Yes, I said it: the dreaded “L” word. Those who don’t love liver–like, 95% of the population–hate it or are too afraid and icked out to try it. Which is really a shame; liver is a nutritional powerhouse and provided it’s from a healthy animal raised and fed properly, is truly a superfood rival to any raw milk, spinach, or acai berry. But of course, there’s the taste. Prized by a few, loathed by many. However, it can be hidden!
I’ve been making my own sausage for several years, even before I went to real food. I found a recipe somewhere online and just copied it down on notebook paper, so I don’t remember where it came from. One taste and I vowed never to buy sausage from the store–or anywhere else, for that matter–again. I’ve always made it with ground beef or pork, but since I still have organs left from the half a pig I bought this summer, I decided to try making a big batch and mixing in some liver. I didn’t want to cook it all and then freeze it because let’s face it, the texture just isn’t the same after it’s been cooked and frozen. But since all the meat is frozen to begin with when you buy it in bulk, I was a little apprehensive about re-freezing raw sausage. In the end, though, I figured that supermarket meat is often frozen and then thawed prior to buying and people still freeze it when they get home, and (assuming it’s not tainted to begin with) it turns out fine. So that’s what I did, and we ate some last night. It turned out wonderfully! And no taste of liver at all!
Italian Liver Sausage
4 to 5 logs
- 3 pounds ground beef or pork, or a mixture of both
- 1 pound beef or pork liver, ground or pureed
- 4 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup paprika (yes, cup), plus 1/2 teaspoon
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
- 3 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons rubbed sage
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Mix all of the seasonings in a bowl. Add the meat and vinegar and blend well using your hands. Trust me, a spoon ain’t gonna cut it. I suppose you could try using a stand mixer, but if things go wrong, who wants raw meat flying around their kitchen? It only takes a few minutes to mix it up with your hands.
Cover and refrigerate overnight for flavors to blend–it really makes a huge difference in the taste, so don’t skip this part. If for some reason you’re going to cook all of the sausage right away, then go ahead and use it anywhere you’d use italian sausage. I like to roll it into little balls and bake, then put on pizza. But if that’s just way too much meat for you like it was for me, shape it into four or five “logs” and place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet, then freeze. Once frozen, place in a freezer bag or container and just pull out a log whenever you need one.
Here’s a peek into my bag:
(**Shared at Real Food Wednesday and Simple Lives Thursday**)
I just bought a pound of liver from our grassfed beef supplier… I’m going to try this!
LikeLike
I hope it works out for you!
LikeLike
As you know, Dad & I already like liver; however, this recipe certainly sounds wonderful & worth trying. Thanks.
LikeLike