Liver is the most delicious meat when done well, it is rarely done well, even the French with all their culinary pompousness, self-certified accreditations struggle with it to the extent that they have only ever pated or tortured geese in an attempt to make it servable.
From a little rascal to a big rascal, I've enjoyed liver. It is a delicacy in Algeria and is commonly grilled roadside, drawing large crowds. It is not popular in London, however I was very pleased to discover it being served Turkish-style in a restaurant on the Turkish Norf Lundun strip, Green Lanes at Antepliler Ciger Salonu (translated to GaziANTEP People's Liver Restaurant), alongside other organ meats (heart, kidney (not a fan), testicles, sweetbread (which is a pancreas?)). Take a look at the menu for yourself.
My reference.. my lisa gherardini.. from the hands of a man burnt by many flames and has carved many livers.
I am dedicating myself here. This is a declaration of dedication toward this recipe, iterating until perfection. It is my calling as an Algerian man to produce the perfect liver recipe. The Turks have captured my attention with theirs and they have done it so well, prior to that it was Portuguese chicken livers but we have ascended.
Rules:
- Liver sourcing, most important thing is it must have no smell, only the faintest metallic. It must be shiny and pink/red, no matte or dark brown or yellow otherwise it's no longer fresh. In London since it is not a volume-driven product and as a result the product will not be churned at a good rate you will walk into some butchers and see a brown purple disgusting bloody mess. The liver that will appeal to you will match the feeling you get when a loved one calls you their liver. You will also likely not touch it when choosing but if you press it it must bounce back. A great once-purchased test is the membrane, fresh liver membrane peels off in a single big sheet, if it peels off in small pieces struggling it's old. However the membrane on some sections of the liver is a bastard and I have spent 20 minutes picking at the same membrane edge, it is the most irritating blood-boiling bloody anatomical sellotape.
- You must take the membrane off otherwise it will be rubbery and grainy, I apologise in advance, don't curse me as you suffer.
- Don't marinate, at all. Marination is live. Salt in advance draws moisture out and makes liver grainy and .. livery, acid (lemon juice) is worse. Seasoning happens once liver skewers are on the flame.
- Interspersed fat cubes are not optional, ideally lamb tail fat (kuyruk yağı, you can purchase it in many Turkish convenience stores, the Turks get it fresh from the meat wholesaler, Smithfield market). Since liver has no intramuscular fat without it basting in adjacent fat it will dry out and get chalky, even if you grill to perfection. Us Algerians do the same with kebda mchwiya. Algerian ordering is liver, fat, liver, fat, liver, fat etc. but we don't use a specific fat and especially not the juiciest of fats like the turks who do liver, fat, liver liver, fat, liver. Four liver and two fat per skewer with the fat cut same size or a bit smaller than the liver.
- Speaking of size, the smaller the better (Y).. ideally fingertip sized cubes. If you go bigger the outside overcooks before the middle warms. Fat should be smaller, 1cm.
- Fire, not insanely hot, coals must be white and not flaming otherwise the liver will burn (as mine did the first time) which makes the liver instantly chalky. If your liver starts burning and the edges crisp and blacken, the flames are too hot and the charcoal has not ashed over. However sometimes the fat dripping onto the charcoal can cause this, watch your liver closely and attentively to find out!
- Skewers should be small accommodate for potential uneven charcoal surface, allows you to move them to allow for even cooking. Cook them for 8-10 minutes total depending on the heat, routinely turning (every 2 mins) to allow you to monitor and season evenly.
Ingredients (4 servings or 20 skewers):
- 1000g fresh lamb liver, whole lobes or if your butcher is a nice person, unlike the stoic blunt Aegean coast-facing sea-punished rock of man mine was, ask them to peel + cube yours.
- 250g lamb tail fat (kuyruk yağı (pronounced yaa so you don't look like an uncultured man in Dalston like I did..))
- Salt (up to you, eyeball it, I hate recipes that give precise salt measurements)
- Aleppo pepper (pul biber), likewise, a bright sun-dried, sharp pepper
- Isot pepper (Isot Urfa biber), up to your discretion whether you wish to use this, taste it first, it's a dark, smoky, oily almost raisiny pepper
- Ground cumin, likewise, used as a garnish at the very end but imo 4 spices are too much, better over the vegetables
- Turkish flatbreads, or tortillas
- Peppers, tomatoes, onions for the grill
Steps:
- Put the fat in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Fire, pull the charcoal on a clean grill, piled 2-3 charcoals deep. Light it and watch it burn, watch until every coal glows grey with no flame.
- If your butcher gave you a cold unforgiving look and muttered "I will not cut" intercepting the thought in electric form at your hypoglossal nerve before it reached your tongue, then unfortunately you must peel the membrane off the liver in whole form first, NOT AFTER CUTTING. Cut out the sinews and the tubes completely (pulling on some of these will ease the membrane peeling). Pat the liver cubes dry. If you see blood and stuff who cares it's an organ just wipe it away.
- Cut the liver into 2cm cubes, max 3cm. I know you've come back to this line as you've some edges where the liver is difficult to cube, just make sure it's big enough to skewer, DON'T throw anything away.
- Cube the fat into cubes smaller than the liver, 3/5ths the size.
- Thread the skewers in the order we established: liver, fat, liver, liver, fat, liver. Touching but not compressed. Leave to the side.
- Put the peppers, tomatoes and other vegetables of your choice that you wish to accompany the liver directly on the coals, be not afraid, turn them over periodically until charred and soft.
- Grab 4 skewers at a time for aesthetic purposes, hover them over the hottest coals, as you do, sprinkle fine sea salt and Aleppo pepper and isot urfa biber over them as they cook, this is the entirety of the liver seasoning, you do not need more. Turn them over every 2 minutes, your eye is the most important measure here not what I tell you. The liver should be brown and visibly juicy with the sea salt and pepper glistening against the meat. None of the edges should be burnt at all, if they are then your flame is too strong.. as mine was.. #lifefr.
- Important: when lifting the skewers off the grill, use the bread as a napkin to hold and soak the juices and the fat. In fact place the bread on top in the last minute (I've watched the chef do this from the corner of my eye to not make it seem like I am taking notes, but I was). The bread will both toast and soak up juices then turn the skewers over onto the bread and use as a dish.
- Please eat immediately.
My first attempt was far from ideal.. therefore what makes me worthy of publishing a recipe? Nothing, bar my unyielding desire to strive for perfection, I strive for a liver so delicious it would rival Prometheus' in driving pure addiction. I'd open a restaurant and name it Prometheus' and serve only liver on stone plates accompanied by Greek salads, hundreds would flock daily.
I shall replace these pictures on every iteration, dated. This is v1.
Background includes homemade kashk e bademjoon, sogan piyazi (sumac onion and parsley salad) and shirazi (cucumber and tomato salad).
Recipes should be rule based. There should be strict non-negotiable rules within a recipe that ensure strict guardrails for achieving the desired experience, not flavour, to allow for experimentation on flavour but the experience and emotion are matched. This ensures one can both understand the process, the extent of the rules and their application, the experience of the process and that of the end result, while still granting freedom of experimentation.
They should also be versioned. If you learn something, do not publish a new recipe, republish an existing one, which is why the photos above get replaced, not reposted. This is impossible on social media and most blogs now, people are attention starved and need to pay their bills, however, please have an indexable, versioned source.