Why is the liver bitter? What to do to prevent your liver from becoming bitter

• November 2, 2018
• Cooking
• Legina Marina

Liver is an excellent substitute for meat and is a valuable source of nutrients. It is good on its own, with potatoes, rice or any other cereal. But it often happens that the housewife remains disappointed with the result obtained. Time and food are wasted, and the finished dish does not taste good at all. Today we will look at why the liver is bitter and how it can be avoided.

Apple notes

Berlin-style beef liver with apples is an exquisite dish that is not a shame to serve on a holiday table. To prepare it you will need the following products:

• beef liver - 0.5 kg
• milk - 100 ml
• apple - 1 pc.
• onion - 1 pc.
• vegetable oil - 50 ml
• salt, black pepper, spices - to taste

Rinse the liver, remove the film and remove the veins that make it tough. By the way, the film will be removed better if a piece of liver is poured with boiling water. Pour milk over it for half an hour, cut the onion into strips, and the cored apples into slices. Fry the onion in vegetable oil until golden brown, then place it in a separate bowl. Cut the liver into slices 1–1.5 cm thick, roll it in spices and fry in a frying pan for 2 minutes on each side.

Place the liver on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and top with onions and apple slices. Bake the dish for 5 minutes at 200°C and serve. After all, the Germans know a lot about good food!

In a simple way

Beef liver stroganoff is another dish that will be a hit on your daily menu. Well, it couldn’t be easier to prepare!

The following products will be used in preparing the dish:

• beef liver - 0.5 kg
• flour - 1 tbsp. l.
• onion - 1 pc.
• sour cream - 200 g
• water - 150 ml
• vegetable oil, salt and pepper - to taste

Rinse the liver, remove the film, veins and vessels, cut it into small cubes 1 cm thick, and cut the onion into half rings. Fry the liver in vegetable oil until golden brown, add the onion and fry a little more.

Prepare sour cream sauce: mix flour with water and cook until thickened for 2 minutes over low heat. Add sour cream, bring to a boil again and pour the sauce over the meat. Simmer the beef stroganoff for a few minutes and serve with mashed potatoes or rice. After trying this dish, you will be convinced that beef liver is very tasty and tender, moreover, it contains a lot of iron and it raises the level of hemoglobin in the blood several times faster than apples. Cook liver more often and you will never have anemia!

Mushroom pastoral

Would you like a recipe for liver with mushrooms? This dish is best prepared with champignons, which go wonderfully with liver. By the way, scientists claim that beef liver stimulates brain neurons, improving mental activity and concentration. Schoolchildren, students and mental workers should eat this product more often, and to make the dish tastier and more appetizing, you need to add mushrooms to it!

Use the following products for the dish:

• beef liver - 0.6 kg
• balsamic vinegar - 1 tbsp. l.
• mushrooms - 300 g
• butter - 50 g
• salt and pepper - to taste

Wash and dry the liver, cut it into small pieces up to 1.5 cm thick, salt and pepper and leave for 15 minutes so that it marinates a little, becomes softer and piquant.

Fry the liver in butter until cooked and place it on a plate. Slice the mushrooms and fry in the same pan. Now add the contents of the plate to the mushrooms, add balsamic vinegar, stir and simmer for another couple of minutes. This dish is well served with crumbly pearl barley porridge and a salad of fresh vegetables - very tasty!

In what and how long can you soak pork, beef and chicken liver before cooking?

Experts advise not to soak the liver if you are going to boil it. It will be soft anyway. Your task is to clean it well and remove the bile ducts. It is necessary to soak beef and pork offal, as the taste is quite specific. However, during frying, the liver may become tough. That is why soaking in milk is carried out.

Features of soaking:

• Pork. Many chefs recommend pouring portioned pieces with cold water and adding spices and a little salt. You can sprinkle with cinnamon before frying. This will add a unique aroma during frying. Before frying, the product is dried on paper towels.
• Beef. This liver is also pre-cut into pieces and poured with warm milk. Salt, pepper and herbs are added to it. 1 hour is enough. Before frying, the product is placed in a colander and the milk is allowed to drain. After this, you can dry it with towels.
• Chicken. In general, there is no need to soak this offal. But if you wish, you can pour cold water with pepper and herbs for 1 hour. This product is rarely soaked in milk.

