In my quest to rebuild my immune system, my doctor suggested that I eat beef liver. I was aghast at the thought of eating liver. I’d been deeply scarred as a child with the smell of liver cooking on the stove top. My mother, who was anemic, regularly cooked beef and chicken livers to boost her iron levels. She also bought other organ meat, like cow’s tongue, intestines, and other unsightly things and stored them in our freezer. This awful, smelly experience went on for years and I vowed I would never, ever cook liver for my own children nor for myself.
Now my doctor was recommending that I eat liver. It was time for me to get over my hang up and research how to make liver taste good. I went to Whole Foods and asked the butcher for pasture-feed, hormone-free beef liver. Sure enough, they had it available in the frozen department. I bought a pound of it and put in the passenger seat along side of me as I drove home. I kept staring over at the liver and hoping that it would jump out of my car and then I’d have an excuse not to prepare it! No such luck.
I checked with several friends on the best way to cook liver. The consensus was to sauté it with onions. However, this is how my mother prepared it and it just stunk bad. Finally, a neighbor recommended sautéing it with onions, garlic, and bacon. She reassured me that the bacon flavor would kill the smell and make the liver taste good.
I procrastinated in fixing dinner until 8:00 pm last night. Finally, I could wait no longer. I pulled the liver out of the refrigerator and said a prayer of it. Then I started chopping the onion, mincing the garlic, and baking the bacon. I threw everything in the pan with the beef liver on top. I added some leftover Sauvignon Blanc wine to the pan hoping that would add some flavor, too. After 15 or 20 minutes, the liver was ready to eat. Lo and behold, there was no bad smell. In fact, the beef liver smelled like a gourmet entree! It tasted pretty good, too.
Beef liver is loaded with essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients our bodies need. The only disadvantage to liver is that it’s high in cholesterol. Take a moment to check out the chart to the right for a comparison of beef liver to blueberries, kale, and other beef.P.S. Now my neighbor and I get together regularly for "liver fests". It's great to have a friend who also enjoys liver. Why not make a festival out of it?
(Chart: Chris Kessler, “Liver: Nature’s Most Potent Superfood,” Chris Kresser L. AC, http://chriskresser.com/natures-most-potent-superfood)
