• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Amira's Pantry
  • About me
  • All Recipes
  • Meal Plans
  • Shop
  • Subscribe!
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About me
  • All Recipes
  • Meal Plans
  • Shop
  • Subscribe!
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About me
  • All Recipes
  • Meal Plans
  • Shop
  • Subscribe!
×

Home » recipe

Beef Liver and Onions

Published: Feb 21, 2020 · Modified: Aug 1, 2020 by Amira · This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Yummly
Buttery onions with perfectly seasoned and fork tender beef liver ready in less than 30 minutes for an out of the norm dinner.
Total time 2 hours 25 minutes
Jump to Recipe

Beef liver is a budget friendly and nutrient packed kind of protein. Liver when cooked right is surprisingly tender and incredibly juicy. No more shoe leather and curly beef liver, and with all these buttery caramelized onions this recipe is sure to please.

My father in law seriously enjoyed this recipe as it was not chewy and easy for him to eat. He said " the texture and flavor of this liver is just right where liver should be". I will share with you a couple of tips at the end of the post so make sure to check them out.

A cast iron skillet with beef liver and onions garnished with chili peppers on top.

Beef Liver

I cannot believe I am saying this but I really liked liver when I was growing up!! Why this is a surprise? because if you have known me for a while now, you should be familiar that I did not like to eat at all when I was little. My mom suffered a lot to feed me anything but not with beef liver. Pasta, french fried and beef liver was my favorite dinner.
Organ meats are not eaten enough in the United States and they should be. If you are not familiar with eating liver make sure to check my guide here for how to start, buy and prepare liver.

Liver is so popular in the Middle East specially around Eid Al Adha . I've shared a recipe for saucy liver before and it is one of my husband's favorite. To tell you the truth I was brought up to a more rubbery texture for liver and I am ok with that I love liver whatever and however it will come out. But since I followed some tenderizing methods I even like it more.
My in laws liked this recipe so much and to my surprise, my little one enjoyed it and asked for more which really made me happy. Maybe he is following his mom's foot steps.

What you'll need

A photo showing ingredients with Liver and onions

How to cook beef liver

Sometimes it feels like a struggle to get tender beef liver but let me show you what I've done and will tell you some helpful tips at the end.

step by step images for making beef liver with onion
  1. Cut the liver into thin strips, if you have holes with connective tissues in the middle try to cut around these holes.
  2. Place the liver in a bowl, add vinegar and combine then pour milk over. Let it soak anywhere from 30 minutes to a whole day. I will explain that later.
  3. Take the beef liver out and pat dry with paper towels.
  4. Place back in the bowl and add all the spices and mix well to coat.
  5. In a cast iron skillet, heat oil then saute garlic for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
  6. Add the liver slices and sear for about 1 ½ minute per side. Work in batches until you are done with the liver. Set aside.
  7. Add the remaining oil and butter then brown the onion slices.
  8. Add the liver back then pour water/beef broth and continue cooking for 5 to 10 minutes until just before your liking. more on that too on the tips below.
Step by step photos for making beef liver with onions

Tips for getting tender beef liver

There are a lot of advice out there to make cook tender beef liver. My favorite are:

  • Use white vinegar and milk mixture to soak the beef liver. I am used to the texture, taste and smell of the liver so I soak mine for only 30 minutes and sometimes less. If you are new, it is highly recommended to soak it for up to 24 hours or at least 2 hours. I have found that soaking liver for that long takes away a lot of the flavor for my liking.
  • Specially if you are serving this to old people or little ones and do not want them to spit it in your face, you need to cut off as much as possible from the connective tissues and membrane. My beef liver had some holes with connective tissues in them so I had to cut this totally off so it will not bother them while eating.
  • Regarding cooking time: It is recommended to cook liver quickly and to get it off the heat right before it is done to your liking because it continues to cook after that.

I highly recommend that you click through to this liver guide before you start making this recipe to get more information especially if you are new to liver cooking and eating.

A plate with a serving of beef liver with some quinoa and sliced avocado on a concret table with half a lemon

You might need

The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

I love this Lodge cast iron skillet and use it for almost everything. I will share a post soon on how to take care and season your cast iron skillet.

