500842 Wed Mar 19 18:45:31 -0700 2008 24 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 3509399 I love liver. I love chicken and duck liver in a mousse or pate, and calves liver sautéed with garlic, vinegar, mustard and onions. I understand that traditionally liver has ranked above all other offal as one of the most prized culinary delights. And isn't "Rich Man's Disease" called that because it was mostly the well off at one time who could obtain and consume liver regularly (which among other things can contribute to said disease)? So my question is why in America today is liver not regarded as highly as it once was apparently and when did this first begin to occur here? Note: I say liver today is not regarded highly because: 1) Liver is cheap 2) I rarely see liver on restaurant menus 3) Liver is often presented in mainstream culture as an undesirable food item Thanks Wed Mar 19 18:45:32 -0700 2008 26180 Chinon00 1 3509442 Foie gras is highly desirable, and that's liver. Ankimo is delicious if you can find it at your local sushi bar. I suspect that cheaper, more mundane liver from beef or pigs isn't more popular because it is cheaper, and more mundane- that is to say, it is not cleverly marketed and priced high enough to override the mainstream's aversion to offal. Wed Mar 19 19:09:08 -0700 2008 3509399 10832 Humbucker 2 3509463 You are absolutely right. I should have been clearer. I meant to focus on calves liver, and the like, that would be served as a main entree. I'm not a food historian obviously but I recall calves liver (i.e. liver and onions) being more popular when I was a very young child (mid 70s), prepared both in homes and in restaurants. I would like to know how popular was it at it's height in the US and when did it slip? Sorry Wed Mar 19 19:17:53 -0700 2008 3509442 26180 Chinon00 1 3509514 I think it has to do w/ liver as a filter of the blood and all the nasty, nasties it filters out and is very high in cholesterol. That said, we have a local place where liver is the Wed. Night special for only $5.95! Wed Mar 19 19:42:26 -0700 2008 3509399 93538 Passadumkeg 1 3509566 Thin sliced, dredged in flour, dipped in egg and quickly pan fried. Yum. But you're right, it's not generally on restaurant menus and lots of people (my better half being one of them) can't stand it. So I don't get to eat it much, other than as paté at home and foie gras in high-end restaurants. I suspect too many people had it overcooked and horrible-tasting as kids (eat it, it's good for you) and never got over it. I don't think there will ever be a liver marketing program because it would require different producers (poultry, pork, beef) to get together to market what is essentially a very small portion of the overall product. Although I HAVE seen liver and onions on restaurant menus at times, usually at family style places, for a fairly low price (although I must admit I've never ordered it, mainly for fear of it being overcooked and horrible-tasting). Wed Mar 19 20:07:42 -0700 2008 3509399 69044 hsk 2 3509700 I wonder if Kobe/Wagyu liver tastes better than run-of-the-mill beef liver. If so, perhaps it could be marketed as as four-legged foie gras. Wed Mar 19 21:04:21 -0700 2008 3509566 10832 Humbucker 2 3509996 Yes I think that our American obsession with doneness whether it be of salmon, steak, or calves liver can make each really less appetizing. As a matter of fact an overcooked liver might be the worst of the three because the texture gets really strange (not merely dry) along with the sweetness being eliminated. Thu Mar 20 03:29:32 -0700 2008 3509566 26180 Chinon00 1 3509745 plenty of liver to be had at delis - chopped liver and always liver and onions. Wed Mar 19 21:32:09 -0700 2008 3509399 22559 smartie 1 3509831 Ground beef is cheap and quite popular. When I was little and knew nothing about popular opinion or where liver came from, I hated the stuff. At least in steak form. Pates are another matter. Wed Mar 19 22:28:35 -0700 2008 3509399 55316 mpalmer6c 1 3509981 One contributing factor: organ meats need to be purchased and eaten very fresh, but most American homes (no longer having someone at home who goes out to purchase food for each day) don't buy or eat food that way anymore. Thu Mar 20 02:31:59 -0700 2008 3509399 13819 Karl S 1 3510486 We eat a lot of freshly killed game liver. I hunt and fish a lot. When I get a deer, ducks or even fish, we fry up the liver straight away. Thu Mar 20 07:29:20 -0700 2008 3509399 93538 Passadumkeg 1 3511039 As a lifetime liver lover, I've luckily lived in liver-friendly locales: Nashville's ubiquitous "meat-and-three" lunch places usually have it on their menus at least once a week, and here in LA County it's fairly common coffee shop/diner fare. I recently had a very nice plate of calve's liver with onion and bacon at a diner in North Hollywood; our favorite plate-lunch place in Nashville, the now-defunct Buddy's, offered a surprisingly delectable pork liver with onions in gravy on Thursdays. Plates of chicken livers are widely available in both areas as well. My mother tended to overcook liver to a board-like consistency, but I liked it anyway. Good diner liver is usually overcooked as well, but as that is typically caused by having sat in a pan of hot gravy for some time the liver is not dried out or tough, and I find it quite enjoyable. As for my own cooking practices, I