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A. M. D To Fry Calf's Liver
Cut in thin slices. Season with pepper and salt, sweet herbs, and parsley. Dredge with flour and fry brown with lard. Have it thoroughly done, but it must not be hard; keep covered while frying.--Mrs. R.
A terse nineteenth-century formula that assumes you know what liver looks like when it is done. The hinge is the cooking time: calf's liver turns grainy and dry within a minute of overcooking, so "thoroughly done, but not hard" is a narrower window than the wording suggests.
- Slice thickness"Thin slices" is undefined here; roughly 1/4 to 3/8 inch works well in practice. Thinner than that and the liver overcooks before it colours; much thicker and the outside hardens while the centre is still raw.
- The doneness windowThe recipe asks for liver "thoroughly done, but not hard," so cook it through: roughly three to four minutes a side over medium heat for slices of this thickness, until the interior is just set and no longer bloody. Past that it turns uniformly dry and grainy, which is what the recipe is warning against.
- Covered fryingThe lid traps steam and keeps the slices from drying, but it also prevents browning. A practical compromise is to sear uncovered until coloured, then cover for the last minute off high heat.
- LardLard is still sold, usually in the baking aisle or from a butcher, and gives the clean flavour and high smoke point the recipe expects. Bacon fat is a common substitute; butter alone will scorch.
- Sweet herbsThe period term covers dried pot herbs rather than anything sugary: thyme, marjoram and summer savory are the usual candidates, sometimes with sage or basil. Use a scant teaspoon total for a pound of liver, with the parsley added fresh.
- Membrane and soakingPeel off the thin outer membrane before slicing or the slices will curl in the pan. Soaking liver in milk for an hour to soften the mineral edge is a long-standing practice; the book does not call for it, but it is worth doing with older or beef liver.
- DredgingFlour the slices immediately before they go into the fat. Liver draws moisture quickly and flour left sitting on it turns to paste.
- YieldA pound of calf's liver serves three or four as a main dish. Fry in batches so the pan stays hot; crowded slices steam rather than brown.
Housekeeping in Old Virginia, compiled by Marion Cabell Tyree and published in 1879, is a collection of contributions from named and initialled Virginia housewives, which is why this entry carries both a set of initials and a "Mrs. R." Calf's liver was milder and more tender than beef liver, it came from young animals slaughtered for veal and had to be cooked the day it was bought, since liver spoils faster than muscle meat and there was no reliable home refrigeration. The instruction to keep the pan covered may have served to keep a lean cut from hardening over a wood range or open coals, where heat was hard to moderate. Recipes this short are typical of the book's cookery section.