Experts recommend including meat by-products in the diet. They are no less useful than meat, cheaper. Calf liver is considered one of the most useful products. It has a balanced composition in terms of the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The nutrients contained in it help to increase the level of hemoglobin in the blood, help to normalize cholesterol levels, improve the functioning of the circulatory system, have a beneficial effect on the nervous system, help strengthen the immune system. However, most modern housewives fry the liver, making it less useful and more caloric. The boiled liver turns out more juicy and useful, than fried, remains a dietary product. If you know how to cook beef liver properly, its taste will not disappoint. The finished by-product can be used to prepare a salad or pate. You can also make a tender soufflé for a child from a boiled veal liver.
Features of the preparation of soft and juicy beef liver
The process of cooking boiled beef liver is not difficult or very long, but it has specificity. Not knowing a few important points, you can get not quite the result that is expected.
- It is believed that beef liver is tastier and healthier than pork, it is more expensive. But unscrupulous sellers sometimes try to sell pork to inexperienced housewives under the guise of calf liver, so they must be able to distinguish. The surface of the beef liver always has a glossy shine due to the dense film covering it. Pork liver has a more grainy surface and almost does not shine. The color of beef liver is saturated, red-burgundy. Pork liver is lighter and less red. In the beef liver, large bile flows are almost always visible - in the pig you will not see them.
- It is equally important to be able to determine how fresh beef liver is. If it has darkened or, on the contrary, has a suspiciously light shade, it is better to refrain from buying. Signs that the by-product is not fresh enough are its unpleasant odor and crust on the surface.
- You can boil both fresh and frozen beef liver, although it is believed that steam or chilled is more juicy. If to defrost a product in natural conditions, without subjecting it to a sharp temperature drop, you hardly notice the difference.
- Before cooking, the liver of a cow must be washed and peeled of film. To make the film better, the liver is immersed in hot water for 2-3 minutes. Usually the film is separated from the pulp with your fingers, if necessary helping yourself with a knife. At the same time, it is necessary to remove large ducts. They are cut out with a knife.
- It often happens that boiled beef liver is slightly bitter or has a specific flavor. Getting rid of it will help soaking the product in milk or even just in water. It is recommended to soak the liver in water for an hour, in milk it is enough to soak it for 30 minutes. It is especially important to take care of removing the unpleasant taste if you are preparing liver for baby food. Additionally, soaking the liver in milk makes it softer and more juicy.
- If after boiling the liver is planned to be put out in sour cream or cream, soaking it can be discarded.
- If the unpleasant taste of the liver is preserved even after boiling and steeping, it is recommended to stew it with onions and carrots. Most often this allows you to make the product more palatable and neutralize the specific smell.
- In order for the boiled liver to remain juicy, it is dipped in already boiling water. Salt it can only be shortly before readiness, otherwise it will become hard and dry. If the product is boiled for feeding the child, it is better to refuse at all from salt.
- When cooking the liver, there will be foam on the surface of the water that needs to be removed, otherwise the finished product may turn out to be bitter, despite all the efforts of the cook to rid him of this defect.
To preserve the richness of the liver, it is also important not to exceed the time of its preparation.
Cooking time
Cooking time of beef liver depends on the size of its piece and method of preparation.
- If the liver is boiled in a pan in a large piece (weighing about 0.5 kg), it will take 35-40 minutes. If the product is cut into pieces of 100-200 g, then it will take 2 times less time to prepare it.
- In a multicooker, the preparation time of a half-kilogram piece of beef liver will be 50 minutes. If you cut it into pieces, it will be enough for 30 minutes. The program “Quenching” is considered to be the most suitable for cooking beef liver in a slow cooker.
- In a slow cooker, beef liver can be cooked and steamed, cut into small pieces. The cooking time for the product will be 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces. The same amount of liver boiled cows in a double boiler.
- The cooking time of beef liver in a pressure cooker will be 10 minutes after the pressure has been adjusted. The device gains pressure from 5 to 15 minutes, about the same it releases. It is not possible to guess the time when choosing a pressure cooker for cooking a liver. When cooking the liver in this way, it is impossible to remove the foam from the surface, which may adversely affect the taste of the finished product. It is advisable to use a pressure cooker for cooking the liver only when it is not possible to cook it in a saucepan.
- For children, the liver is boiled in small pieces, as it cannot be stored in finished form for more than 2 days. Therefore, it can boil only 15-20 minutes. But if you still decide to cook a liver for a child in a large piece, boil it for 40 minutes.
The degree of readiness of beef liver is determined with a knife. If a bright liquid flows out of the product when piercing, it is ready. If the juice is still dark and reddish, liver cooking should continue.
Beef liver for baby
Composition:
- veal liver - 0, 25 kg;
- water - 1 l;
- milk - 120 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Rinse the beef liver well. Pry off the film. Pulling the flesh away from it with your fingers, remove it. Cut the liver into 2-3 pieces, simultaneously cutting out the ducts from it.
- Put pieces of liver in a bowl, cover with milk, leave for 20-30 minutes.
- Boil the water.
- Rinse pieces of liver, lower in boiling water.
- Cook the liver for 5 minutes over medium heat, removing the froth protruding on the surface.
- Reduce heat, continue to boil the liver for 15 minutes.
Ready boiled liver should be twice minced or minced to the state of pate with a blender. To improve the taste of the dish to the liver, you can add some boiled vegetables that are already familiar to the little gourmet, and beat the pate with them. The liver is introduced into the diet gradually and not earlier than the baby is 10 months old.
Beef liver for salad
Composition:
- beef liver - 0.5 kg;
- water - 1, 5 l, not counting the consumption of soaking;
- salt - to taste;
- black pepper peas - 3-5 pcs .;
- bay leaf - 1 pc.
Method of preparation:
- Beef liver dip for 3 minutes in hot water, then clean it from the film. If large ducts are visible on the surface, cut them with a knife.
- Fill the liver with cool water, leave for an hour.
- Rinse the liver, pat dry.
- Boil clean water in a saucepan, put a piece of beef liver in it. Cook it for 5 minutes over medium heat. Do not forget to remove the foam protruding on the surface.
- Turn down the fire. Continue to boil the liver for 20 minutes. Add bay leaf and pepper. After another 5 minutes, add salt in which the by-product is brewed. After 5-10 minutes, check its readiness. If the liver is ready, you can remove the pan from the heat.
For salad, the liver is brewed using a minimum amount of seasoning so that their smell does not interrupt the flavor of other products that make up the snack. When cooking liver for a salad, you need to know that its weight will decrease as a result by about one and a half times.
Beef liver for pate
Composition:
- beef liver - 0.5 kg;
- milk - 0, 25 l;
- water - 1, 5 l;
- carrots - 100 g;
- onions - 100 g;
- salt, spices - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Wash beef liver, peel off the film, cut into medium sized pieces, convenient for grinding in a meat grinder.
- Soak the pieces in the milk, it takes 20-30 minutes.
- Boil water, put pieces of liver into it. The first 5 minutes, cook it on medium heat, removing the foam, then reduce the heat, add coarsely chopped onions and carrots. Continue cooking for 10 minutes.
- Salt water, add spices. Continue cooking livers for another 5 minutes.
Next, the liver will need to be minced, mixed with minced bacon and softened butter, put into a shape covered with cling film and cooled. Then spread the paste on a plate, remove the plastic wrap, decorate the food and serve it or use it to make sandwiches and other snacks.
Properly boiled beef liver, you get a great ingredient for salads. In addition, it can be used to prepare a paste or baby food.
