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After reading Dr Shanahan's, Deep Nutrition, I'm thinking I need to add some offal to my diet and want to add some liver once a week. I've only have pate on crostini with mustard and tiny pickles pre-paleo. Who has some easy, palatable recipes for a liver newbie?

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Liver with onions and/or bacon is pretty standard. If you like liver. Or make your own pate and eat it with celery or something similar. You might find a store bought pate that isn't too bad - I eat liverwurst or braunschwieger from time to time. The other altenate plan is to play "hide the liver". Some people freeze it, slice it and put it in pills (too much work for me). I try to hide it in chili - you have to be careful not to ruin the chili! – Dave S. Apr 4 2012 at 16:12

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How do you EAT liver? Open your mouth, put it in, chew, swallow.

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You stole my answer. Open Mouth, Insert Liver. – Joshua Apr 4 2012 at 18:25
Oh dear. Cameron, somebody marked you down for having a sense of humour. :( – Warren D Apr 4 2012 at 19:46
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I'll mark you back up. It's what immediately came to my mind, also. – gydle Apr 4 2012 at 20:16
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I love questions about new foods and cooking as I was a chef for 15 years of my young life. If you are eating bacon I would suggest exactly what Dave said. Fry up some bacon, Caramelize some onions in the left over fat. Then just get a nice piece or two of calves or beef liver and cook it really quick in the same pan. One of my favorite foods of all time. The trick is liver is pretty thin don't over cook it. It is fine if it isn't well done all the way through, it is sweeter when it isn't so done. Calf liver is a more mild taste, so a bit more expensive but if you aren't sure you can handle full on liver flavor try that first. For me its straight beef liver cooked about medium (like I said it's thin so it happens very fast).

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a favorite is frying up chopped up bacon, and then adding onions to that till caramalized. then, i take those out and use the fat to fry up the chunks of liver. most important thing: DON'T OVERCOOK! i usually do 90 secs to 2 mins on each side. it's perfect when it's still slightly pink on the inside! i also like to eat pate/liverwurst on rice crackers :-)

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with some fava beans and a nice chianti...

Sry - couldn't help myself. I tried grinding it up and adding it to ground sirloin for burgers, and meatloaf's. Usually @ 25-50% liver, depends on your tastes and seasoning...

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I wish I knew how to type the slurping noise that goes with that! – Dave S. Apr 4 2012 at 16:12
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I'm also a Newbie who is trying to eat more offal...Primal Palate has a recipe that seems easy and palatable. If you can't stand the taste of liver, they suggest mincing it and mixing it with ground beef to create beef and liver meat balls: http://www.primal-palate.com/2012/02/beef-liver-and-onion-meatballs.html

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Ingredients: 4-6 pieces of Bacon, 1 Onion, Liver, Balsamic Vinegar, Milk, Coconut flour (optional)

Technique: 1) Soak a large chunk of the liver (.25-.5lbs) in milk for atleast 30 minutes to half a day. Remove and rinse.

2) Cut liver into bite sized pieces. Coat with coconut flour. Dice 1/2 to 1 onion, whatever you prefer.

3) Cook bacon in pan. Remove to cool. Dice bacon.

4) Cook onions in bacon grease until translucent. Add liver. Cook liver until done.

5) Toss in diced bacon and apply a good coat of balsalmic vinegar. Stir. (I think this really helps demolish the liver taste)

6) Enjoy.

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I might even consider trying this. Might. I can see how balsamic would help. I just HATE the texture of liver. Do you use chicken or beef? – gydle Apr 4 2012 at 20:16
I use beef liver. I find cutting it up into smaller pieces helps with the texture too. Give it a shot. – Andy Apr 4 2012 at 21:42
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I've reworked my Mom's recipe. I cut the liver into small, bite-sized pieces and dredge in a small amount of salt & peppered coconut flour. Slice up a whole onion and then sauté the onion in some coconut oil until soft (or carmalized if you like it like that), then add the liver until it's just done. Add some cream of mushroom soup (I make my own) and simmer until the flavors have blended (about 15 minutes).

I usually make up some mashed cauliflower to go with it. I love it!!

I really like the idea of adding bacon and think I'll add some the next time I make it.

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I bake mine with onion. Plain and simple, so delicious. At first the onion was handy to mask the liver taste but after a few weeks I started to like it.

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My fave is the Chicken Liver Paté recipe from Nourishing Traditions.

I eat it with celery sticks or rice crackers

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Dragonfly, could you share this recipe please? – Jen Apr 4 2012 at 16:16
thenourishingcook.com/… (scroll down the page) – Dragonfly Apr 4 2012 at 18:37
Thanks, I always stare intimidated at the packs of chicken livers and hearts at my local farmer's markets, intrigued but intimidated. I finally bought a food processor and now I really have no excuse. – Jen Apr 4 2012 at 18:57
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Cut it in short strips and sauté it with onions, tomatoes and a little parsley. Delicious!!

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The only recipe I have to offer is to saute the liver up with some bacon and onions. What I suggest you do is start with the liver on its own so you can gauge the flavor. Decide how you like it and then add to it if necessary. Some like the flavor, but others like myself don't, and have to mask it with the culinary bandaid known as bacon.

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With complimentary flavors, of course.

Ruminant liver tends to go well with sweet onions, bacon, and apples... so I fry beef/calf/venison liver in bacon fat, and serve grilled onions and apples on top with the rendered crispy bacon chopped over top of that. It's my rendition of a classic German dish, Leber Berliner Art.

Poultry liver is different, I find rich, earthy flavors to be complimentary. Jewish/Kosher Deli chopped chicken liver is one of my favorite ways to eat liver, and I eat it schmeared on celery sticks (or rolled up in a slice of good deli roast beef/corned beef). I've made it myself with varying success, the recipe is simple - boiled egg, boiled liver, pureed with rendered chicken fat and copious amounts of onion.

Pork liver is great when pureed with gelatin and allowed to set, with pungent flavors like strong woodsy herbs (rosemary/thyme) and lots of onion/garlic. Keeping with the "ethnic" views of my post thus far I would look into French recipes for different Pâté (is there a plural of pâté?).

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For beef liver I use butter and sweet onions. Don't over cook. I used to use a small sour cream to make a sauce, but an alternative is use a little beef stock and white wine to pick up the carmelized flavors com off the bottom of the pan. Mix a liitle arrowroot or tapioca starch with cold liquid and then add it to thicken for your sauce. You could also just use the beef broth without the wine.

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I buy liverwurst and braunschweiger from US Wellness Meats. I slice it and eat it cold and heated - by itself, with eggs, on salad, with spaghetti squash. I was buying traditional grass-fed liver from my local store and broiling it with some salt and pepper, but then I got pregnant (due in one week!) and couldn't handle the straight stuff anymore. I would slice the broiled liver and add it to salads.

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