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Bullock's Liver and Rice
1183, Soak three pounds of liver for half an hour in water to get out the blood, then boil it gently in three quarts of water with one pound of rice; add two or three onions, a little parsley, and, towards the last, pepper and salt to the taste, together with four table-spoonfuls of vinegar. At the time of adding the spice, cut the liver into slices,
A bulk, one-pot economy dish: three pounds of ox liver stretched with rice into what is effectively a thick savoury porridge. The instructions assume a long, slow pot on the range, which is exactly what modern liver cookery argues against.
- Bullock's liver is beef liverA bullock is a steer, so this is ordinary ox liver, sold today as beef liver. It is among the strongest-tasting of the common livers; calf's liver is noticeably milder if you want the same dish with less iron bite.
- The liver is the hingeLiver boiled for the length of time rice needs turns grainy and dry. If you cook this at all, keep the liver whole and in the pot only until it is just firm and pink at the centre, then lift it out, finish the rice, and return the sliced liver at the end to warm through. The original's late slicing points in the same direction.
- The vinegar is doing workFour tablespoons of vinegar in three quarts cuts the mineral heaviness of ox liver. Malt vinegar suits the period; cider vinegar is less aggressive. Add it at the end as directed, since long boiling flattens it.
- Rice to liquidOne pound of rice to three quarts of water is roughly 2 1/2 cups rice to 12 cups liquid, far wetter than pilaf. Expect a loose, soupy consistency; if you want it spoonable rather than drinkable, reduce the water by about a third.
- SoakingThe half-hour soak in cold water is there, as the recipe says, to get out the blood. A milk soak is a common modern alternative said to soften the metallic edge, but plain water as written is adequate.
- SeasoningSalt and pepper go in near the end, which matters here because reducing three quarts concentrates whatever you added early. Season the finished pot, not the raw water.
- YieldThree pounds of liver and a pound of rice feeds eight to ten as a main dish; this is a large-quantity recipe, not a dish for two.