Dining Car Calf Liver Recipes

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.

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.

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.

Steps:

• In a large glass baking dish, add liver and milk and let soak for 20 minutes.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, add bacon and butter and cook until fat has rendered, about 6 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain and reserve 3 tablespoons fat in skillet. Reserve remaining fat.
• Cook onions with salt and pepper, to taste, in bacon fat in skillet over moderate heat for 10 minutes or until caramelized. Transfer onions to a bowl and add bacon. Set aside.
• Pat liver dry and discard milk. In a large zip-top bag, add flour, Essence, salt and pepper. Working in batches, add liver and shake to coat. Set aside on baking sheet until ready to cook.
• Add 2 tablespoons reserved bacon fat to skillet over high heat and add liver; cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Turn liver over, remove pan from heat, add sherry and beef broth, return pan to heat and shake and flambe. Cook on second side for about 2 minutes or until cooked through. Serve liver with pan sauce, topped with onions and bacon.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William Morrow, 1993.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). With a long sharp knife, carefully slice open the piece of liver like a wallet.
• To make the stuffing, grab a sauté pan and melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. It seems like a lot of butter because it is. After 2 minutes, add the ham and the shallot. Sweat it for a minute or two and then add the mushrooms, Cognac, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to draw the water from the mushrooms. Stir in the garlic, parsley, and a pinch of pepper and cook for 3 minutes. Lastly, add the bread and mix everything together. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• Spoon the stuffing carefully into the veal wallet. Unlike a real wallet, you want this one only three-quarters full. Squeeze the top to make sure that the bottom is full. Now sew the top shut with bamboo skewers. It doesn't have to be perfect; just shut it so the stuffing doesn't fall out.
• In a small cocotte or other small flameproof casserole, melt 2 tablespoons butter with a pinch each of salt and pepper over medium heat. When the butter is foaming, fit the liver in the pan and place in the oven for 12 minutes.
• Time to make the herb crust: Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, let cool, then mix with the Parmesan, mustard, and chives.
• After 12 minutes, take the liver out but don't turn off the oven. With a spoon, smear the buttery crust on top of the liver. Add the stock to the pan, return the pan to the oven, and bake for another 5 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 135°F (58°C).
• Take out the skewers, let the liver rest for a minute, then slice and serve.

Steps:

• To make the relish, put the onions, juniper and thyme in a large saucepan, season with 1 tsp salt and a little pepper. Cook on a high heat for 10 mins, stirring regularly as the onions start to soften. Add the vinegar, sugar and 100ml water. Cover, boil for 5 mins, then uncover and simmer gently for 5 mins or until soft and with a little juice remaining. Meanwhile, remove large tubes, membrane or gristle from the liver. Pat dry with kitchen paper.
• Heat 1 tsp oil in a large frying pan and add the prosciutto. Fry for 1 min each side or until golden and crisp. Set aside on a plate and keep warm in a low oven.
• Add a splash more oil to the pan. Dust the liver slices in the flour and pat away any excess. Place the liver in the hot pan, scatter the sage in, then fry for 1 min each side if the liver is sliced thinly, longer if thicker. When the liver is golden and just pink in the middle, transfer it and the crisped sage to the plate in the oven.
• Return the pan to the hob and add the Marsala. Boil until syrupy. Let the butter melt into this sauce, season to taste, then set aside. If your sauce reduces too quickly, just add a little water. Plate up the liver, prosciutto, sage and warm onion relish, then spoon over the sauce. Serve with seasonal greens and potatoes, if you like.

Steps:

• Preheat a broiler. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté bacon, turning as needed, until crispy. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Discard excess bacon fat but do not wash pan.
• Return pan to medium heat. Add oil, onions and paprika. Sauté until onions are very soft and beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Toward the end of cooking, season liver with salt and pepper to taste, and broil as desired, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes a side for a medium (lightly pink) center.
• To serve, remove onions from heat and season with salt to taste. Place a slice of liver on each of two serving plates. Smother with onions and top with bacon. Serve hot.