Beef liver is an incredibly useful product. This is known to adults and children. But not every person is ready to eat liver regularly or do it often. The product does not always turn out tasty, sometimes it comes out very dry, bitter, does not chew. Why does this happen, what is the error?
Why the liver is bitter
Bitterness causes bile, which is found in the liver. It is not necessary for her to burst, to spread. An unpleasant taste appears without it. Pork liver tastes more, so it is cheaper by half. Some people believe that beef liver cannot taste bitter. In fact, it is not. Before cooking it is important to soak the product.
What can be used:
- milk;
- plain or salted water;
- sweet tea.
Traditionally, the liver is soaked in milk. But then it can not be used for other dishes, and the product itself is not cheap. As practice shows, bitterness also goes well into water or tea. The liver is cut, filled with cold (this is important) liquid, soaked for at least an hour. Then the pieces need to rinse.
Why the liver is dry and hard
The liver does not tolerate prolonged heat treatment. Unlike meat, the longer a product is cooked, the harder it will be. For beef liver, frying and stewing is preferable to boiling. If you still need to boil the product, for example, for salad, then you should run in boiling water. All liquids and sauces are also added hot, it is undesirable to create temperature drops.
If you just need to fry the liver pieces, then it is dipped in hot oil. You can first slightly repelled or breaded in flour. Preparing pieces for 2-3 minutes on each side. Next you need to check. If there is no blood inside, then the by-product is ready.
An important nuance! The liver loves fat. Therefore, it is prepared with a large amount of oil or add sour cream, mayonnaise to the fire. Milk can also be used, but in it the product turns out much drier. Liver in tomato or with tomatoes goes even harder.
Why the liver is not chewing
It happens that beef liver seems to be not dry, but it is difficult to chew. The most common cause is films. You need to arm yourself with a sharp knife and carefully remove them. All films can not be removed, you want to separate the largest, as far as possible. Vessels and veins that occur must also be removed. Only after this should soak and cook the liver. The second reason for stiffness is low-quality offal. Liver does not like freezing. It is advisable to purchase a chilled product. It should immediately examine it. There should be no stains and dried crusts on the surface. If you press on a fresh liver, the hole will instantly recover. If the liver is still frozen, then it must be thawed in the refrigerator, placed on the bottom shelf. You can immediately fill with water, even soaked with bitterness.
Why the liver is not fried
If you want to cook a beautiful and ruddy frying, then the liver is cut into pieces no more than 1.5 cm thick. The cover in this case is not needed, prepare the product in an open pan. It is quickly browned, salted at the very end and sent to a plate. But you can spice up the ready dish.
Why the liver is not fried:
- Fat is not heated enough or is not enough. You can cook a dietary liver without oil, but in this case you should not expect golden brown.
- A lot of moisture. Before cutting, the liver should be dried with napkins. Sometimes the pieces are rolled in flour, starch, which can also be done.
- Lots of liver. If you immediately put a large amount of by-products into the pan, juice will appear, the crust will not form.
- The liver was roasted for a long time. The liver is cooked for 12-15 minutes, and even less fried. Slices of small size is enough for 2-2.5 minutes on each side. It is necessary to have time to turn in time, do not overdry.
If you plan to fill the liver with cream or sour cream, then you need to fry even less and always over high heat. The ingredients of the sauce are heated separately. All together the stew is not more than ten minutes.
Good advice! If you want to fry the liver with onions, then first prepare the chopped vegetable into large strips until transparency, only then the chopped by-products are added to it, not vice versa.
Why the liver smells unpleasant
Sometimes the liver smells unpleasant or frankly stinks. You need to understand what kind of smell it is. There are two main reasons: the smell of the animals themselves (that is, a cow or bull, sometimes manure), or the product began to disappear. After buying or thawing, the liver must be washed to remove the smell of the animal. Sometimes it is not noticeable when it is cold, but opens when frying. The unpleasant aroma will go away when soaked, as well as bitterness. How to soak the liver from the smell:
- in the solution of potassium permanganate;
- in a solution of mustard powder;
- in a decoction of lemon peels;
- in water with salt.
Much worse, if the liver has the smell of rot, the process of deterioration has gone. In this case, the product is dangerous to use. But it is advisable to just inspect. Very often, it is not the liver itself that disappears, but the blood at the bottom of the tray. In this case, you want to cut a piece, inspect it inside, smell it, touch it outside. If stickiness, light residue and other signs of deterioration are not found, then the product can be prepared. It is desirable, nevertheless, to hold a little in a weak solution of manganese.
If the liver turned out hard: how to fix
If the liver is already cooked and turned out hard, then fix it is very difficult. In no case do not need to continue to simmer or cook. Long processing will only worsen the product.
What can be made from a tough liver:
- Pate. For this purpose, pass over onions with carrots, crush with liver, add butter. You can beat the blender or twist the product several times through a meat grinder. Spices to taste.
- Stuffing. The liver can be twisted and combined with potatoes or stewed cabbage. Get a good filling for pies or pancakes.
- Finely chop, pour sour cream, warm slightly. The product must soak the liver. If desired, you can mix the sour cream with soy sauce.
As you can see, there are ways to reanimate a hard and dry liver, but they are not always effective. Nevertheless, it is better to prepare the product according to the rules: soak it, remove the film, carefully follow the process and do not overdo it on fire. Then it will turn out at its best!