In what and how long can you soak pork, beef and chicken liver before cooking?
As you can see, everything is quite simple. When soaking and choosing the right recipe, you will definitely surprise your household with delicious and healthy dishes.

Liver stewed with cabbage

The main secret of how to cook delicious stewed liver is to soak it in milk longer. You can keep it for 35 minutes, some chefs even leave it for 12 hours. The best option is for the night. To make the dish juicy, it is recommended to lightly beat the product. Veal is ideal, it is very soft, with a pleasant, sweetish taste. The offal goes well with young cabbage.

Features of different types of liver

• Pork is a fatty product. The main differences of this type are a slight bitterness, softness and juiciness.
• Beef, unlike pork, is leaner. Covered with a film, it is difficult to chew. After heat treatment, it is tougher and rougher than its analogues.
• Veal - dietary. Rich in vitamins and microelements. In appearance it resembles beef, but not as rich in color.
• Chicken is a low-calorie, filling and healthy offal. Of all types of liver, it is the softest and quickest to cook.

Why do you add soda to chicken + recipes.

Soda lifehacks

Adding soda to minced liver

Experienced housewives use ground liver to prepare minced meat, from which cutlets, cabbage rolls, and meatballs are made. Dishes will be especially fluffy and juicy if you add a little soda to the main ingredients (1 or 0.5 tsp per 1 kg of minced meat).

Caramelizing onions for onion sauce

Caramelized onions and liver are the perfect duo for true gourmets. The same sodium bicarbonate will help caramelize the onion. It is enough to add 0.5–1 tsp to the onion, fried in a frying pan. soda per 1 kg of product. Then the caramelization process will speed up, and the onion will turn out golden and sweet.

By the way, the Irish are big fans of liver dishes and other offal. Therefore, you can make Irish soda bread and serve it along with delicious and aromatic liver.

Tenderness itself

Another dish worthy of attention is beef liver chops; the recipe will delight you with its simplicity, but the results will be beyond praise! The chops will turn out very juicy and soft if you follow the advice of experienced chefs.

Prepare the following ingredients:

• beef liver - 800 g
• milk - 200 ml
• eggs - 2 pcs.
• flour - 100 g
• oil for frying, salt, pepper - to taste

Rinse the liver, clean it of veins and film and cut into pieces about 1 cm thick. Too thin pieces are undesirable, as they will lose their juiciness when frying and become dry. Wrap the piece in cling film and beat it on both sides with a large spiked mallet. Why is it so important to wrap the liver in film? This keeps your workspace clean and tidy, and you won't have to pick up bits of liver all over your kitchen and scrape it clean with a hammer. Since the liver is already tender in consistency, there is no need to beat it for too long. Now fill it with milk and leave for an hour so that it “rests” a little and gets rid of the characteristic and slightly bitter taste.

Beat the egg with a pinch of salt, sprinkle the pieces of broken liver with salt, pepper and flour, then roll them in the egg and fry in a frying pan on both sides for 2-3 minutes. Now reduce the heat to low, place the chops in the frying pan and simmer them under the lid closed for 15–20 minutes.

The result is juicy, flavorful and tender chops that are eaten instantly! You can serve them with onions fried until golden brown or any other side dish of your choice.

Why soak liver in milk?

The entire soaking procedure is aimed at eliminating foreign odors, bitterness and hardness. After soaking, the liver becomes soft and loses its bitter taste. In addition, milk improves the taste of the product. This is especially true with beef liver, which is bitter and tough.

Why soak liver in milk?

Let's get started

The second reason why the liver is bitter is improper preparation of the product. If you bring it from the store and immediately place it in the fryer, then do not count on the good taste of the resulting dish. First you need to remove dried blood and possible contaminants. Be sure to remove the film. After this, rinse the beef liver thoroughly under running water. Now it's soaking time. To do this, take milk or soda solution. Don’t cut into portions just yet; soak the whole thing. Depending on which animal by-product you use, the preparation will vary.

How to choose the right liver

The taste of the future dish directly depends on the quality of the purchased offal. When choosing liver in a store or market, you should definitely pay attention to:

1. The smell of the product. Fresh liver has a sweetish aroma. Sourness in the “bouquet” indicates spoilage of the product.
2. Density Should be elastic. If, when pressed with a finger, a hole does not form or is quickly restored, you can buy it; no, it is better to avoid such a counter.
3. Color . Shouldn't be too dark. Chicken liver is brown with a burgundy tint, while beef and pork liver is the color of ripe cherries.
4. Appearance . Spots on the surface, gray coating, unevenness, scratches and dents indicate staleness or poor quality of the product (perhaps its source is an old and sick animal).

