By Shannon Keirnan, Contributing Foodie Bitch
I want to be healthy and on top of the new trends (some of which stick around, some of which are just a fun little experiment), but one of the things I’ve been dragging my feet on is organ meat.
Sure, I’ve started throwing bones, gristle, and just about every other part of the animal into the pot to make bone broth, but the idea of eating organs still makes me go eech. And yes, I know that meat is muscle, but we’ve been conditioned all our lives to eat the drumstick and throw away the gizzard, so changing one’s mindset takes a bit of control and sometimes a strong stomach.
I finally took the plunge, and brought home some grass-fed beef liver. It was so cheap at my butcher’s I almost would have felt bad if I didn’t buy it. I figured hey, if I hate it, the dog will eat it. Win win.
I have never eaten liver before. My dad used to cook it up when we were kids, with a big pan of onions, and holy moly, did that ever stink up our house. Looking back I’m not sure what he was doing to make it smell like old feet, but there was no way a teenage me was going to stick some of that rank amorphous grey stuff into my mouth no matter how much he promised I’d like it.
Ten plus years later, I was ready to give it a go. After all, liver is a superfood, and organ meat in general is nutrient packed. Grass-fed organ meat is a diet powerhouse I had neglected too long.
Enter Paleo Chef’s Bangin’ Liver recipe. I already love her style and her sass, so, finally, I was ready to give liver a try, using her guidance.
I didn’t have the exact ingredients on hand, and I was too lazy to go to the store, so mine turned out to be an adulterated version of her dish, but it was still surprisingly tasty! I added tomatoes, and substituted lime for lemon juice. I used a jalapeño rather than a bell pepper, simply because I had one in the fridge, and I chickened out on using the full amount of the recommended spices, though I wish I had just gone ahead with it.
It turned out really good! It was just lightly sweet and spicy, and frankly, I wouldn’t have known the liver wasn’t a dense cut of steak if I hadn’t been the one cutting it and throwing it in the pan. Mind you I couldn’t look directly at it while eating it, but it tasted darn good, and I was happy to be getting all the nutrition, especially for the approximately three dollars I spent on the whole meal, including leftovers. I had always expected liver to be chewy, but this was perfectly tender and chewable.
Give it a try!
Do you eat organ meat regularly? Leave a comment below!
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