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Breaded Beef's Liver
See that the liver is a fresh one. Have the slices cut thin, and let them stand ten minutes in boiling water. Fry slices of bacon very crisp and remove them to a hot dish. Take a tablespoonful of the fat, shake in black pepper, dip the slices of liver in this, then in bread crumbs mixed with finely minced parsley, and fry in the hot bacon fat until browned on both sides. When done, lay on a hot platter with the slices of bacon and sprigs of parsley as a border; add to the fat left in the pan a tablespoonful of vinegar and 2 tablespoonfuls of tomato catsup; stir well together and spread hot on top of the liver.
A straightforward pan-fried liver with a bacon-fat crumb and a quick vinegar-and-catsup pan sauce. The one thing that decides whether it succeeds is heat and time: beef liver turns grainy and livery the moment it goes past faintly pink in the centre.
- Cook it fastThin slices, roughly 1/4 inch, need about 1 to 2 minutes a side in hot fat. Take them off while the centre is still rosy; residual heat finishes them. Anything approaching 8 to 10 minutes total gives the dry, chalky texture that has given liver its reputation.
- The boiling-water standingMost likely a scald rather than a poach: pour boiling water over the slices and let them stand the ten minutes, then drain and dry them thoroughly. The intent was to firm the slices and draw out blood. A soak in milk for 30 minutes is the modern step often recommended for the same purpose. Either way the liver must be patted completely dry or the crumbs will not stick.
- Making the crumbs adhereThere is no egg wash here, only a dip in seasoned bacon fat. That works but the coating is fragile, so press the crumbs on firmly and turn the slices only once. If you want a coating that holds, dip in beaten egg before the crumbs.
- Bread crumbsDry, fine crumbs made from stale bread, not the coarse panko-style crumb. Around a cup, with two tablespoons of minced parsley worked through, covers a pound of liver.
- Catsup then and nowTomato catsup in this period was thinner, sharper and more heavily spiced with clove and allspice than the modern bottle, which is markedly sweeter. Two tablespoons of today's ketchup with a tablespoon of vinegar may need a little extra vinegar to balance.
- The pan saucePour off all but a tablespoon or so of fat before adding the vinegar and catsup, or the sauce will break into grease. Scrape up the browned crumb fond as it bubbles; it takes well under a minute.
- SourcingBeef liver is stronger than calf's liver, which is milder, paler and more tender. Either suits this treatment; ask for it sliced thin, as slicing liver evenly at home is awkward unless it is very cold.
- YieldA pound of liver with 6 to 8 rashers of bacon serves three to four as a main course.
Liver and bacon is a long-established pairing in the English-speaking kitchen, and it survived into American household books like this one because it was cheap, quick and nourishing at a time when organ meats sold for far less than steak. What gives this version an American cast is the finish: bottled tomato catsup, which was widely available as a store-cupboard item by the end of the nineteenth century and turns up in these collections as an all-purpose sharpener for pan gravies. The scalding step reflects a period conviction that offal should be purged of blood before cooking; cooks today are more likely to reach for a milk soak, but the reasoning is the same. The insistence that the liver be fresh was practical advice in a household without reliable refrigeration, since liver spoils faster than muscle meat.