Liver and onions with gravy
Liver and onions with gravy is a typical English dish that has been around for years. However, it is a little bit like Marmite – you either love it or you hate it.
Not everyone likes eating liver, as it does have quite a strong taste and unusual texture. However, some people are very partial to liver and just love it. It is very personal.
This old fashioned liver and onions recipe will show you how to cook some lambs liver, bacon and onions in a tasty gravy.
Liver and Onions with Gravy
Liver is an acquired taste. This recipe uses lambs liver but beef or pork liver is also sometimes used.
To be perfectly honest, I personally prefer chicken livers, but I have had some trouble finding those locally. In the Netherlands, I could buy chicken livers in the supermarket, but not here in Ireland, although our butcher does sometimes stock them frozen. Lambs liver, however, is more common and readily available.
If you are a liver fan the nice thing about this recipe is that it is cheap, quick and easy to make.
And if you are a bit handy you can make it all in one pan.
Should you soak liver in milk?
If you Google around, you will find a bit of a discussion on the net about whether or not to soak the liver in milk before cooking it.
Soaking liver in milk removes some of the blood from the meat and hence does make it taste less gamey and metallic. It also tenderizes the meat somewhat.
However, some say that the calcium in the milk will bind with the iron in the liver, taking away some of the goodness. Others say that the milk will take out any toxins that may be present.
One thing is certain, it is a well-established part of the process of cooking liver, so it is worth trying if you are not a regular liver eater.
Liver, bacon and onions have always gone well together. Their individual tastes complement each other perfectly and they belong together on a plate.
One thing is certain, the taste and texture of liver is very person dependent, so if you have never tried it, YOU MUST GIVE IT A GO!
Another of my favourite meals as a kid was chicken livers with bacon and white rice, served up with plenty of Heinz tomato ketchup. I used to love it when my Mum used to dish this up for us.
I did recently find some fresh chicken livers on a visit to Cork’s English Market, so you can find another link to this recipe at the end of this blogpost.
Serve up this dish together with some parsnip mash or mashed potatoes and some greens.
I hope you enjoy making this dish. If you do, please let me know how you get on in the comments section below!
How to cook liver and onions
Liver and Onions and Gravy
This simple lamb liver and onions recipe is a great way to eat lamb liver. Combine with some mashed potatoes of mashed parsnips for a true feast.
Ingredients
- 300g lambs liver
- 1/2 pint milk
- 4 rashers of streaky bacon
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 onions, sliced
- 3 tbsp plain flour, seasoned
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- Salt and Pepper
- For the gravy:
- Chicken Oxo cube
- Chicken Bisto gravy granules
Instructions
- Cut the liver as you wish to serve it. Then soak the liver in the milk in the fridge for between one and two hours before cooking.
- Discard the milk and wash and dry the liver. Then lightly coat it in seasoned flour.
- Fry the bacon until crispy and then remove from pan. Fry the garlic and onion in the vegetable oil in the same pan for a few minutes.
- Then add the liver to the same pan and fry it on both sides until it is done as you like it. Cook probably for about 2 minutes each side. Then remove the liver from the pan.
- Add the bacon back to the pan. Then add the crumbled oxo cube, gravy granules and some hot water (if you are boiling vegetables use some of that water to make the gravy, to get all the vitamins).
- Bring the liquid to the boil and then add the liver back to the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes extra and then serve up. (To check that the liver is cooked, it should no longer be bloody inside).
Notes
What to serve with liver and onions?
Serve up with some parsnip mash or mashed potatoes and some greens.
Serve up with:
orThis is my personal favourite liver recipe:
Other accompaniments could be:
Claudia
Wednesday 20th of April 2022
Really really good I was afraid to try lamb liver. We only have beef liver in the store, and only rarely. We purchased a whole lamb and it came with six packages of liver. But, I got brave, and I am glad I did! Thanks for the great recipe.
Gav
Wednesday 20th of April 2022
Great Claudia, really glad you liked it! Thanks for your comment!