Liver

The latest in my ongoing campaign to wean myself onto offal, starting at the shallow end with liver. Last time, it was lamb's liver, and I can't honestly say I enjoyed it. I tried it again, reasoning that if I blended it into a paté with various other things it would make the flavour a bit less aggressive. I was wrong. The other flavours - onion, garlic, pepper, a ton of dill - just seemed to somehow intensify the liver taste, rather than camouflage it. I got through the stuff, a couple of spoonfuls at a time over a few days at lunchtime, but it was an exercise in determination.

Nevertheless, after a couple of weeks off, it was time for round three. This time it was venison liver. I reasoned that since I don't like lamb that much (that's also something I'm working on), maybe lamb liver was a bad place to start. I let the slices sit in lemon juice for several hours before I cooked it, which allegedly softens the flavour. I fried it briefly - about 90 seconds each side in a hot, cast iron pan, then left it to sit off the heat for five minutes to finish under its own steam. Had it with onion fried with sage and pepper, and some strips of fried pancetta.

It was actually pretty nice. I almost enjoyed it. There were moments, when I wasn't thinking about it too much, when I really did enjoy it. Success!