Organ Meats

[thomas beasley]

Tonight at the grocery store I came across frozen beef liver. The butcher had already left for the night, and I wasn't sure if it was grass-fed so I opted to stay away. But I wanted to know where beef liver falls into the spectrum of organ meets? Is it better, worse, equal to tongue, heart, other organ meats?

I enjoy beef tongue on occasion, mostly holidays and when I come across it at the store. Does anyone have any experience grilling or BBQ-ing organ meats? Or any good recipes? Thanks

[Ben Kaminski]

I try to eat liver once or twice a week. Liver is the healthiest part of the animal that you could possibly eat. No other meat provides the amount and variety of nutrients.

Liver has more carbs than other meats because it stores glycogen. It has a sweeter taste than other meats as a result. I try to get grass fed, but I often end up getting it fresh from the butcher (which is grain fed). I have never tried the grocery store frozen kind, I am not sure it would be as good.

Try this recipe: Fry and chop up some bacon, chop the liver very finely and fry it in the grease, then put it all in a bowl with 3-4 raw egg yolks. I scramble the egg whites and add them as well. It is great because it's easy and tastes excellent.

[Scott Kustes]

That sounds good Ben. I just orderd 68lbs of meat from Slanker's, 10 of which was beef liver, along with some goat and lamb liver. It's exceedingly cheap at Slanker's; less than $3/lb, but you have to place a very large order to get a good shipping price. And he'll talk your ear off about hunter-gatherer eating, but he's a super nice guy.

It would seem that grainfed liver would not be a good thing, especially if the animals are fed antibiotics and hormones. Wouldn't the liver store those elements? I recall Ben telling me that he thought baby beef liver (which I used to get at Lehr's in Milford) hadn't been hit with the grains and hormones yet...anybody have anything on that?

[Michael Hill]

I highly recommend the book The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating by Fergus Henderson. Roast bone marrow and parsley salad, yummy!

[Michael Hill]

I almost forgot to mention, here is the receipe for his green sauce. It's paleo and goes with well with all red meat including organ meats:

20g fresh herbs including curly parsley, flat leaf parsley, mint, dill and tarragon
4 anchovy fillets, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp capers, rinsed
200ml extra virgin olive oil

Blend and enjoy