If you are ever abandoned on a desert island and can choose three items to take with you it should be these three – red wine, cream and butter. Anything can be made to taste good with a dash of each. I’m quite sure if I was presented with a dead cane rat on said island, I could turn it into a pretty decent stroganoff if I had my three essentials. That said, here is how to take ox liver to new heights. Liver is so incredibly good for us but not to everyone’s taste. Disguising it somewhat and adding these magic ingredients is the way forward.
You will need:
2 Tablespoons butter (or more!)
1 onion, chopped
A few cloves of garlic, crushed
Half a pack of diced bacon
1 x 400 – 500 gram pack of beef mince
An equal weight of chopped ox liver, soaked for at least 30 minutes in milk (toss the milk when done, or maybe offer it to the dog). The pieces should be small enough to cook quickly.
Salt and black pepper to taste
100 ml beef stock, preferably homemade, but don’t sweat the small stuff
100ml dry red wine
100 ml cream
In an electric frying pan fry the onion in the butter for a few minutes and then add garlic. After a minute or two add the bacon and fry for a further few minutes. Then add the mince and keep “chopping” at it with a wooden spoon to break it up while it fries. Add more butter if needed. Fry for about 10 minutes on a medium heat. Turn the heat up and add the liver. Keep stirring while the liver cooks – liver needs to cook fast. Slightly pink inside when poked with a knife is fine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the wine, stirring to deglaze the bottom of the pan and get all the yummy flavour into the mix. Add the stock and simmer for a short while and then add the cream, stirring for a few minutes. Voila! It’s done!
I have served this on cabbage thinly sliced and fried in butter and then seasoned with white pepper. Delicious.