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Broiled Calf's Liver
Letting liver stand for half an hour in salted water, after slicing it thin, will draw out the blood. Parboiling in salted water before broiling will make it more delicate and tender. Drain off the water, wipe the slices, brush it with butter, and broil quickly on both sides.
Or dip the slices in beaten egg and in fine bread crumbs, and pan-broil or saute in butter. When nicely browned and tender, remove to a hot platter, pour into the pan a half cupful of cream, and as soon as it boils add a half cupful of strained stewed tomato or 3 tablespoonfuls of tomato catsup and salt and pepper to taste. Stir briskly and pour the sauce around the liver.
A straightforward liver dish with a quick pan sauce, written when calf's liver was a common butcher's item. Two methods are given: plain broiling, or breaded and pan-fried with a cream-tomato sauce.
- Don't overcook itThe hinge of the dish. Calf's liver slices about 1/2 inch thick need roughly 1-2 minutes per side over high heat, until the outside browns and the centre is still faintly pink. Cooked through to grey it turns grainy and bitter.
- Skip the parboilingParboiling liver before broiling was thought to make it "delicate," but it leaches flavour and firms the texture. Modern practice is to slice thin, pat dry and cook fast over strong heat.
- The soaking stepHalf an hour in salted water does remove some blood and blunt the mineral edge; milk is more commonly used now for the same purpose. Either way, dry the slices thoroughly or they will steam rather than brown.
- Sourcing the liverCalf's (veal) liver is milder and more tender than beef liver and usually needs ordering from a butcher. Beef liver substitutes but is stronger and coarser; it benefits more from the soak.
- "Broil" in this book"Broil" in books of this period means cooking by direct heat — on a gridiron over coals, or later under a gas broiler — not oven roasting. A heavy skillet or grill pan over high heat, or an overhead broiler at full heat with the rack close, comes closest.
- MeasurementsA half cupful of cream is about 120 ml; heavy cream is the safer choice, as it is less likely to split when boiled down with the acidic tomato. Three tablespoonfuls of catsup is sweeter and more vinegary than the strained stewed tomato alternative, so taste before adding salt.
- The pan sauceDeglaze with the cream while the browned bits are still in the pan, then reduce a minute before adding the tomato. Breadcrumbs left from the coating will thicken it slightly.
- YieldThe recipe gives no quantity; about 1 1/2 lb of liver would serve four, and the sauce as written is roughly right for that amount.