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AIBU?

Aibu re Lambs Liver?

60 replies

CocacolaMum · 18/11/2013 11:53

1 husband, 2 kids (12 and 7) and I am in charge of the kitchen. I cook all meals (I like doing it) and like a lot of people I am feeling the pinch when it comes to food costs.

I have been looking into ways of cutting back on how much I spend at the supermarket and one of the major costs seems to be meat. I do tend to buy what's on offer and am not adverse to slow cooking but it still seems a lot of money so I have started fitting in a couple of vegetarian meals during the week.

I noticed though that lambs liver is not expensive (£1.70 for 450g).

I have horrid memories of liver and as a child it was the one thing I would refuse BUT I believe that was because it was always overcooked and was always made into a massive drama. AIBU to find a recipe which would allow me to serve Lambs liver (I say lambs because it seems to have the least livery taste) without actually telling my kids what it is they are having until they have eaten it?

OP posts:
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limitedperiodonly · 20/11/2013 15:53

No, juice whatever you do, kidneys and hearts are always a bit rubbery whereas liver doesn't have to be.

So if you don't like it, you're never going to and there's nothing wrong with that. I loathe the idea that you're supposed to eat stuff you don't like - especially if you're a child.

I find eating the finest oysters like swallowing snot and no one's going to break me of that. Because I'm an adult I can say so.

My mum likes the flavour of steak and kidney but will carefully leave the kidneys on the side of her plate.

I'll let her off because I'm a lovely Wink

However, she insisted on me eating kidneys because she was worried that I was a weedy child who needed building up. Luckily I liked them then and still do, though I cook them a bit more gently than she did Wink

My mum regards offal as necessary medicine that's GOOD FOR YOU rather than being nice to eat.

BTW can I recommend brains fried in butter and capers and finished with parsley and garlic again? Creamy yet firmish. Gorgeous. I also like sweetbreads done the same way. Same sort of thing. Bit firmer. Crusty bread to mop up.

I'd definitely make it as a zombie Grin

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TheRealAmandaClarke · 20/11/2013 15:08

Liver and bacon tonight for DS.
Fingers crossed.

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ebayauctivahelp · 20/11/2013 10:45

Thanks limited that Raymond Blanc liver looks lovely. I may have to try it - have bookmarked the recipe!

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GhostsInSnow · 19/11/2013 17:12

limited its odd because its more the texture which bothers me with kidney (though Liver doesn't, told you I was strange). I love Steak and Kidney puds from the chippy but I'll pick my way around the kidney.

Heart I just cant get past this vaguely heart shaped, tube filled lump the butcher hands over Shock

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trufflesnuffler · 19/11/2013 17:07

love it snufflesnufflesnuffle.

smothered in garlic, chilli and mushrooms. Damn it I'm on a fast day and this thread just pushed all the wrong buttons.

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limitedperiodonly · 19/11/2013 15:37

And ebay I only use parsley because I don't have chervil and sage knocking about and it still works out great.

You can squeeze a little bit of lemon juice on it too to cut the richness.

And the sauteed potatoes are fantastic for eating with other grilled or fried meat.

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limitedperiodonly · 19/11/2013 15:23

btw I'd have eaten your afters too Grin

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limitedperiodonly · 19/11/2013 15:22

Bugger OP.

But lots of people hate offal. I think it's all valid - people don't like the texture or the flavour but the biggest thing is the connotation. To many people it's suspect and cheap and they literally cannot swallow it.

I agree with the previous poster who recommended vegetarian curries. I've neglected them lately but I'm going to go back, not just because they're cheap but because they're really nice.

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limitedperiodonly · 19/11/2013 15:15

ebay

I really like it that way. You just have to get everything prepared in advance because the timing is a bit tricky. But even if you don't do that recipe, it might help solve your frothy problem.

I've rewatched it and I forgot to soak the liver. It turned out fine anyway, but I prefer to do it with calf's liver (expensive) or chicken livers (really cheap) because they're softer and they're milder, if that's what you like.

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Gatekeeper · 19/11/2013 14:55

I like it with bacon, onions and an oxo cube dissolved in hot water, cook slowly for about 45 mins until tender and delicious. The gravy made form cooking offal is sublime. Served with buttery mash and dark green cabbage

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CocacolaMum · 19/11/2013 14:54

it did not go well...

