skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer onions to a bowl and add bacon. Keep warm, covered.
• Pat liver dry and discard milk. Stir together flour, salt, and pepper on a sheet of wax paper and dredge liver in flour mixture, shaking off excess.
• Add 1 1/2 tablespoons reserved bacon fat to skillet and heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté liver, turning over once, until browned but still pink inside, about 4 minutes total. Serve liver topped with onions and bacon.

BROILED CALF'S LIVER

Steps:

• Preheat a broiler. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté bacon, turning as needed, until crispy. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Discard excess bacon fat but do not wash pan.
• Return pan to medium heat. Add oil, onions and paprika. Sauté until onions are very soft and beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Toward the end of cooking, season liver with salt and pepper to taste, and broil as desired, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes a side for a medium (lightly pink) center.
• To serve, remove onions from heat and season with salt to taste. Place a slice of liver on each of two serving plates. Smother with onions and top with bacon. Serve hot.

ABSOLUTE BEST LIVER AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Gently rinse liver slices under cold water, and place in a medium bowl. Pour in enough milk to cover. Let stand while preparing onions. (I like to soak up to an hour or two - whatever you have time for.) This step is SO important in taking the bitter taste of the liver out.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Separate onion rings, and saute them in butter until soft. Remove onions, and melt remaining butter in the skillet. Season the flour with salt and pepper, and put it in a shallow dish or on a plate. Drain milk from liver, and coat slices in the flour mixture.
• When the butter has melted, turn the heat up to medium-high, and place the coated liver slices in the pan. Cook until nice and brown on the bottom. Turn, and cook on the other side until browned. Add onions, and reduce heat to medium. Cook a bit longer to taste. Our family prefers the liver to just barely retain a pinkness on the inside when you cut to check. Enjoy!