Beef Liver

If you like this recipe do not forget to give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating and attach a photo of your finished dish. It is always a pleasure of mine to see your photos and check your own take of the recipe. Thank you.

A pot of food, with Liver and onions

Beef Liver

Buttery onions with perfectly seasoned and fork tender beef liver ready in less than 30 minutes for an out of the norm dinner.
4.85 from 19 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prevent your screen from going dark
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Mediterranean
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Soaking time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 418.7kcal
Author: Amira

Ingredients

For the liver soak:

  • 2 pounds beef liver sliced into strips.
  • 1 Tablespoon white vinegar.
  • 2 cups milk.

Seasoning:

  • 1 teaspoon pink salt or to taste, you can also use any salt you have.
  • 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin.
  • ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper.

To cook liver:

  • 4 Tablespoons olive oil divided.
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 garlic cloves minced.
  • 3 (600g) onions sliced.
  • 1 jalapeño or hot pepper if desired.
  • ½ cup water or beef broth.

Instructions

  • Place liver strips in a deep bowl, add vinegar and massage to mix well. Cover with milk and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
  • Remove liver from liquid and pat dry, discard the milk. Season with salt, pepper and cumin mixing well to cover.
  • In a large skillet or cast iron, add two tablespoons of oil then sauté garlic until fragrant for about 30 seconds.
  • Sear liver slices in batches for about 1 ½ minute on each side or until browned. Fry the Jalapeño if using.
  • Remove liver slices from skillet and set aside.
  • Add remaining oil and butter to the skillet then sauté onions for 5 minutes or until nicely browned.
  • Add liver slices back to the skillet and mix with onions.
  • Add water or beef broth and cook for 5-10 more minutes or until just done to your liking.
  • Add the jalapeño pepper back to the skillet and serve.

Video

Notes

Serve with:
This dish goes pretty well with Tabouleh, tahini, baba ganoush and pita bread.
Note: Soaking solution is not calculated in the nutritional values.
Please check the nutrition disclaimer policy.

Nutrition

Calories: 418.7kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 41.4g | Fat: 20.1g | Saturated Fat: 5.9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8.7g | Cholesterol: 582.6mg | Sodium: 168.1mg | Potassium: 696.2mg | Fiber: 1.9g | Sugar: 4.2g
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @AmirasPantry or tag #AmirasPantry!

Sign up and learn more about Mediterranean flavors

More recipe

  • A side view of a casserole dish with creamy chicken.
    Chicken Hash Brown Casserole
  • An image for this week's meal plan with text overlay.
    Meal Plan (13)
  • A dessert serving spoons with a wedge of baklava cheesecake being lifted.
    Baklava Cheesecake
  • A dessert plate with tulumba garnished with crushed pistachios.
    Tulumba (Balah El Sham)
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Yummly

About Amira

I’m overjoyed that you have stopped by! My hope is to introduce you to new flavors, creative ways and fresh takes on favorites. To help you create food with style that will bring everyone around your kitchen table. From weeknight dinners for crazy busy days to desserts with the “wow” factor, and classic comforts from the Mediterranean. One thing in common, they are all recipes that have been tried and tested by family and friends.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mona Morgan

    October 30, 2022 at 1:29 pm

    5 stars
    I prepared this dish tonight. Absolutely what Amira claimed... Tender, flavorful and so good on rice! I cooked this a few weeks ago, and the whole family enjoyed it!

    Reply
    • Amira

      November 02, 2022 at 4:21 pm

      Thanks Mona, I am glad your family liked it.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Amira Photo

Hey Y'all, I'm Amira.
I’m overjoyed that you have stopped by!
I send warm greetings from sunny Colorado. This blog combines weeknight dinners for crazy busy days to desserts with the “wow” factor, and classic comforts from the Mediterranean.
More About Me…

Ramadan Food

Ramadan-food

Popular Now

  • A stack of unleavened flat bead.
    Unleavened Bread Recipe; Yeast Free
  • Top view of a big bowl of chickpea salad.
    Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Recipe
  • A close up of food on a plate, with Apple Strudel
    Apple Strudel with Phyllo Dough
  • A top view pf a white bowl of potato soup.
    Instant Pot Chicken and Potato Soup

Footer

^ back to top

About

  • About Me
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for our latest recipes

Contact

  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2023 - Amira's Pantry

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.