Adventures with Offal

There is a widely held image of the typical college-age dinner consisting of pizza/beer, tv dinners, and anything take out. In many cases, this stereotypical meal tends to hold up as truth. Although partially due to laziness, what the average student ends up eating usually comes down to whatever is cheapest. Understandably, this can be seen in the wide use of pastas, rice, and bread as the go-to meal stretchers that they have been for hundreds of years in various cultures. These dietary choices lack two main components of healthy nutrition: fresh fruit and veg, and protein. Nowadays getting respectable and inexpensive produce is relatively easy in any city, so a student who isn't getting their 5 a day probably knows that vegetables exist, and is consciously avoiding them. Protein, however, is a bit more bothersome. Outside of pre-cooked and frozen meats, protein quickly starts to put a hole in your pocket. The solution to this problem seems so simple and obvious in retrospection. Just as grain and pasta were used to stretch meals by the peasants of so many nations through tough times, why not look to them when choosing what meat is tasty and inexpensive. For the poor and desperate; it's been offal.

I decided to start with something I am comfortable working with: liver. I am unclear as to when I first encountered this edible organ, but what I can recall is a night that it showed up on my dinner plate growing up at home. Probably about 12 years old, I asked my mom, "what's this?" "Just try some." Memories return of a similar conversation that lead to an outright boycott of a vegetable for over a decade, but this was years later and I tended to discriminate less against meats then vegetables. "I'll try it, just tell me what it is." "It's liver." "From a cow?" "Yes." This was good news. I like beef. After trying it, I was not awestruck but at the same time not put off in the least. It tasted slightly similar to venison, which I love so very much, and have the privilege to enjoy it often. I encountered liver a few other occasions between then and now, but it is time for this rediscovered animal part to make a comeback. At about two pounds (British Sterling) per kilo (about 2.2 lbs.) it is tough to beat on price, and as far as I am concerned the same can be said about flavor. To put its value in perspective, that is roughly the same amount I would be paying for a kilo of butternut squash. To buy that weight of supermarket brand pasta would cost me double. The go-to cheap protein chicken is equally twice as pricey. Liver is high in protein, low in saturated fat, and stuffed with nutrients. Whats not to like?

For many people, there is a lot not to like. Some have difficulty getting past the fact that it is an organ, others that this specific organ is responsible for filtering toxins out of the body. I have heard many people complain about the texture (the whole 'texture' thing is an excuse as far as I am concerned) and of the few people who say they just don't like the taste, most are lying and have probably never tried it. If you legitimately have tried liver and find it unappetizing, I am just fine with that, leaves more for me. If not, consider the fact that although it has a distinctive taste, properly prepared it can have balance without completely masking the flavor. The liver is a muscle after all, one of the 'smooth' variety that operates outside your conscious control. Why be wasteful and discard this useful and edible organ when our culture is striving to be more eco friendly, yet has become spoiled by the availability of choice cuts?

Vino-Tarragon Liver with Onions and Mushrooms

Notes: The main players in this dish other than the liver is the red wine and tarragon. If you don't like this herb, try sage or maybe basil. Choose your liver depending on your taste: chicken is milder and a bit sweeter, calve's has that beefy taste, and lamb's is more robust/gamie.

Ingredients:

1 lbs. Liver (chicken, calf, or lamb)

2 medium yellow onions

1 medium red onion

1-2 cups chopped white mushrooms

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small can tomato sauce (6 or 8 oz.)

1 tbs. Olive oil

1/2 cup red wine (Preferably Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon)

1-2 tbs. fresh tarragon

1 tsp. crushed red peppers

salt and pepper

Procedure: Place a medium large skillet on stove and heat to medium. Add olive oil and thinly sliced onions. Sweat onions 15-20 minutes, do not brown. Add minced garlic and chopped mushrooms 5 minutes into sweating, season with salts and pepper. When onions are nearly transparent and mushrooms have softened, remove from heat and set aside in a separate dish. Return skillet and increase heat to medium high. Add additional olive oil to pan if necessary, season liver cut into stir fry sized strips and add to pan. Briefly brown the liver, about 2 minutes per side, but do not cook all the way through. After the liver is is colored, return onions and mushrooms to the pan with the liver. Add tomatoes sauce, red pepper flakes, and red wine. Reduce the heat and stir to combine the liquid mixture throughout the pan with the liver and vegetables, allowing to reduce for a few minutes. Add tarragon and stir through allowing the mixture to further reduce and incorporate the tarragon with the other flavors. Taste to see if additional seasoning, tarragon, or wine is necessary. Serve with a side of pasta, or try a combo of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and finely chopped carrots (I like this better as it can soak up the sauce of the dish).

Boil the potatoes in water or vegetable stock like making normal mashed potatoes then save some of the liquid and take your anger out on the root vegetables with a wooden spoon. Tasty and fun.