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Liver Klosse (for Soup)
Take 1/2 calf's liver and mince it small; mix with 4 ounces of finely shredded suet, 2 tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, a little pepper and salt, the well-beaten yolks of 4 eggs and the whites of 2 eggs, and as much crumb of bread, soaked in milk and pressed dry, as will bind it together. Form into egg-shaped balls, cook these in salted boiling water half an hour, and serve in soup. Half a teaspoonful of any herb powder that is liked may be added with the parsley. Sufficient for six or seven persons.
A German liver dumpling — Leberkn\the moment you read past the archaic phrasing. The mixture is a panade bound with egg, and the balls are poached, not boiled hard.
- Poach, do not boilThe recipe says "boiling," but a bare simmer is safer: a rolling boil can break liver dumplings apart.
- Test one firstThe amount of bread is given as "as much as will bind it" — genuinely variable. Poach one dumpling before shaping the rest; if it falls apart, work in more soaked crumb, and if it turns out dense and bready, thin the mix with a little more liver or a beaten egg.
- Half a calf's liverA calf's liver is commonly around 3 lb or so, so this means somewhere in the region of 1 1/2 lb. Calf's liver is milder than beef; beef liver will work but tastes considerably stronger.
- Mincing"Mince it small" meant hand-chopping or a hand grinder. A few pulses in a food processor does it, but stop while the liver is still coarsely ground rather than a puree, or the dumplings turn pasty.
- SuetFour ounces of shredded beef suet, from a butcher, kept cold and chopped fine. Chilled unsalted butter, grated, can stand in; it gives a softer dumpling.
- TimingHalf an hour suits large egg-shaped dumplings, which need the time to set through. Smaller balls the size of a walnut will cook considerably faster; cut one open to check.
- Herb powderThe period term for dried powdered herbs. For this dish that means marjoram, the classic partner to liver in German cooking, or a little thyme.
- ServingPoach them separately as directed, then lift into hot beef broth to serve; cooking them in the soup itself clouds it. The recipe gives six or seven servings.