Re(1): What am I...
From:        sharkbyt@ashlandhome.net (sharkbyt)
Posted:      August 06, 2002 at 00:13:34
 
In Reply To: What am I...
             Posted by Iago on August 05, 2002 at 18:57:35

Message:     
 For me the only chopped liver worth eating is the traditional Jewish-style of my grandmother's. It goes something like this:
1 large onion, finely diced
3 Tbsp. schmaltz (chicken fat--the real deal, don't be shy) or vegetable oil
1/2 lb. chicken livers
1 hard-cooked egg
salt
 
Saute the onion until it's caramelized.* While the onion is sauteing, salt the chicken livers and grill them under the broiler. Turn them over after one side browns. Continue grilling until they are nicely browned all over.
Chop the hard-boiled egg with a pastry cutter or mince it finely with a knife.
Blend the onion and livers in a food processor until it's the consistency you like. (I prefer mine fairly smooth to offset the bits of egg , but some people like it coarse). 
Mix in the egg by hand. Adjust salt to taste and add pepper if you wish.
 
*A variation I've introduced is to deglaze the pan at the end with a dash of richly-flavored red wine, such as a syrah or a merlot.
 
Oy, it's to plotz for!
 
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Re(1): What am I...
Name:        Bigmouth
Posted:      August 05, 2002 at 21:22:19
 
In Reply To: What am I...
             Posted by Iago on August 05, 2002 at 18:57:35

Message:     
 Saute the liver gently until barely done. Mush it together with kosher salt, and - here's the hard part -shmaltz and shmaltzy onions to taste. 
 
To make shmaltz: Take about two cups of chicken fat (you can save it up in your freezer or buy it frozen in some places, in a brick about the size of frozen spinach), 2 onions minced medium (1/2 inch or so). Boil together for several *hours.* I'd recommend doing it on a camp stove outside, as the taste is wonderful but the smell will pervade everything in your house and never, ever go away. Let cool. It keeps in the freezer forever and is extremely potent (hard to think of a instance I've used more than a teaspoon at a time.) Add it to mashed potatoes, kasha varneshkas, run a bit over perogis. It is liquid gold. Haven't made it for years - definitely post a report if you do it!
 
An acceptable chopped liver kinder to the arteries can be made with deeply carmelized onions and the oil they're cooked in. By no means substitute grocery store so-called shmaltz (available in jars). Smells & tastes like candle wax. 
 
Sorry about the lack of measurements, but it's hard to mess up. Good luck. 
 
P.S. I try to use organic liver on the rare instance I use liver at all. I assume that since the liver is a kind of filter for the body it might hold concentrations of pesticides, etc. Does anyone know if this is true?
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:     Re(1): What am I...
From:        cschein@nospamearthlink.net (LBQT)
Posted:      August 05, 2002 at 21:31:00
 
In Reply To: What am I...
             Posted by Iago on August 05, 2002 at 18:57:35

Message:     
 First of all, I have to confess that I cheat and use the shmaltz that comes in jars in the kosher food section (I think the brand is "Old Fashioned"). Saut onions and liver (cut in strips or chunks) in shmaltz, season w/salt & pepper. When cooked, use a meat grinder (not a food processor; one second too long on "process" and you have mush), and grind the liver with the onions, a couple of stalks of peeled (scraped) celery, and hard boiled egg (I use one egg per pound of liver). Mix in more shmaltz if it's too dry, season again with salt & pepper, chill, and enjoy. 

 
