My co-op just bought 25lbs of Eel River organic grass fed and grass finished beef liver. Came in 2 big frozen pieces from the local butcher. What's the best way to ask him to cut it so our members can buy 1lbs packages and be able to properly cook and enjoy it? I don't want to ruin this prized liver. Thanks.
First I would let it thaw, then chill it for awhile so its stiff but not solid.
Then I would cut it in half so that there are two long halves.
Then lay the halves flat side down and slice it from front to back approximately 3/4 to 1 inch thick just like steaks. You can butterfly the tail ends if they aren't big enough.
Thank you fdarn for your advice. Can I safely place the liver back in the freezer again after the butcher cut and package them? Some of our members won't be eating all of their portions right away.
How long can the liver be in the freezer before the quality starts to be noticeably affected?
Yes you can refreeze it just fine . Vacuum pack is best if you can do that. The frozen shelf life is 90 days for me but it go longer if frozen properly.
-- Edited by fdarn on Thursday 14th of May 2015 07:16:35 PM
I would add just one thing to Fred's advice. Skin the liver after thawing and before cutting. We never did that on our regular, cheapest beef liver. In fact we usually cut it frozen on the band saw. But a higher quality liver deserves this treatment. And by "skin" I mean removing the thin transparent membrane which you can pull off by hand.
I agree that it should be thawed a little, not completely, just to the point of where you can cut it with a knife. This way, you can also remove the veins. Or whatever those white tubeular things are.
Not the best way, but the easiest:
It can be cut frozen on the band saw. I've done it at least 100 times. Cut it frozen, and return it to the freezer right away before it starts to thaw. Have 25 plastic bags ready. Keep the slices in the same order that they were sliced in. They stack better that way. They should be stacked and bagged right away if possible. It would be better for the butcher to do the bagging right then, rather than you taking it home and doing it.
There's some disadvantages this way. You do lose some. A tiny amount gets lost in the saw. If you don't clean the saw before reusing, there can be be cross contamination on everything else you cut later. But no one will know, right? The saw will be harder to clean later if the liver juice (wet dust) dries. You can't de vein it when it's cut frozen.
If it's cut frozen, maybe you can bring it in late in the evening. Just before cleaning. This way, cross contamination wont be as issue and they will be cleaning the saw anyway.
Some markets refuse to cut meat from outside the store. They claim it's against the law, company policy, or sanitation rules. "it's not inspected". It's sort of the managers call. I know you don't want wild game in a market. That can be big trouble. But the liver. It's up to the manager, or person on duty at the time.
Haha! I love the smell of liver cooking, but hate the taste! OTOH, my wife actually LIKES the taste! That makes one person I know...
Burgermeister wrote:
Is the liver skinned yet?
I agree that it should be thawed a little, not completely, just to the point of where you can cut it with a knife. This way, you can also remove the veins. Or whatever those white tubeular things are.
Not the best way, but the easiest:
It can be cut frozen on the band saw. I've done it at least 100 times. Cut it frozen, and return it to the freezer right away before it starts to thaw. Have 25 plastic bags ready. Keep the slices in the same order that they were sliced in. They stack better that way. They should be stacked and bagged right away if possible. It would be better for the butcher to do the bagging right then, rather than you taking it home and doing it.
There's some disadvantages this way. You do lose some. A tiny amount gets lost in the saw. If you don't clean the saw before reusing, there can be be cross contamination on everything else you cut later. But no one will know, right? The saw will be harder to clean later if the liver juice (wet dust) dries. You can't de vein it when it's cut frozen.
If it's cut frozen, maybe you can bring it in late in the evening. Just before cleaning. This way, cross contamination wont be as issue and they will be cleaning the saw anyway.
Some markets refuse to cut meat from outside the store. They claim it's against the law, company policy, or sanitation rules. "it's not inspected". It's sort of the managers call. I know you don't want wild game in a market. That can be big trouble. But the liver. It's up to the manager, or person on duty at the time.
We did the same! Back in the day, if we skinned it, it was then "Baby beef liver", and the small end became "Calves liver"! That was "merchandising", back then.
Doc wrote:
got to skin it used to sell beef liver as calves when skinned need to de vein it as well
flip it over to the not so nice side there will be a flap round section cut that off and slice it diagonally if there is alot of tubes trim them out then flip it back to the nice side cut diagonally again away from you at one end into thin slices it will hide the pores more . fresh liver goes black around the edges if not sold on same day. i dont know about unfreezing and refreezing.
advise to cook shallow fried after being dipped in flour with onions and bacon.
lambs liver is the best liver pork liver is what ppl buy for pets here.
I find the best and the fastest is to slice it frozen and then dip the slice in cold water and it will ice glaze and have a beautiful clean shiny look. This also greatly increases the shelf life in the freezer , 180 days and it will still look great and not freezer burnt. Also this works well with most any kind of meat that you want to look great in the freezer. I know that is old school and a lot of the older butchers will remember doing this , Old but still works Great.
-- Edited by JohnnyWatts on Tuesday 19th of May 2015 07:16:02 AM
I find the best and the fastest is to slice it frozen and then dip the slice in cold water and it will ice glaze and have a beautiful clean shiny look. This also greatly increases the shelf life in the freezer , 180 days and it will still look great and not freezer burnt. Also this works well with most any kind of meat that you want to look great in the freezer. I know that is old school and a lot of the older butchers will remember doing this , Old but still works Great.
-- Edited by JohnnyWatts on Tuesday 19th of May 2015 07:16:02 AM
Interesting. Never heard of that. Sounds like a lot of work to do that for every slice.
I love the smell of liver cooking, but hate the taste! OTOH, my wife actually LIKES the taste! That makes one person I know...
