I've always known that liver was good for me. However, when Mom used to cook it growing up as one of my father's favorite meals, my sister and I would turn our noses up. Pretty sure we refused to eat the liver and onions delicacy that she would occasionally cook. Now I understand the nutritional powerhouse that liver is and wish that I consumed it more often. Okay wish that I consumed it ever. Yesterday as I was browsing the freezer I managed to catch a glimpse of a package of liverwurst. Liverwurst contents: liver, pork, salt, pepper, onion and garlic. Sounds pretty legit to me. I'm sure it was more legit when it was purchased and put into the freezer back in the year 2005!!! Seriously, things get lost in that freezer and I decided that surely nobody was going to miss this delicacy if I busted it out now. I figured the worst thing that could happen to me would be my liverwurst tasting like freezer.
The large block of liverwurst looked far from appetizing and because I had no idea how it is traditionally prepared I decided to go with a little breading and frying action. I sliced off a chunk, dipped it in egg and then into a little coconut flour/spice mixture. Into a frying pan of coconut oil went my creation. It got nice a browned pretty quickly and I also realized that the consistency of this liverwurst is pretty tender and soft.
We LOVE liverwurst (namely, braunschweiger), and finish it off waaay too quickly in our home on rice crackers, celery, whatever. SO good! I bet if you take the plunge, you'll like it cold, too.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me that we ate it on rye bread and best with a beer. Maybe with some white cheese. It is wonderful. It ranks right up there with our Dutch lunches, limberger cheese on rye with a beer. :))) When I lived in Salina, I had liver and spinach 2 or 3 times a week. I love it!!! One of your cheaper meats, but it has to be cooked right. You want to cook it so it's just done. Mom tended to over cook it and then it was tough. The old Waids restaurants had it available smoothered in onions and it was on weight watchers list of approved foods to eat out.
ReplyDeleteAunt Carol
The Germans love liver, Amanda. There is a popular soup here that roughly translates to "Liver Ball Soup." I tried it. It was okay. Strange meats scare me. Good for you for being adventurous!
ReplyDeleteJamie, notice this liverwurst was purchased in Liebenthal, KS. I don't think we could find a more German area around here to pick up such a product. Glad that you were adventurous as well and tried that Liver Ball Soup! That sounds even more scary than liverwurst.
DeleteHey Panda, I've been meaning to tell you....in my "Ecotoxicology and Environmental Analytics" class, we learned that kidney and liver organs contain extremely high levels of Cadmium (CD), a heavy metal that is toxic to humans. Kidney, liver, oysters/mussels and mushrooms contain up to 100 times more cadmium than milk, meat and fruit (measured in parts per billion). In other words, you should think twice before you introduce more liver to your diet!
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