I really liked it, 7yr old liked it after she had drowned it in sauce, ds ate it begrudgingly but when OH got home he zapped his in the microwave and took 1 mouthful before declaring that he really did hate it and didn't eat any more.. the only meal in our 11yrs together he has ever refused point blank to eat. Hmm

for afters I had put frozen berries in a dish, topped with a sponge batter and baked for half hour which was served with ice cream. That went down a lot better

OP posts:
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ebayauctivahelp · 19/11/2013 14:50

I can never cook liver without it getting a ssoft, olidified "froth" clinging to it. I think it's when the blood oozes out and get's cooked and goes a whitish colour and then you have to scrape it off with your knife when it's on your plate. Does anyone know what I mean or is it just a phenomenon known only to me?? I know it doesn't need much cooking but does the oil have to be really hot and you flash fry it or only gently heated and cooked minimally. All tips gratefully received!

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momb · 19/11/2013 14:44

OP how did it go?
I tried getting the family into liver a couple of years ago and really couldn't like it, even though I'd cooked it nicely.
I do make chicken liver pate, which is good for packed lunches, but I just couldn't enforce the kids eating something that was making me gag too.
We enjoy a kidney and cauliflower curry though so not so fussy!

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limitedperiodonly · 19/11/2013 14:41

Sorry. That sounded really know-all over chitterlings. I'm sure people don't need me to tell them what they are; it's just that I'd never heard of them before that night.

And I never want to hear of them again Grin

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limitedperiodonly · 19/11/2013 14:38

I eat all offal, including brains - which I love fried in butter - except for tripe and chitterlings. Tripe is bland and I don't like the texture. Too smooth.

Chitterlings are fried intestines. I ordered them in a restaurant famous for its offal because I'd never tried them. Chewy. Not very nice. Like battered rubber. It wasn't bad cooking because the rest of their food is good.

I did like a thing I ate in Italy once which is milk-fed calf's intestines with rigatoni in a tomato sauce. The intestines and the pasta are cut to the same length and the same colour so you can't tell them apart until you taste them. I think it's meant to be a visual joke.

It sounds disgusting but it was really nice. I'd never have ordered it on my own - someone else insisted I tried it. I've just googled it - it's called veal pajata.

And the only good thing about the temperature dropping today is that I'm going to eat hearts stewed in red wine with carrots and then sliced on creamy mash. And the hearts are going to cost about 60p each. One per person, or one-and-half for DH.

I always do it as a macabre Valentine's dinner Grin And so much cheaper than going out on that night.

juice lots of people don't like kidneys. I do but my BIL swears he can taste the wee in them. Never noticed it myself. Maybe it's true or maybe it's a connection he can't get out of his head.

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GhostsInSnow · 19/11/2013 13:26

The size of a pack of lambs liver you can get for £2 is huge, easily enough to feed DH and I a couple of times.

I can't face kidney though, or heart. DH has always loved stuffed heart but I send him to his Mothers for that. Ridiculous I realise but I can't bring myself to cook heart.

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TheRealAmandaClarke · 19/11/2013 13:01

Meat is crazy expensive now. Even hitherto considered "cheap cuts" are pricey.
Offal is great. mincing sounds like a good idea.

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StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes · 19/11/2013 13:00

hated it but loved the smell of it frying and the gravy was to die for, I used to just have the gravy with Yorks pud and mash and veg.

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Scarletohello · 19/11/2013 12:59

Also if you want to save money, making vegetarian curries is a good option. Just get the spices and you can make delicious meals with things like potatoes, cauliflower, pulses etc...

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Scarletohello · 19/11/2013 12:57

Bugger!

People have of cooking it. Will have to try some....

Thanks all!

< don't like kidneys tho...>

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Scarletohello · 19/11/2013 12:56

I bloody love liver! Used to have it as a school dinner, fried with onions and thick gravy with mash. Yum!
Loving all the creative ways peo

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TheRealAmandaClarke · 19/11/2013 12:51


I bloody love liver tbh.
DH doesn't like it. So annoying. he's such a sodding fuss pot.
I cooked calves liver for DS when he was a baby and he liked it.
I have some nice bacon open in the fridge.
I really like the idea of using it up with some liver.
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BigGapMum · 19/11/2013 12:44

We love pan fried liver with balsamic vinegar. Just fry the floured liver in olive oil until cooked, then 2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar in the pan with it and turn the liver over so that both sides are coated. The vinegar goes thick and syrupy almost immediately, about 20 seconds. Then serve.

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MERLYPUSS · 19/11/2013 12:37

I cook liver and bacon in black bean and oyster sauce. Jamie Oliver does a chicken liver and panchetta pasta dish which is delish. you could use smoked streaky.

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Isabelonatricycle · 18/11/2013 22:26

LemonEmmaP that sounds very much like something an American friend of mine calls "Dirty Rice" - and it's yummy.

I'm now making notes of all the other concoctions mentioned in this thread so I can vary the liver menu!

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