Beef Liver and Onions
Beef liver and onions is an easy, tender, and nutrient-packed dish brimming with seasonings and aromatics. For liver lovers, this traditional comfort food recipe is a must-have. If you know, you know.
Eating internal organs, even from grass-fed animals, doesn’t turn on a lot of people. However, offal is an economic protein source. And an elite few know these often-neglected organs are nutrient-rich treasures. We know who we are.
Aside from protein, liver is packed with iron, zinc, and vitamins A, B6, and B12. So let’s take another look at this humble protein, shall we? While people just have liver with onions in the States, I grew up eating it with onions and tomatoes. So, the next time you go grocery shopping, add a pound or two of beef liver and whip up this easy, tasty, healthy recipe.
What Makes the Best Liver
I know you’ve heard that beef liver is slightly bitter and tough. But with a few tips and a handful of seasonings, it will become one of your family’s favorites. What’s the trick?
First, soaking beef liver in buttermilk for at least 2 hours before cooking it helps get rid of a lot of the gamey bitterness. Personally, I like that flavor, but it’s an acquired taste. Second, don’t overcook it. The longer you cook it, the tougher it gets.
How to Make Beef Liver and Onions
The Liver
- Rinse the beef liver, pat it dry, then put it in a medium bowl. Pour in enough buttermilk to cover it, and let it sit in the fridge for about 2 hours to tenderize it and eliminate any bitterness. (Photos 1-2)
- Season – Remove the liver from the buttermilk and drain off the excess. Season the liver generously with salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning. (Photos 3-4)
- Breading – Mix the flour, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika in a shallow bowl. Then dredge it in seasoned flour. Shake off excess flour and set aside. (Photos 5-6)
- Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet, then pan-fry the liver until browned, about 3 minutes each side. Avoid overcooking it, or it will toughen. Remove and set aside. (Photos 7-8)
The Onions and Tomatoes (Optional)
- Onions – Wipe out the skillet and add oil or butter. Sauté the onions and thyme for 10-15 minutes. Then add the garlic and Creole seasoning, and stir for about 5 minutes. You could stop here and serve the onions with the liver or move on to the tomatoes. (Photo 9)
- Optional – Add the tomatoes to the onions, and continue cooking for about 10 minutes. Add broth as necessary to avoid burning. Return the liver to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, just enough to heat it back up. (Photos 10-12)
- Adjust for seasoning and salt, and serve with rice.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Soak the liver in buttermilk for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator to tenderize it and enhance the flavor.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, you can soak the liver in water and the juice of a lemon or a tablespoon or two of vinegar. Drain and pat dry after soaking for at least 2 hours.
- Oil, butter, and bacon fat are all delicious ways to fry liver. I do love cooking up a side of bacon with this and using the bacon drippings to fry the liver. Hey, we only live once.
- Please don’t overcook the liver, or it will become tough like shoe leather. You want a hint of pink left on the inside.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
You can make liver ahead, but it tastes best hot off the stove. That said, don’t feel bad about making enough for leftovers because they’ll last a good 4 days in the fridge. Have you ever had a fast liver and onion sandwich for lunch? It’s amazing slathered with a little mayo and mustard.
What Goes With Liver and Onions
For a perfect meal experience, serve it with roasted or mashed potatoes. Try braised cabbage wedges and smothered green beans on the side for a hearty dinner. Enjoy!
More Nutrition-Packed Recipes to Try
By Imma
This blog post was originally published in April 2017 and has been updated with additional tips and beautiful photos.
