Liver – a culinary delight in many cultures, so I’ve heard.
(I didn't think you wanted to see a picture of liver.)
My mom made it when I was growing up, and I ate it, but it was only to get through the meal. I think I’ve always made a face while chewing liver. I don’t believe I’ve ever opted for seconds.
Then I grew up, got married, and even though we knew liver was good for us, it wasn’t something my husband and I ever picked up at the grocery store.
And then we received part of a cow, and the processing plant wanted to know how we wanted our meat, and by the way, do you want the liver, heart, and kidneys?
I know a friend who includes the heart and kidney in her ground beef, so I went with that very good idea. But they won’t do that with the liver and I doubt I’d like my hamburgers with liver in them. I said I wanted them, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever eat them. Mainly because I couldn’t stand the thought of touching those slimy, deep red, bloody slabs. So my husband volunteered to make the liver. He actually does a pretty good job. We’ve had it about three or four times now, and one of those times, I actually wanted seconds, and even enjoyed leftovers! I’m not sure what made the difference. He always stir fries, basically the same way every time. I’ve learned that it’s best if you barely cook it, even as little as medium rare. So maybe that time it was less cooked than other times.
Even so, it’s not something we have often. So why should we be concerned about eating liver anyway? It seems like a very gross food item to me. So I read, and I read some more. I learned that some people even eat it raw! I’ve tried to work at getting used to that idea for the health benefit, and learned of ways to camouflage it in other foods. But why go to that trouble?
Today I did it. I had the entire day to myself. I read my devotions, I watched a little TV, I listed a couple things on eBay, I also went into the office for one little task. Then it was time for lunch, so I thought to myself, “Why not, I’ll try it.” I thawed some liver (in a hot water bath, I rarely use the microwave anymore). In the blender I put plain homemade yogurt, raw egg yolks (which I have no trouble with, I eat “dippy eggs” all the time), a handful of blueberries…now how to add the meat.
I had tried to push the frozen liver over a cheese grater, but it needed more elbow grease than I’m able to produce, so I got out the electric meat grinder and ran it through that. I think I put way too much in my smoothie. It looked like a little more than two tablespoons. When the drink seemed to be super smooth, I filled a glass. It was a large glass, so I wasn’t able to drink it all without stopping to breath. But I drank it quickly so I wouldn’t have to think about it. Then when I was done, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And I thought I was going to gag. Fortunately when I burped, I only noticed the blueberries. Very thankful!
Now back to the question…Why liver? And why raw? In a cooked state, the liver offers protein, fat, and Vitamins A and D. If left raw, it also offers B vitamins and enzymes. Plus there are other goodies in liver like folic acid, iron, copper, zinc, chromium, CoQ10 – liver is filled with nutrition, packed full actually.
Something else raw liver has is some unidentified component that mysteriously takes away fatigue. I won’t be able to attest to that today, since fatigue isn’t an issue.
So I finally did it. I consumed raw liver! Then I put the remaining ground liver in an ice cube tray, which went into the freezer, and I wondered if I’d ever be able to do this again?
Perhaps if I don’t put so much in my smoothie. The thing is, although I did taste the liver just a bit as I drank it, it actually didn’t taste that bad; it was just the knowledge that I was gulping raw liver.
I know, I’m gross. This eating-to-heal lifestyle brings challenges, and it’s certainly interesting. I asked my husband when talking on the phone this afternoon if he thought he’d ever want to try it. He said, “no.” I said, “what if I read all the health benefits to you.” He said, “no.”
But what if he doesn’t see me add it to a smoothie?
Very good document on liver:
http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/509-liver-files.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
save me and I will be saved,
for you are the one I praise.
— Jeremiah 17:14
