Crisp Lemon Calf Liver Recipes

SMOTHERED LIVER

Steps:

• Marinate the liver in a mixture of the vinegar, Worcestershire, dry mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper for 30 to 60 minutes.
• Remove the liver from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Pat the liver dry and dust it with flour. In a heavy skillet, over a medium high heat, sear the liver in a little of the reserved bacon grease. Turn the liver only once to avoid overcooking. Remove the liver to a platter and cover with loosely tented foil to keep warm.
• Drain the excess bacon grease from the skillet. Place the reserved marinade and chicken stock in the skillet, over a medium high heat, and reduce by half. Pour this sauce over the liver and serve with the crisp bacon slices and pickled serranos or jalapenos on the side.

CRISP LEMON CALF LIVER

Steps:

• Cook bacon until crisp.
• Drain on paper towel.
• You may remove some of the bacon fat but leave a generous amount, do not clean skillet.
• Crumble bacon.
• Combine flour, dill, salt& pepper in a paper bag.
• Add liver and coat well, shake off any excess flour.
• Fry liver in the "bacon" skillet over high heat until crisp on outside but still moist inside (about 4-6 minutes).
• Remove liver but keep warm.
• Discard fat from skillet but do not scrape the pan.
• Over medium heat melt butter scraping in all the brown bits.
• Stir in lemon juice, parsley and crumbled bacon.
• Put liver back in the pan to ensure it is hot.
• Sprinkle with grated lemon and enjoy.

CALF LIVER AND ONIONS LOUISIANA-STYLE

Steps:

• Wash liver, put in a zip bag with milk and put in the ice box for an hour or so.
• Remove liver from bag, season with salt and pepper. Dust the liver with flour in a pan and leave them in the flour.
• In a medium sized skillet, sauté the onions in butter until slightly brown and remove and drain Drain any leftover butter in a cup. While doing this, dust the liver once more and set on a plate. Let the liver rest a few minutes.
• Add the cooking oil to the same pan and heat until ready to fry inches Put two or three pieces of liver in the oil leaving a 1" space between each. Keep the oil at a good temperature to maintain frying. Fry liver on each side until golden brown and remove. You are not trying to fully cook it, just brown it.
• Take the liver out, put it a plate and cover it with foil. Pour the oil out into the the cup with the butter in it to make about 1/4 cup; pour this back in the pan and put on a medium fire. Add enough flour to make a small medium brown roux. Add chicken stock (or water) enough to make the roux a medium thickness. Be sure to boil this and sprinkle some garlic powder in it.
• Remove roux and in the same pan return liver, onions (regular and green) and roux. Cook on medium fire for about 15 minutes (stirring every 5 minutes) or so or until liver is done but not overdone.

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!

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.

SAGE & THYME CALVES' LIVER WITH WILD MUSHROOMS & PANCETTA

Steps:

• Put the pancetta in a large frying pan and cook until crisp, then lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Heat the oil in the pan. Sear the liver steaks for 1-2 mins each side - so they're just still pink in the middle - using half the butter towards the end to baste the meat. Remove the liver to a plate using the slotted spoon and leave to rest, covered with foil, for 10-15 mins.
• Add the chopped sage, thyme leaves, shallots, mushrooms and lemon zest to the pan. Fry on the highest heat for a few mins, then add the lemon juice and some seasoning. Cook for 3-5 mins until slightly saucy and the mushrooms are soft.
• Heat the remaining butter in your smallest saucepan until just foaming. Add the remaining whole sage leaves and fry for a few mins until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper with the pancetta. Sit the liver on toast, spoon over the mushroom mixture and scatter over the pancetta and crisp sage. Serve immediately.

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.

CALF'S LIVER WITH APPLES AND ONIONS

Steps:

• In a large skillet cook the bacon over moderate heat until it is crisp, transfer it to paper towels to drain, and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat. To the fat remaining in the skillet add 2 tablespoons of the butter and cook the onions in the fat over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until they are softened and light golden. Add the apples, cored and cut into eighths, and cook the mixture until the apples are light golden. Add the vinegar, the sugar, and the wine, bring the mixture to a boil, and boil it for 3 minutes, or until it is thickened. Transfer the mixture to a heated platter.
• In the skillet, cleaned, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over high heat until the foam subsides and in it sauté the liver, patted dry, turning it, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until it is browned and slightly pink within. Arrange the liver over the apple mixture, sprinkle the bacon, crumbled, and the chopped parsley over it, and garnish the platter with the parsley sprigs and the lemon wedges.