We are a collection of Minneapolis folks cooking, preserving, and harvesting local, seasonal foods. This blog-share is meant to inspire greater culinary genius, as well as continued local food invention. What are YOU concocting in that kitchen of yours?

4.22.2013

Liver! (of a lamb in this case)

Well, another 4-8 inches of snow tonight and I think that puts us very solidly in the "most snow in April ever" category. I was super happy to come from work tonight to meatloaf in the crockpot (all ready to eat!) and some mashed cauliflower (had to make that, but it was worth it for the total comfort food extravaganza). The forecast says 60 degrees on Friday, so, I venture to say this is the last of the snow.

I got taken out to fancy dinner last night, and after laboring and laboring over the decision about where, I finally opted for Sea Change, the sustainable seafood restaurant in the Guthrie. I wanted oysters and some culinary fancy schmantz, and definitely got that. Now I am in love with raw oysters and am on a mission to learn how to shuck them myself. They have lots of omega 3s, and more zinc than any other food (zinc helps protect against UV radiation among lots of other great things). Oysters also seem to be one of the only kinds of seafood that are best to get farmed as opposed to wild; though Seafood Watch currently has both farm and wild rated as "Best Choice." So, I will be perusing some oyster shucking youtube videos in the coming weeks...hopefully to learn and master some kind of technique!

In the meantime, I am trying to eat liver every week or so to get all the amazing nutrients. Last week I saw that the Seward carries Lamb livers, and decided to give them a try. I thought they were good, though I over cooked mine a little. They actually don't need much time - so it might be worthwhile to actually set a timer so that they stay tender.

Lamb (or beef or venison) Liver
1/2 pound liver
2 T coconut flour
3 T coconut oil/lard/bacon fat
onions
bacon

You want your liver about 1/2" - 3/4" thick, so depending on how it comes to you, you may need to slice the liver lengthwise down the center so it isn't too thick. Mine was on the thicker side, but in 4 easy slices, so I just kept them that way.

I like to eat the liver with some onions and bacon, so prepare those however you want: I prefer cooking bacon in the oven, and caramelizing onion slices, but you could also chop up the bacon and cook it and the onions all together.

Liver is not so photogenic as it is good for you. Alas.
For the liver: heat the fat in a cast iron skillet on medium heat. While it is heating, coat your liver pieces in coconut flour. This is easiest done by shaking the liver in a baggie with the flour to get everything nicely coated. When the oil in the pan is hot, lay liver pieces flat (or flat-ish). Cook for about 90 seconds - 2 minutes a side, and sprinkle with salt and pepper while on the 2nd side. *This is worth setting a timer for! It will taste way better when not over-cooked, I promise.

Serve liver with onions and bacon, or just one or the other. Depending on how much liver you can eat, this will serve one or two!

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