Beef Liver with Caramelized Onions & Balsamic Reduction

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Liver has an unfair culinary reputation! We conveniently forget that the liver is a busy place with serious physiological responsibilities and around 500 biochemical functions. Understandably, liver doesn’t have time to sit around and taste – or look – nice. This is the duty of accomplished and oft sexy cooks. And we are all at least accomplished cooks, are we not?

Overcooking liver is possibly the most grievous error made by many. Inevitably this results in the universally disliked and characteristically unpleasant bitter, metallic taste and desiccated texture. To compound this disaster even further: the unpalatable taste of badly prepared liver is also a function of the animal’s age, the freshness of the uncooked liver and – to a certain extent – it’s diet in life.

A little insight into the liver’s function, composition and structure already hints at how to prepare it well. In most mammals, the liver is both the heaviest organ and largest gland. Two major blood vessels feed into and depart from it. It has two major lobes which are in turn subdivided into lobules, each fed and drained by capillaries and ducts, respectively. Millions of hepatic cells (held together with fine, irregular connective tissue layers) make up each lobule. In life the organ is responsible for the majority of bodily protein synthesis and degradation, plays several roles in carbohydrate and lipid metabolisms, and produces and excretes bile – a key component in digestion. Additionally, it also stores a plethora vitamins and minerals, produces albumin and breaks down most medications and waste products. Remember what I said about it being a busy place?

Now it becomes somewhat clearer why liver has a unique taste and non-uniform texture. Subsequently, three culinary avenues present themselves for doing justice to the humble, overworked liver – depending on the audience. We can either attempt to obliterate the natural taste by slathering it in peri-peri or chilli spices, or we can modify the flavour profile significantly for finicky palates with a supporting cast of smoked meats, sauces or vegetable additions to make it more acceptable, or we can gently subdue the bold liver foundation with a few elegant additions and a spot of technique. This recipe follows the latter avenue.

Many readers will not like this: beef liver in strip, cube or cutlet form absolutely needs to retain a measure of pinkishness in the center to bring out the best in it’s flavour, taste and in particular: texture. Either slice liver into thin, stir-fry style strips and flash fry it, or cut it into finger wide (and thick) strips and sauté over medium high heat until the bloodiness disappears but some pinkishness remains in the centre.

Liver needs to be pan fried, broiled or sautéed for optimal results. It does not do well with baking, boiling or braising unless afterward being structurally modified into pâté’s, spreads or stuffings (e.g. skilpadjies & pofadders), or is ‘diluted’ in a stew or casserole with other strongly flavoured ingredients or robust vegetables.

BEEF LIVER WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS & BALSAMIC REDUCTION

– PRINT RECIPE –

Recipe yields:	Preparation time:
2 x Portions	± 30 minutes

Special Equipment Required:

1 x Spiral wire whisk

Ingredients:

Beef or calf’s liver, pre-cleaned & prepared	± 350g
Dried rosemary	5ml
Medium sized onions, finely sliced	2
Sunflower oil	15ml + 15ml
White sugar	15ml
Balsamic vinegar	45ml
Sour cream	30ml
Lemon juice	10ml
Chopped garlic	7.5ml
Orange peel, finely grated	5ml
Salt	5ml
Dijon style mustard	2.5ml
Dried sage	2.5ml

Method:

1.           Rinse the liver well under cold, running water. Dry thoroughly with kitchen paper towels. Slice evenly into long strips, one finger wide and thick. Ensure that the strips are as close as possible to equally thick and wide. Cut the strips into two finger wide lengths. Transfer to a nonmetallic bowl, add the rosemary, stir through, cover and set aside until needed.

2.           Mix the sour cream, lemon juice, garlic, orange peel, salt, mustard and sage in a small mixing bowl. Stir through and set aside.

3.           Add the sunflower oil to a medium large sauté pan over high heat and add the onion when the oil is hot. Sauté until the onion turns soft and translucent. Add the sugar; turn the heat down to medium and sauté with frequent stirring until the onion starts to brown. Add extra oil if necessary. Brown the onions until caramelized to taste. Transfer the caramelized onion to a bowl and set aside.

4.           Add the second portion of oil to the pan and adjust the heat to medium high. Add the liver in one batch when the pan is hot. Allow the pieces to brown for one minute. Turn the pieces over and brown on the other side for a further minute. Stir the liver frequently from this point on until the liquid in the pan has evaporated. Cut a piece in the pan to confirm it is pink in the centre. Sauté a further minute or two over medium heat if the pieces are still undercooked.

5.           Transfer the liver to the bowl with the caramelized onions. Adjust the heat to moderate and add the balsamic vinegar. Make sure sufficient ventilation is available to reduce the vinegar fumes that will come off. Use the spiral wire whisk to stir the liquid and scrape the pan to lift any caramelized and stuck residues. Reduce the balsamic vinegar until syrupy.

6.           Add the cream mixture and stir through until the liquid starts to simmer. Return the reserved liver and onions and stir through until thoroughly warmed.

7.           Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Comments:

¨            Fresh liver should only have a faint, meaty odor. The texture should be soft but still quite firm when touched. It will be moist but should definitely not be slimy. Also, liver degrades quickly in a refrigerator but freezes well when it is inconvenient to prepare it. Thaw the frozen liver for 24 hours in a refrigerator.

¨            Thickly sliced supermarket or butchery liver should be rinsed under cold, running water before use. Pat dry with kitchen paper towels before working with it, as the wet liver is very slippery and difficult to cut into even pieces. Use a shaving sharp knife for clean, uniform slicing.

¨            It is common to marinate liver in vinegar, lemon or lime juice for an hour or two prior to cooking as a measure to subdue the bold liver taste. I prefer to avoid this step as I find it tends to reduce the cooked liver’s taste and flavour excessively. What can I say? I like ‘real’ liver.

© RS Young, 2017

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Note:

Post updated on 2024.02.24 to include:

1. The updated Recipe for downloading as a PDF file, and

2. Recipe Title and Print Recipe, Recipe Index and Facebook & Pinterest follow links.