My Style of Livery

[madbaker]

This week's Resolution Recipe: two different chicken liver recipes. These are the last batch from the war.
How to prepare the livers of fowl, pullet, pork, or other animals.

If using veal livers, cut into pieces the size of a walnut and roll in salt, fennel seeds, and sweet spices; and wrap them in pork caul fat or that of veal, or better yet, that of kid, and cook them on a spit but be careful not to overcook.

1 lb livers (I used chicken livers, which I halved)

1 lb livers (I used chicken livers, which I halved)
4 parts powder douce
2 parts salt
1 part fennel seed
pork caul fat

Mix spices together. Roll livers lightly in spice mixture, wrap in caul fat, and skewer. Grill until done. Using two skewers makes the livers less likely to fall off.
Yummy!

Little Livers
Get the liver of any animal you wish, cut it up into pieces the size of a walnut, and coat the pieces with good spices and salt; then tie them up one by one in a clean piece of mesentery (peritoneal membrane) and mount them on a spit; they should not be overcooked.

Same as above, but using cinnamon, grains of paradise, pepper, salt, ginger, and saffron.

What worked: They were both good. The first recipe was better; the sweet powder douce contrasted better, as did the fennel. Fresh grilled liver straight off the fire is faboo and once someone suggested the two-skewer solution, things went much more smoothly.

What didn't: I had some initial problems mixing the spices as it was breezy, so sometimes the livers were over-salted, -fenneled, etc. Also some of them didn't get quite cooked - I need to work on better judging done-ness.

Will I make it again? Certainly. bonacorsi suggested assembling these at home and freezing so they can be removed and plopped onto the grill. This makes a lot of sense to me.
What I'm reading: Adrian Tchaikovsky, Empire in Black & Gold

Comments

[dame-cordelia.livejournal.com]

It was fun helping you assemble the little livers. They were easy to make and very tasty.

Now I just need to find a real butcher where I can order the fatty membranes.

[kareina.livejournal.com]

Reading a blog today I thought of you: http://rainvandenberg.blogspot.com/2010/07/cooking-mongolian-with-enhee.html The recipe may or may not be period, but this is how they are cooking sheep's heads in Mongolia today. While the writer is a bit weirded out, somehow I don't think you would be...