Lots of vegetables

In this dish, tender liver is amazingly combined with the spicy taste and aroma of bell peppers, and if you add sweetish tomatoes, beans, cauliflower, broccoli and serve with spicy seasonings, a gastronomic shock is guaranteed. But one of the main advantages of liver stewed with vegetables is its incredible ease of preparation!

Prepare the necessary products:

• beef liver - 0.5 kg
• vegetable oil - 50 ml
• bell pepper - 1 pc.
• green beans - 150 g
• onion - 0.5 pcs.
• tomatoes - 2 pcs.
• broccoli – 150 g
• cauliflower – 150 g
• canned corn - 200 g
• chili pepper - 1 small pod
• cilantro - half a bunch
• salt and black pepper - to taste

Wash the beef liver and remove the tough parts, cut it into long pieces. You can soak it in milk, but some housewives use soda to soften it, which makes the dense texture porous, after which you don’t even have to chew the liver, it turns out so soft!

Place the liver pieces in a deep bowl, add 1 tbsp. l. soda and leave for a couple of hours. At this time, chop the peppers, onions and tomatoes, and finely chop the cilantro.

Rinse the liver well and fry in a frying pan for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Place a layer of onions on top, tomatoes on top, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower florets, green beans, corn on top and garnish this splendor with chili pepper. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 20-25 minutes. Now remove the chili, add heat, wait for everything to boil, add salt and pepper and fry for another 5 minutes. Place the liver and vegetables on a plate and garnish with fresh cilantro.

A real feast of taste is ready!

Causes of unpleasant taste

First of all, it is worth noting that liver is a rather delicate product that plays an important role in the animal’s body. This is why it is so important to choose and buy a fresh and high-quality product, because this organ may contain various toxins.

In general, there are three main reasons for the bitter taste of pork offal.

• Firstly, the unpleasant taste may be due to enzymes accumulated in the offal, which are found in the body of every animal and are necessary to break down fatty tissue.
• Secondly, bile can affect taste sensations. If this substance enters the liver, it will completely ruin the taste of the product.
• Thirdly, the product may be expired. Only careful selection will help you avoid buying a spoiled product.

For children and adults

The recipe for liver casserole comes from Germany, like many other hearty and tasty dishes. Since this product helps the body produce antibodies that form the immune system, this is a very good reason to include beef liver in a child's diet. In addition, in the form of a casserole it is much more appetizing and tender.

So, you need the following ingredients:

• beef liver – 1 kg
• semolina - 3 tbsp. l.
• milk - 200 ml
• eggs - 2 pcs.
• carrots - 2 pcs.
• onion - 2 pcs.
• salt - to taste

Rinse the liver well, remove the film and vessels, finely chop and grind in a meat grinder or blender along with one onion and one carrot. Separately, beat the eggs with milk and a pinch of salt, and then mix with the minced meat.

Pour semolina into the liver mass and knead well so that there are no lumps. Fry the carrots grated on a coarse grater and the onion cut into half rings in vegetable oil.

Grease any form with oil, sprinkle with breadcrumbs or semolina, and then lay out half of the minced meat. Place the roasted vegetables on top and cover it with the rest of the minced meat. Just half an hour in the oven, preheated to 170°C, and the liver casserole is ready. It is better to serve it with sour cream - children will also appreciate this culinary masterpiece!

How long should you soak pork, beef and chicken liver in milk and water: tips

It all depends on your preferences. Some housewives soak the whole piece, but many immediately cut it into portioned pieces, and only then soak it. This is the right thing to do, because more of the pores will absorb the milk.

Adviсe:

• In milk. It is necessary to divide the beef or pork liver into portions and place in a bowl. The product is poured with milk and left to soak for 3 hours. You should not add spices or salt to milk. Chicken and turkey livers are not soaked. If you doubt the quality of the product, you can soak it for 1 hour.
• In water. The product is cleared of films and bile ducts and placed in a bowl. Filled with water. After this, add spices and just a little salt. Some housewives add sugar instead of salt. Duration of soaking is 2 hours.

How long should you soak pork, beef and chicken liver in milk and water: tips