mr-pirk

I am having trouble with cooking liver and onions from an old doe I shot. I have made two attempts and had poor results both times. The first attempt I put about a 1/4" depth of olive oil in a cast iron skillet. I had soaked the liver slices, sliced about 1/2" thick in cold water for about an hour. I placed the slices in butter milk and then dredged them through seasoned flour. When the oil was hot I placed the slices in the skillet. I cooked the slices till no more red blood was coming out during the cooking process. I turned the slices over several times during the cooking process. The results were as tough as shoe leather.
On the second attempt I soaked the liver slices in butter milk for about 2 hours after removing the thin membrane from the edges of the slices. The slices were about 1/2" thick. I then rinsed the slices under cold water and then patted them dry. I melted enough salted butter in at the cast iron skillet to reach a depth of about 3/8". Once the melted butter was hot I dredged the slices in seasoned flour and shook off any extra flour till it was only a light coating of flour on the slices. I turned the slices over after cooking the first side about 2 minutes. I let the slices cook for about another 2 minutes and turned them again. There was still red blood oozing out of them. So I turned them over again and cooked them for another 2 minutes, there was still red blood oozing out. I turned them over one last time and cooked them for 2 minutes and took them out of the skillet. There was still a bit of red blood seeping out of them. I checked them for tenderness. They were as though as shoe leather.
I like calf liver and onions and I don't want to give up on the deer liver but I am about at a loss to figure this out. I am thinking the next attempt I will slice the liver thinner, maybe 1/4" and do as I did in my second attempt.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Mr-Pirk

Oldtimr

You used too much cooking oil, you do not need to dip the liver in anything before you dredge it in flour. Cut the liver into smaller pieces, 1/2 inch thick is too thick, an eight to a quarter inch is better then dredge and put in a light coating of oil in the skillet, not a quarter of the way up the side, you are not deep frying. The thicker you cut it the longer you must cook it and the drier it will be once the liver is browned on one side add the onion slices, also thin, turn the liver and cook both together flipping and stirring until the onions are soft. and it will be f=done just right, use a medium heat not high heat, forget the butter, that makes no sense. Flour will stick to liver, you and not making a breading in the liver just something to soak up the juices. Also salt and pepper your dredging flour so the liver will be seasoned. You are making something simple way to complicated.

mr-pirk

Thanks for the advice Old Timer, I was thinking the slices were too thick. Thanks for confirming that.

Thanks
Mr-Pirk

Oldtimr

Good luck. If at first you don't succeed, keep trying. I hope it works for you.

tim pierce

I do fork tender liver and onions like this:
Slice liver, I like it about 1/2" thick. Trim all the membrane off at the edges. Dredge in seasoned flour, brown in a mixture of oil and butter turning once or twice. Add sliced onions and a cup or so of water, or beef broth and cover with a lid. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until your desired degree of tenderness is reached. The liver needs to be braised to get it tender. This method works every time.

mr-pirk

Excellent advice. I will certainly give that recipe a try. I think it might work well with some other cuts too.

Thanks
Mr-Pirk

BackcountryBloodline

Don't forget the bacon!

Daveboone

My wife loves venison liver, me not so much...but I get in a lot of trouble if I don't bring it home.
We usually brown bacon, then flour and season a well rinsed sliced liver, brown in the bacon grease and then cover with catsup.
The best liver comes from young deer. This years liver was from a mature buck, and it was inedible. I had also shot older does that were not worth cooking, which may be your concern. Also, it does not age well. We wont eat the liver if it is older than a day, and never freeze it. it just doesn't keep well (not going bad, just ...flavor changes. )