Offal and friends

Yes, I suppose there is that element to liver for me, at least nominally. I did have to eat it as a kid occasionally. Beef liver, but thankfully mom cooked a lot of onions with it. But I never liked it, in fact it was an ordeal to get it down. YET, occasionally I crave that liver taste - so am I craving a metallic taste of copper or iron, or the delectable smack of arsenic? Maybe the boys wants the specific vitamins contained within, dunno?

I like chicken liver and country type pates every now and then. I’ve tried making my own classic type of chicken liver pate, twice now, and wound up feeding it to the dogs I had at the time. Albeit in small amounts, and mixed in with their regular kibble. They loved it. I used different recipes, with luxe ingredients, so can’t understand why I don’t like and can’t eat it. So, we just buy small bits when a hankering arises. Overall, I’m generally not fond of any kind of offal.

I’d love to know too!

****damn spell check! So my post above makes sense, the word should have been my BODY wanting the nutrients, not the boys!

My body wants many things but I can’t write about it on this PG 13 site. 🥸

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Haha, please don’t get me started! :scream_cat: Also, if you have a great recipe for chicken liver pate, would def consider trying again.

That’s a good one!

Cream the chard as you would spinach. Even better if you add garlic and/or shallots, cream cheese, and parmesan.

I’ll agree with everyone who commented on preparation. I grew up eating liver, and liked it, but seems most people moms fried it till it was the texture and flavor of shoe leather. I dont like it like that either!

My mom has a recipe where she marinates it in salad dressing, then is breaded and flashes to make a crust, then baked with onions and mushrooms and sherry. It’s truly delicious and lots of friends devoured it without having any idea that it was liver.

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And it sounds to me like an absolute winner. I’m going to remember to try this sometime.

The ``Julia Child’s recipe for chicken liver mousse is a classic. Always a crowd pleaser. Freezes well.

And Rumaki Pate, a spin off from Trader Vic’s iconic chicken liver/water chesstnut/bacon appetizer is a show-stopper.

re cooking liver, the French slice liver differently from us (US), cutting thick slices across the organ. They sear these thick (1 1/2") slices, leaving the interior rosy \rare. it is mild and luxurious, a totally different animal from our thin shoeleather. Husband took a bite of my serving and became a convert, ordering it for himself after that. It is hard if not impossible to get our butchers to cut this way.

re Swiss chard, saute several cloves of slivered garlic in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Remove garlic from ;pan. Stir fry damp (washed but not dried) chard`in the scented oil. s&p. → chard converts.

lets just say my father wasn’t always open to logic:)

Thanks @pilgrim - may give those pate recipes a try, if I can readily find chicken livers.

Ask your butcher for them. They often have them frozen and not in the case.

As a ps, my grand-daughter, from age 3, would go bananas when she was over and I was making one of these. She would eat it off a spoon, and as much as I’d let her.get away with.

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A restaurant I used to go to when I was in London doing research at the National Archives does a starter of lamb’s kidneys and field mushrooms (both fried), in a devilled cream sauce, served on toast. Lovely.

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An ofal stew dish that I am very fond of, and have it at least once a year (do not eat very much meat) is RABO DE TORO, or Oxtail. The best place to have it is in The Madrid Capital or Jérez de La Frontera.

My maternal grandmother used to prepare however, she is quite elderly now … (95) …

The classic ingredients are:
2 oxtails
salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh sage
2 bay leaves
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
Non bleached flour for dusting
6 tablespoons of Extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots sliced in small circular slices
1 small onion or 2 shallots
1 celery stalk chopped finely
1 Litre of white wine
3 cloves
1 cinammon stick
20 grams of French or Asturian butter (82% butterfat)

Another ofal favourite are veal callos (tripe) in a spicy tomato and smoked paprika salsa brava served in a clay terracotta bowl.

We always go to Casa Domingo in the Madrid Capital, which is the best that we have had …

Calves liver with sautéed onions is quite common … Key to the success is that it should be pink in the interior so it shall be very tender. On a rare occasion we have it for lunch at home. Most people overcook it to well done which is a true crime …

Veal sweetbreads are a popular tapa and they are breaded and sautéed and quite exceptional. We enjoy them from time to time in the winter-time.

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I’ve mentioned elsewhere that family members come from the Spanish island of Mallorca, where there have a really lovely dish using liver. Known as Frito Mallorquin in Castilian and Frit de Matances (in Mallorquin). The latter roughly translates as “slaughter fry”. In the rural area of the island where the brother in law comes from, there was an annual family gathering for the killing of the pig. Most is turned into salami, sobrasada, hams, etc. But some things, like the offal, don’t keep well, so are cooked quickly. Frito is basically a fry up of liver (In restaurants you’ll usually find they cook with lamb or goat liver) , onion, red & green peppers, potatoes and fennel.

I remember once having frito cooked by his mother. There was something unpleasantly chewy in it. Of course, as a guest, you chew , swallow and say nothing. But, afterwards, I asked the sister in law what it was. Lungs. Not something to repeat.

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Totally agree but laughing since I don’t consider ox-tail or even sweetbreads offal. But husband says that I eat things, especially in France, that you’d take away from your dog if it dragged it home.
And, of course, liver must be pink or else inedible.

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We each have our limits. Mine is lungs. Have never encountered and am not looking for any.

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I don’t consider oxtail offal either, unless offal now means way more expensive than it used to be. For me offal miss organ meat, and I include glands and brains. It is interesting to me things that might be called “sweetbreads”, and will have think about what they have in common on an anatomical and culinary level.

Harters, I’ll post it for you when I have a few minutes!

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