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Nutrition Who eats liver?

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Football Bat

Football Bat

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I read that it's like taking a natural multivitamin with a B Complex supplement. I also read that old time strength athletes used to consider it a panacea and that olympic athletes eat lots of it because it boosts their energy and recovery. I had beef liver for the first time since I was a kid two days ago and I've been feeling more focused and energetic. I've been craving it like candy since that first serving and I've gone through 2 and a half pounds of it already. Could this mean I'm deficient in something?
 
Some people say that you can exceed the RDI of vitamin A when you eat too much liver, it's called hypervitaminosis . There is some controversy over whether natural vitamin A has the same toxic effects that come from synthetic vitamin A though.

I eat liver & get more vitamin A than the RDI but I've never noticed any ill effects. I only eat about 150 grams every few days though. 2 1/2 pounds does seem like a lot. Short term it won't hurt, but I'd be a bit cautious about eating that much for any more than a few days. A few times a week would probably be OK.
 
I'm a liver lover too. I bring some home, my dog goes nuts and my wife gives me one of those 'what have you done' looks and promptly leaves. She hates it. And strangely don't know anyone else you enjoys the livery pleasure. Fry up a big pile of onions in butter for at least 30 minutes, flash fry the liver and you have a mighty fine nutritious meal. S&P, splash of balsamic vinegar. Caramelised onions and liver, marvellous. For non liver lovers a great intro into the delights of liver.....it actually doesn't taste much of liver, less livery than a good pate. Maybe it's the texture thing, I dunno.
Deficiency? I really don't know.....your body might be telling you something, perhaps? Certainly often touted as the most nutritious food going, or one of anyway. I generally go for lamb's liver. If you know where your liver comes from then you can make assumptions of its health.....not sure about beef liver....older cattle, antibiotics, grass v grain doubts. Probably more important than steak or any meat cut when you consider liver as an organ, what it does etc and what has been through it. Lamb is a good option.....youth and grass fed. And very yummy. There is some doubts about how much you should eat, such is the nutrient density of vitamin A, you can get too much. Dunno what that is though. I go for once a week or so with pate in a salad now and then too. Easy to make your own pate too.
You should see the piles of saliva left by my dog when I walk in with liver and bone marrow! They know, you know.....
 
It's pretty tasty, I think. I like to mix it in with a bit of leaner meat because it's a little too rich for me to eat straight up.
 
I have eaten liver on occasion, but I have never really developed a taste for it, despite seriously trying. I hope the situation will some day change.
 
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I will be trying it in the near future. This year when I bought my bison meat I asked for all the "inside" goodies to try and all the bones for bone broth. The bison I get isn't "certified" organic, but is as organic as you can get. Family owned, pature raised, and no drugs.
 
pet' said:
Hello,

Fowl liver are also good with a pepper and cream sauce, and cooked apples.

Kind regards,

Pet'
Click to expand...

That one's been added to my menu! Thank you, merci.......recipes ideas from France, wonderful, guaranteed success!
 
I love liver, for me chopped liver reminds me of my childhood-no holiday dinner was complete without grandma's chopped liver (especially passover!)

My wife is not as big a fan of liver, so I usually reserve it as a special treat. There's a deli by my office that does amazing, enormous chopped liver sandwiches, so when we order from there I can easily get two lunches of chopped liver out of them, plus sometimes my mom makes homemade chopped liver and gives me some as well.
 
Twice a week. Grass fed, hormone free etc etc. Look at the strongest predators in nature, they always go to the organ meat first, mayhap they know something.

No issues with toxicity, and actually you can usually find some good deals with local butchers and such since its not high demand but i expect it will make a comeback.
 
My wife and I regularly eat liver, usually grass-fed. We get a 1/4 cow 1-2x/yr, and often can get more liver (and other organ meats) as many people are not fans. We started it for her, as she needed more iron, and found that kicks things up for her. We have 3 favorite ways to prepare it (warning, it gets weird from here):

  1. If you have a source of meats that you trust (healthy raised, you know the farmer, organic, etc), there is a raw option for eating liver. It must be frozen for at least 2 weeks prior to doing this, but even then, this is at your own risk, and I'm only sharing what we do. Once thawed, we slice a piece or two into small pieces, and I eat it straight. I find it quite refreshing & invigorating, as I get a huge boost of energy. A good choice if you've been overstressed, and not recovering the way you think you should.
  2. Version 2 is taking said small slices, putting them in a small bowl and ceviche style, add some lemon or lime juice on it. Instantly cooked. This is my wife's preferred method, and she just swallows pieces whole b/c she can't stand the taste
  3. My cooking method came out of my years of cooking liver, but hating it all the time, combined with living gluten free. I've tried a couple of non-wheat flour alternatives, but the best is a couple of Tbsp of coconut flour. The coconut flour is VERY absorptive of liquids, so the wetness of the liver lends nicely with coconut flour. Add spices to your dredge as you like, but I usually throw in salt, cayenne & paprika, with a dash of cinnamon on occasion. I usually have bacon on hand, so I either fry some up, or use some of the drippings from prior bacon servings. Fried onions work well in the bacon grease as well.
As to too much, I've usually had 1#, spread over 3 days with no ill effect. I think I went about 10 weeks once eating a pound per week with no problems. I don't find the craving for it as much since I've gone keto, so if you're needing it regularly for the boost, it might be a good idea to try keto and see if that doesn't help with the recovery, as eating organ meats is becoming a trend in the organic community again.

Now if I could only figure out what to do with kidneys & sweet breads that are just as tasty as my cooked liver...
 
I don't like the taste, but would like to eat somehow. I had heard others tale 1/4lb ground and mid with 1 lb of beef ground. I am not sure if this would mask the taste enough. I think I will try.
 
Liver & onions was a staple meal for me growing up. To this day, I love that meal, served with mashed potatoes or rice. My son likes it every now and then. I have even corrupted him to loving liverwurst & saltines......that was a meal I shared with my late Grandfather. He loved adding dill pickle chips to the liverwurst & crackers as well, chasing it down with a Coors.
 
I tried it this weekend. I didn't mind the taste, but the texture and dryness of the liver didn't appeal to me.
 
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