Beef Liver and Onions
Ingredients
Liver
- 1-1½ pounds (450-700g) beef liver
- 2-4 cups (472ml) buttermilk (just enough to cover the liver)
- ¾ cup (90g) flour
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) onion powder
- 1 teaspoon (3-4g) garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) paprika
- salt and pepper to taste (about ½ teaspoon per pound)
- salt-free Creole seasoning to taste (I start with about a teaspoon)
Caramelized Onions
- 1-2 large onions, sliced
- 1-2 teaspoons (1-2g) fresh thyme, minced
- 1-2 teaspoons (5-10g) minced garlic
- 1-2 teaspoons (4-8g) Creole seasoning
Optional (but delicious) Tomatoes
- 1-2 tomatoes, diced
- ½ cup (118ml) chicken broth (if necessary)
- oil for searing
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
Beef Liver
- Rinse the beef liver, pat it dry, then put it in a medium bowl. Pour in enough buttermilk to cover it, and let it sit in the fridge for about 2 hours to tenderize it and eliminate any bitterness.
- Mix the flour, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika in a shallow bowl, and set aside.
- Remove the liver from the buttermilk and drain off the excess. Season the liver generously with salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning. Then dredge it in seasoned flour. Shake off excess flour and set aside.
- Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet, then pan-fry the liver until browned, about 3 minutes each side. Avoid overcooking it, or it will become tough. Remove and set aside.
Caramelized Onions and Tomatoes
- Remove any burned bits from the skillet before adding more oil or butter.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of oil or butter, followed by onions and thyme. Sauté for 10-15 minutes. Then toss in the garlic and Creole seasoning, and stir for about 5 minutes. Serve with the liver or move on to the tomatoes.
- Optionally, add the tomatoes to the onions, and continue cooking for about 10 minutes. Add chicken broth as necessary to avoid burning. Return the liver to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, just enough to heat it back up.
- Adjust for seasoning and salt, and serve with rice.
Tips & Notes:
- You can replace the buttermilk with regular milk, or add a tablespoon of white vinegar for each cup of milk to replace buttermilk.
- If you don’t have 2 hours to soak the liver in milk or buttermilk, at least 30 minutes will help.
- Use cornstarch instead of flour for a gluten-free option.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
I love everything spicy and African food is in my top 5 essentials of life, so when I ran across this recipe it was a must for the hubs and I. Let me tell you that we were not disappointed, in fact it was even better than I imagined. Thank you so much for this recipe and I look forward to trying more of your meals.
Awesome!! Thanks for stopping by, Tonya!
Had a try at this recipe today, it was absolutely delicious! Will definitely be making it again!
Wonderful! So happy it turned out well for you, Mallory. And thanks for letting me know.
Soaking in buttermilk is a good tip, I’ll see if I can get some this weekend and I’ll give it a try
It sure is. Do let me know how it works out for you. Oh, and you can add a tablespoon of white or apple cider vinegar to a cup of whole milk for the same effect.
Thank you for this recipe .
I tried it and it was very delicious . I soaked the liver in buttermilk ( it was a great idea)!
So happy it did turn out well for you, Justine. Thank you for taking the time to let me know.
Liver, Bacon and Onions, OH YES ! With a great dollop of mashed potatoes with peas and gravy MMMMMMM..We had this loads of times when I was a kid in England, no fancy cut veg or piled up looking like a piece of sculpture, just straight up wonderful dinner.The same goes for other “innards”, Heart and Kidney..
Great Goddess, does this bring back the memories…
There was a saying when I was growing up and learning to cook – ‘Save all bacon grease – you will be instructed in its use later’.
My Mom’s liver and onions were the fruit of that philosophy… she’d take calves liver sliced to a quarter or three eighths of an inch thick, dip it in buttermilk, dredge it in flour seasoned with garlic, pepper and salt, and then fry it in that bacon grease until it was melt in your mouth tender. The onions she’d fry in more bacon grease and the drippings from the liver.
We never had tomatoes with ours, but I could eat that liver by the kilogram – it was SOOOO GOOD. I can feel my arteries hardening just at the memory.
This looks lovely, Imma – thank you for that blast from the past. I shall have to try that trick of actually soaking the liver this week.
My mom used to serve bacon, liver n onions. She crisped the bacon n used the fat to cook the liver n onions YUM
Yes it is.