don't even use egg, but simply dredge thin slices in flour and shake off the excess, then sauté them quickly in butter so they're just barely cooked, deglaze the pan with some white wine and chopped parsley, cook that down a bit, pour over and serve. Talk about instant dinner! Thu Mar 20 09:56:29 -0700 2008 3509399 11478 Will Owen 2 3512892 Love your line, "...lifetime liver lover" -- there ought to be a club for us! A Northern Italian take on calves' liver is one of my favorites and closely mirrors your "hot & fast" preparation with a slight twist. I freeze the cleaned liver slices so that slicing is easier because you'll need to make some very thin slices and I like them on a bias. They're briefly sauteed, in a mix of olive oil & butter, hot & fast so the meat stays pink, SPTT and finished with a couple of torn fresh sage leaves. Almost nothing could be faster or easier and this is delicious, even to some liver-haters. If you're feeling particularly energetic, after cooking, remove the liver from the pan, add a splash of white vermouth and additional knob of butter, reducing the vermouth to almost nothing. Return liver to pan & shake to distribute everything. Fried whole sage leaves can garnish, a lovely touch but unnecessary. This is lovely with polenta (or grits!) Thu Mar 20 18:03:49 -0700 2008 3511039 15743 Sherri 3 3513050 How thin do you slice the liver? Thu Mar 20 19:00:47 -0700 2008 3512892 26180 Chinon00 4 3513478 About the same thickness as bacon or stir-fry beef....pretty darned thin. OK, now I'm officially hungry for liver. There's another old way with liver, chicken this time. A quick saute of chicken livers, remove them from the pan, add sliced mushrooms, additional butter and wilt. Stir in ham chunks and sauce w/ Marsala, return the chicken livers to pan & heat through. Keep them pink. Odd as it sounds, this is delicious with creamed spinach. Thu Mar 20 23:16:55 -0700 2008 3513050 15743 Sherri 3 3514344 Oops, I re-read my "Northern Italian Liver" post a day later and realized that I forgot an important ingredient ........... caramelized onions! Before cooking the liver, thinly slice one large onion and cook very slowly in butter-olive oil until deep golden. Remove from pan and proceed w/ liver, etc. I hope this omission has not caused anyone problems. Fri Mar 21 09:04:58 -0700 2008 3512892 15743 Sherri 1 3511076 1) I have a lot of friends that shy away from organ meat, even these days, when it is more trendy.. 2) It doesn't get featured a lot in new recipes.. basically, not much press 3) Its called "liver" Thu Mar 20 10:03:51 -0700 2008 3509399 176367 grant.cook 1 3511111 Well, just think of the saying "what am I, chopped liver?" I love calf's liver, grew up on it pan-fried with onions and apples, served over mashed potatoes. It's delicious, and I think much more popular in Germany than here in the US. It's pretty cheap in our supermarket here (Wegmans), though it doesn't always look superfresh -- btw, I DO shop for food every day, European habit '-). Sweetbreads are also amazingly cheap, considering that they're much more known as a delicacy and actually served in many upscale restos.... I'd have it much more often if my man were into it. That's both liver and sweetbreads, actually. *sigh* PS: I like the alliteration in your title, chinon. Thu Mar 20 10:10:34 -0700 2008 3509399 116513 linguafood 1 3512468 I don't ever recall liver being particularly popular, but I think in the past, oh, 10-15 years at least, with increased focus on eating healthy and the high cholestorol content of liver its popularity has declined. I'd also say that cooked liver has a certain smell about it that probably keeps more people from trying it and more restaraunts from serving it. Thu Mar 20 15:50:11 -0700 2008 3509399 175239 HastaLaPasta 1 3512573 It's around- you have to dig a bit. The venerable Locke-Ober restaurant in Boston features calf's liver with onions as one of it's specialties. My B-I-L has it every trip. What's lacking is a good jewish deli on the gulf side of Florida- what I would give for a thick pastrami and chopped liver on rye! Thu Mar 20 16:26:13 -0700 2008 3509399 57170 Veggo 1 3514384 I sort of like chicken liver, but my husband won't eat because the liver tends to collect mercury and other environmental pollutants. At least that's what we've heard. Fri Mar 21 09:14:23 -0700 2008 3509399 157998 Petrichor 2 3514417 I can't imagine any way that mercury could get into chicken diets--other than perhaps yard chickens eating earthworms down slope from slash-and-burn areas of the Amazon in limted areas high in naturally occuring mercury and during the wet season when soil leaching and erosion rates are high. Fri Mar 21 09:26:21 -0700 2008 3514384 36661 Sam Fujisaka 1 3515076 I grew up loving pan-fried liver and onions. In the Detroit area, Polish restaurants usually have liver on the menu once a week. I make fried chicken livers at home. Only my young son and I will eat them. More for us! Fri Mar 21 12:46:07 -0700 2008 3509399 15131 three of us 1 3515202 I say that today (and among thinking people always) liver is not highly regarded because of WHAT it DOES in the body. Ghaaaaaaagh!!! Don't EAT that!!!! Fri Mar 21 13:23:20 -0700 2008 3509399 15254 ptrichmondmike 2 3515273 Please elaborate: WHAT DOES it DO in the body? When you EAT that, I mean? Fri Mar 21 13:46:20 -0700 2008 3515202 116513 linguafood