cooking · Recipe

Classic Liver and Onions

Name: Classic Liver and Onions
Total time: 8 h 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: beef liver, cut into medium-sized pieces, soaked overnight; milk, for soaking the liver, enough to cover liver for overnight soak with salt and pepper; salt, for soaking, salt and pepper for soaking the liver overnight; flour, heavily salted; oil, enough to cover bottom of pan with a little depth; salt, additional to taste for gravy; black pepper, to taste for gravy; water, enough to make very watery gravy and for adjustments during simmering; coffee, about half a cup leftover coffee; 3 onion, cut into half-moon slices

From a video by In The Kitchen With Talli Faye · 23 min watch

Beef liver dredged in salted flour, lightly fried, then simmered for hours in a simple onion gravy until fork-tender. Served over mashed potatoes.

Source video — In The Kitchen With Talli Faye on YouTube

From the creator

In The Kitchen With Talli Faye

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Watch the full video on YouTube ↗

Total time

~8 hours 45 minutes+

Hands-on

~25 minutes

Servings

~4 servings

Difficulty

Medium

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Extraction confidence: high

Auto-generated from the video and rewritten in our own words. Double-check quantities against the source before cooking.

Ingredients

Servings

beef liver, cut into medium-sized pieces
milk, for soaking the liver
salt, for soaking
flour, heavily salted
oil
salt
black pepper
water
coffee
3 onion, cut into half-moon slices

Preparation

Step 1
Add oil to a skillet to cover the bottom with a medium depth and heat until hot.
Step 2
Soak the beef liver pieces overnight in milk with salt and pepper to reduce strong taste.
Step 3
Prepare a large pan of heavily salted flour by adding plenty of salt and tasting to ensure it is salty.
Step 4
Cut the large slab of beef liver into medium-sized pieces using scissors.
Step 5
Dredge the soaked liver pieces in the salted flour, shake off excess, and fry in the hot oil until lightly browned on both sides to form a crust. Do not cook through. Remove to a plate and repeat until all pieces are browned. Use tongs to avoid touching raw liver.
Step 6
Pour off excess oil from the skillet, leaving a couple of tablespoons with the browned bits. Sprinkle in some of the salted flour to make a paste for the roux.
Step 7
Season the roux with additional salt and black pepper. Gradually add water (about 4 cups) and a splash of leftover coffee while stirring to create a very watery gravy. Bring to a boil, adjusting with more water if needed.
Step 8
Return all the browned liver pieces to the skillet of gravy.
Step 9
Layer the sliced onions over the top of the liver and gravy. Do not pre-sauté the onions.
Step 10 · 1.5-2 hours
Add additional water to nearly fill the skillet, leaving room for bubbling. Gently stir or wiggle to settle ingredients. Bring back to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Cover and simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring and adding water as needed to maintain gravy level. Remove lid for the last 10-15 minutes to thicken slightly.
Step 11
Serve the liver and onions with plenty of gravy and onions ladled over mashed potatoes or rice.

Notes

Soaking liver overnight in milk (or cream) with salt and pepper helps mellow the flavor.
Use tongs when handling raw liver to avoid the smell on hands.
The gravy starts very watery because the flour-coated liver and long simmer will thicken it.
Coffee is optional but adds depth; omit if unavailable.
No need to sauté onions beforehand as they cook down during simmering.
Stir and add water during cooking to keep the skillet full of gravy.
Cook until liver is very tender and can be cut with a fork.
Serve with mashed potatoes or rice and a vegetable side.