Calf's liver and onions is a quick, elegant dish where thin slices of butter-fried liver are paired with deeply caramelized onions deglazed with vinegar for a sweet-sour finish. The entire meal comes together in under 30 minutes with minimal ingredients.
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If you are unable to find fresh calf’s liver, you should be able to find it frozen. It will often come pre-sliced, which can be to your advantage since slicing liver can be a bit difficult. The demi-glace is optional since there is a pretty good chance you won’t have any on hand. The sauce will still be good without it.
Peel the onions and cut them in half from top to bottom. Slice them by cutting into strips, also from top to bottom. Onion strips cut in this manner are much more attractive looking than half-moons. Alternatively, the onions could be cut into rings.
Melt 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and 1 teaspoon of salt. Sweat the onions over medium heat until transparent and wet. Keep cooking them until they begin to turn brown, like the ones in the pan to the right. Then, deglaze the pan with ½ cup of vinegar. Set the pan to the side and start with the calf’s liver.
If you have found fresh calf’s liver, have your butcher clean it and remove the veins. If possible, have them slice it for you at ½-inch thickness, otherwise you will have to slice it yourself, which is tricky. That is, unless you freeze the liver slightly first, which makes the liver firm enough to hold its shape while you slice it.
Now that the calf’s liver is sliced nicely, it must be seasoned. I recommend that you refrain from seasoning it with anything other than sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper. If you need more flavor, try adding a little mace or crumbled sage.
The seasoning on the calf’s liver slices should have made them a little moist, which will help the flour to stick to them. You will want to use cake or all-purpose flour for this. Bread flour will work, but the consistency is not as nice because if its high-gluten content.
Melt 3 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Once up to heat, lay the dredged calf’s liver slices in the pan and fry them briefly—no more than 1 minute each side—unless you like chewy liver. Set the cooked liver to the side and toss the onions back in the pan. Add a splash of wine, stock, or the demi-glace, scrape up the good stuff (fond) stuck to the bottom of the pan, and put on top of the liver. Commence eating.
Leftovers can be refrigerated up to 2 days; reheat gently in a skillet over low heat to avoid toughening the liver.
Have your butcher slice it to ½-inch thickness if possible. If slicing at home, freeze the liver slightly first to firm it up and make it easier to cut cleanly without the meat shredding.
Fry for no more than 1 minute per side over medium-high heat. Overcooking makes liver tough and chewy; it should be tender and slightly pink inside.
Yes, but calf's liver is milder and more tender. Beef liver has a stronger flavor and requires the same quick cooking technique to avoid toughness.
The demi-glace is optional. The sauce made from caramelized onions, vinegar, and pan fond is delicious on its own. You can substitute with beef stock, wine, or chicken stock if you want extra body.
Season it with sea salt and black pepper before flouring. The seasoning will make the liver slightly moist, which helps the flour adhere better.
