Liver
Tell it not in Gath-but yet it is notorious that there are three dishes which, if put upon the bill of fare in a club, are devoured before all else; so that at seven or eight o'clock, when most members dine, there is nothing left of them but the tempting words on the dinner-bill. These dishes are, Irish stew, tripe and onions, liver and bacon. What a tribute this to the homely cookery of England! We shall speak of this calf's liver directly, but it must give place to that of the goose, which in the Liver pies of Strasbourg and Périgord has a surpassing renown as the most delicate meat in the world.
Goose Liver-Foie Gras. "To obtain these livers," says Grimod de la Reynière, "it is necessary to sacrifice the person of the animal. Crammed with food, deprived of drink, and fixed near a great fire, before which it is nailed by its feet on a plank, this goose passes, it must be owned, an uncomfortable life. The torment would indeed be almost intolerable, if the idea of the lot which awaits him did not serve as a consolation. But this perspective makes him endure his sufferings with courage; and when he reflects that his liver, bigger than himself, larded with truffles, and clothed in a scientific pâté, will diffuse all over Europe the glory of his name, he resigns himself to his destiny, and suffers not a tear to flow." These liver pies come over to England chiefly in terrines, and they keep longer in this way; but they are nicest of all in a pâté-coming over fresh in October and November. They also come in tins-that is, the livers alone, without the accompanying forcemeat-to be used in croquettes, kromeskis, and various relishes. But, on the whole, this is a waste. The goose liver is too good to be chopped up and thrown away upon other foods; also it loses something when eaten hot. It is always best cold. If it is desired for an entremet, cut it into pieces and imbed them in the amber of aspic jelly. Duck Liver. The liver of the Toulouse duck is prepared in the same way, and is by most good judges preferred even to that of the Strasbourg goose.
Fowl Liver. There is a little dish which one never sees in Paris at a first-class restaurant; but it is a great favourite at the second-class ones with sanded floors in bye-streets. Impale the livers on a skewer or larkspit, putting a small piece of bacon between each, and toast them before the fire. Calf's Liver.--This is the dish which the Lord Chancellor Eldon was so fond of, and which, when he dined with George the Fourth, was always prepared for him. Cut Liqueur slices of liver and thin rashers of streaky bacon. Fry the bacon first and drain it. Then flour the slices of liver, fry them in the fat of the bacon till well browned, and dish them in alternate order with the rashers of bacon. Pour over them a sauce made by adding some good meat gravy, with a dredging of flour, salt, and pepper, to the fat in the frying-pan. Some people like a little acid in the sauce; and to suit their taste sliced gherkins or pickled walnuts may be added to it.