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Calf's Liver En Casserole
Wash a calf's liver thoroughly and wipe dry. Fry several slices of bacon in a pan, and, when all the fat is tried out of it, strain, return the fat to the pan, place the liver in it and cook for about a minute on each side, sufficient to sear thoroughly. Transfer to casserole, add a pint of brown sauce, and a cup of sautéd button mushrooms. Cook for about an hour and a half in a steady oven, adding more sauce if necessary, but otherwise not disturbing the casserole. Just before serving add potato balls which have been fried in deep fat and thoroughly drained.
A French-style braise from the era when the covered earthenware pot was still a novelty in American kitchens. Two things need attention: what the book means by "casserole," and what an hour and a half does to calf's liver.
- The casseroleHere this means a lidded earthenware or enameled pot brought to the table, not a shallow baking dish. A 3- to 4-quart Dutch oven with a tight lid is the equivalent; the instruction not to disturb it assumes the lid stays on.
- "A steady oven"An even, unhurried heat — roughly 300-325F. The point is a bare simmer inside the pot, not browning.
- The long cook is the problemCalf's liver is lean and sets firm the moment it passes medium; ninety minutes in liquid turns it grainy and dry rather than tender, because liver has almost no collagen to break down into gelatin. If you want this dish now, sear the liver as described and hold it in the hot sauce only long enough to heat through — a few minutes. If you follow the original timing, expect a texture closer to a crumble than sliced meat.
- Whole or slicedThe recipe never says. Searing "a minute on each side" only makes sense for slices, so cut the liver into pieces about 1/2 inch thick and pull away the tough outer membrane and any large tubes first.
- Brown sauceA pint is 2 cups of espagnole or demi-glace — a roux-thickened brown stock, not the bottled British condiment called brown sauce. A good reduced veal or beef stock lightly thickened will stand in.
- "When all the fat is tried out"Tried out means rendered. Strain the drippings to remove browned specks, which would scorch during the sear, then return the clear fat to the pan.
- Potato ballsPommes parisienne — small spheres cut from raw potato with a melon baller and deep-fried. They are added at the last second and never simmered, or they collapse into the sauce.
- YieldA whole calf's liver runs roughly 2-4 lb, which with sauce, mushrooms and potatoes should serve about six.
"Casserole cooking" was fashionable in part because of the vessel itself: American cooks of the 1900s and 1910s were buying French and English earthenware pots that could go from oven to table, promoted as both economical and elegant. The dish behind the fashion is plainly French — seared meat, a pint of espagnole, sautéed button mushrooms, and pommes parisienne dropped in at the last moment is standard restaurant garnishing of the period. Calf's liver rather than beef reflects a distinction the market still made then: milk-fed veal liver was the delicate, expensive one, while beef liver was cheap and strong. That the book expects a reader to buy a whole calf's liver, render her own bacon fat and keep brown sauce on hand says a good deal about how much of the French repertoire an ambitious middle-class household was attempting at home.