Crisp Lemon Calf Liver Recipes

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!

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'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.

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.

BRANDIED CALF LIVER AND ONIONS

Steps:

• On sheet of wax paper, combine flour, pepper and salt.
• Dredge liver in flour mixture.
• In large non-stick skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp.
• Remove to paper towel to drain; crumble when cool.
• To drippings in pan, add liver and saute, in batches if necessary, until golden brown-- about 1 1/2 minutes per side.
• Remove to serving platter, keep warm.
• Add onions to skillet, cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in raisins, brandy and cider vinegar, cook one minute.
• Add crumbled bacon, pour over liver.
• Serve Hot!

CALF'S LIVER WITH SHALLOT AND WINE PAN SAUCE

Steps:

• Sprinkle the flour and a pinch of salt on a piece of wax paper. Dredge the liver, cut into two pieces if it is large, in the flour. Heat 1 teaspoon of the butter in a small heavy skillet over moderately high heat. When it starts to sizzle, drop the liver into the pan. Sauté quickly, still over quite high heat, for about 1 minute on each side, then remove to a plate. Clean out the burned butter left in the pan, let the pan cool a little, and melt the remaining butter over moderate heat. Toss in the shallot. Cook, stirring, until it softens, and splash a little wine into the pan. Let it reduce quickly and then add another splash and return the liver to the pan. Cook to warm through. Check to see if the liver is done to your liking by cutting into a piece; I like it still rosy. Salt and pepper the liver lightly, remove to a warm plate, spooning the shallot and pan sauce over it, and sprinkle parsley on top.
• I find the usual supermarket-packaged piece of liver too big for me so I set aside a piece, about 2 ounces, to make an unusual and delicious pasta (see page 182).

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 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.

SLICED CALF'S LIVER WITH GOLDEN ONIONS

Steps:

• Rinse liver to remove any traces of blood and discard membrane and any tough veins. Cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices.
• Cook onions in 2 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, 1 minute. Cover skillet and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm, covered.
• Pat half of liver slices dry and toss with salt and pepper to taste. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté seasoned liver, shaking skillet and turning liver, until browned on both sides but still pink inside, about 2 minutes. Put cooked liver on top of onions and cover.
• Add water to skillet and deglaze, scraping up brown bits and boiling until liquid is slightly reduced. Pour sauce over cooked liver and wipe skillet clean. Sauté remaining liver as above, then add rest of liver with onions and parsley, tossing briefly.