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Mon 14 Jan, 2008 12:45 am
I've had a strong craving for chopped liver. Decided to satisfy it. Couldn't find chicken livers in the supermarket. Finally, I found some in a new-looking container--from Purdue.
Because my kitchen is only slightly larger than a coffin and my counter space is about a foot and a half wide, I have to be very organized when I'm making stuff.
I put the eggs up to boil. So far, so good. I usually use one medium and one small onion. Had only two mediums. Ok. I sliced the onions while the oil was heating. While the onions were softening, I figured I'd get the livers ready. Could not get the container open. COULD NOT do it. Pull tab and lift up. I pulled the tab and lifted up. Nada. Lifted, pulled, pried--still nada.
I had to take the onions off the heat so that they wouldn't cook too much. Pulling, prying, muttering. No liver. I finally got a hammer and screwdriver. Could not hammer the top off with the screwdriver under the lid. I was reduced to hammering holes in the top. Made enough holes to create an opening large enough for me to reach in. Thought I'd get the livers out that way. The top came off.
I put the onions back on the heat and cleaned and separated the livers. It seemed like a lot of liver. More than usual. Maybe that would work okay with the extra onions.
Made a space for the livers in the pan with the onions and dumped in the livers.
I forgot to get the bread ready. (Bread goes in the chopped liver.) My first two bread choices were out (no challah, and the roll I had was for when I made the sandwich). I planned on using white bread. Go get the white bread. There is none. How can I not have white bread?! Is this possible? Possible or not, I didn't have any. Rye I had, but rye is a no-no. Ended up using hotdog roles. Cut off the crust. Got ready to chop.
Grandma's wooden chopping bowl, mother's chopper. Magic. Start chopping, and it's apparent that there's way to much of everything but eggs. I managed to get the consistency right with the hotdog roles, but there's way too much chopped liver. WAY too much.
Had a sandwich last night. Not the best I've ever made, but better than average. A sandwich tonight. Lots of liver left.
Anybody want some chopped liver?
seems like higher powers reeeeaaaaally didn't want you to have this one, but you prevailed!
i love chopped liver, i must admit. my mom makes it (these days only secrety for herself) superbly.
Dag, Glad to hear you're a liver lover. I've made it superbly in the past. This time, just very good. But I did feel that I was fighting for every bite.
I wish I were close enough to beg leftovers. I could swap some home made vegetable soup.
I like chopped liver.
I remember having a very good one in Brooklin...
You bring that liver anywhere near me and I'll kick you!!!!!
I knew already that you are a bad and violent woman!
Francis wrote:I knew already that you are a bad and violent woman!
You bring liver near me, and I will be!!!
Noddy, Soup for CL seems like a fair trade.
Francis, Glad you like it.
dlowan wrote:You bring that liver anywhere near me and I'll kick you!!!!!
First of all, Ms. Bunny, I made a polite offer. A "no thanks" would have been a fine response.
Second, I have no intention of bringing anything near you. You're half a planet away.
Third, you try kicking me, and you'll be missing a leg soon thereafter.
Behave yourself!
Phoenix32890 wrote:I don't make chopped liver myself, but am willing to volunteer as a taste tester for anyone who claims to make the best chopped liver in the world.
Will take on all comers!!! 
Hiya Phoenix. I can't claim to make the best in world, but there have been a few batches that were damn near close. This batch was not one of the best. I think I'm out of practice.
If you're ever in the neighborhood, let me know. I'll give it another try.
dlowan wrote:Roberta wrote:dlowan wrote:You bring that liver anywhere near me and I'll kick you!!!!!
First of all, Ms. Bunny, I made a polite offer. A "no thanks" would have been a fine response.
Second, I have no intention of bringing anything near you. You're half a planet away.
Third, you try kicking me, and you'll be missing a leg soon thereafter.
Behave yourself!
What am I????
Chopped liver???!!!
Nope, you're a funny bunny. Thanks for the laugh.
You know (well, actually you clearly don't, but I'm gonna tell you), my poor mother had some nasty anaemia as a little kid.......she lived out bush, so she was hospitalized all on her own many, many miles away, for a long time, apparently. This was quite common back then, and, of course, terribly damaging to kids, but I digress....
Anyway, when she returned home (a day marked, literally, with red letters in my grandfather's diary) her parents were told she had to eat lots of RAW liver. Well, living on a sheep and cattle station, this was not difficult to provide.
Thing is, she recalls craving it, and being able to eat large amounts, until she was better.
Such is the wisdom of the body, sometimes!
I like liver too. I always try to keep some in the freezer. It's one of those foods, that, when you have a taste for it, you got to have it. Your recipe sounds interesting. The last time I made livers, I sauteed them with my usual ingredients, and then broiled them just long enough to crisp up the tops. I call it sauteed crispy chicken livers.
Deb, Raw livers. Yes, the body can be wise. Is this the source of your aversion, or did that develop on its own?
Had a feeling you'd show up here, Bethie.
Alex, The recipe I follow is partly recipe and partly feel. It was my grandmother's approach to chopped liver--and her mother's. It's one of the few things I make that I have a real feel for. I know how it should sound when the chopper moves through the liver. You mention "usual ingredients." What are they?
Roberta-I sautee garlic and onion in butter, or bacon grease. I then add the livers, and thyme. I cook a bit, then add white, red wine, brandy, or whatever I have open. I simmer until most of the liquid is evaporated.
Since this is a liver thread:
There's a restaurant a few towns away that specializes in chicken. It's a huge place, and they do a tremendous business. As you probally know, most people dislike chicken livers. So, when you order an appetizer plate of livers, they give you about a two pound pile of fried chicken livers. It's great.
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