We've always been meaning to try it but either forget or it gets damaged. Beyond that, has anyone here kept the liver and how do you prepare it? Can I do the standard "liver and onions"?

Everyone that I know that has tried it (and likes liver generally) has said they would never touch it again. I have never been brave enough.

Liver and onions, just like beef liver.
Sposta be good for you!

Most seem a little squeamish about the liver, but will eat the heart.

My Dad had a hunt camp trick, he would cut holes in the liver to disguise it as heart, and fry it.

The more squeamish would glean the pan for the heart meat (with the holes) and never knew they were eating the liver.

Yup, it's pretty darned good. Karen is the cooked liver-lover in our family and she adores elk liver.

Heart? Dang, I never, ever met a heart I didn't LOVE.

Raw elk liver is quite excellent. I actually like it a lot. Better than deer, but ANY raw liver is fantastic.

Steve

Properly prepared elk liver is just plain awesome. I would suggest trying a spike elk liver soaked over night in salt water rinsed and sliced about 1/2" thick. Cook the onions first then cook the liver medium rare. Salt and pepper to taste. Push the onions and liver to a separate plate and make gravy with the pan leavings. Serve over toast with a splash of Tabasco - that is GOOD eating!!

That aint right!!

Exactly!!!

Here is a visual aid for those who need a picture

It has its own taste, not bad just its own. Much like cow liver. Fried up with goodies its very good. I also like the heart better.

Heart ROCKS


Steve

Elk liver is great, well done with onions. Secret is to skin it before slicing to cook. Roll in flour and fry.

I've never cared for liver, elk, beef, or otherwise, but it's very healthy meat. If it has white spots don't keep it. They're parasites. That's pretty rare around here, though. I've only seen it a couple times in my life.

The heart, now, that's a different story. I love it baked with dressing, stovetop or homemade.

Take a parasitology course and then tell me how appealing that liver is.

It was always a tradition in elk camp to have a meal with fresh liver and onions. Wasn't all that fond of it as a kid, but it is fantastic given a chance. The best way I have had it is a simple recipe..soak in salt water for several hours. Remove and bread with a 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/4 tsp Mrs Dash. Fry till golden brown and remove from heat. Sliced onions are then cooked till tender..add liver back in with the onions to warm then serve.

I have found that I love raw elk liver cut up into 3/4 inch squares! Makes great catfish bait and then you really have some good eating.

I love elk liver as well as deer liver. Bigwhoop, just cook it as you would any other liver. Personally, I like it done medium well with onions. Good stuff!

Brine overnight, rinse, pat dry and thinly slice.
Slowly sautee 4 onions thinly sliced and set aside (covered and warm).
In the pan where the onions were, heat to high, and add several slices of pancetta then the liver.

Cook the liver briefly on all sides until done, add the onions and toss together to mix.

Place in a serving dish and drizzle with a good balsamic vinegar and salt/pepper to taste.

The one time I tried elk liver it tasted very bitter. Does the salt water bath help this? I like bovine liver just fine.

Like DZ I think heart is the MEAT. Too bad I practically blew this years elk heart to smithereens.

I've only tried 3 kinds of liver: deer, elk, cow. To me, cow liver is "strong", deer liver is "mild", and elk liver is just like deer liver but big like a cow liver. If you like it, there's lots of it. If you don't like it, there's lots of it.

Personally, I quit eating liver. I used to think I liked it, but then one time mom mis-labeled a package as steak to fry. It stunk like [bleep] when I cooked it. It had this weird texture like it was badly lockerburned or something. It was just NASTY. A couple days later I looked at it again and realized what had happened. I decided if I don't like it when I don't know what it is, I don't actually like it, so I quit eating it. I give it to my dad and aunt instead.

I've never been a fan of liver and onions. I don't like onions cooked with meat. We'd roll it in flour and fry it in bacon grease. Mom would fry taters, then make gravy from the liver drippings. I'd usually ask for spinach to go with it. Back when I thought I liked liver, that was one of my favorite combinations.

Tom

I eat livers of cow elk and calves, and they are consistently good. But, after trying rutting bull elk liver twice - never again. So, the answer depends on the elk.

Elk liver is YUMMY!!!

Why not just eat dirt? Isn't it the same?

Yeah, I try to throw it away as far as I can...

Technically no, but in reality yes. I have eaten several livers from my red deer in Europe. Look up the red deer under its latin name and it is the same as elk. It was very good.

Goooood stuff, After the salt brine soak liver in milk for a few hours before prep. It takes the bitterness out.

That almost ended my hunting career! Was able to put it all in proper context.
I am glad to read no one suggested wrapping it in bacon. But I was hoping Mule Deer would chime in as he and the Mrs. might have experimented with it.

Had elk liver from my elk this past weekend. Great with onions and cooked over the camp fire.

Just had elk liver from a spike elk I killed. Soaked over night in salt water.

Always check condition of elk deer liver and this liver was in good shape.

Thin sliced, Dredged in in flour, salt pepper paprika, garlic powder.

Cooked in olive oil, onions


Very good

First, I've never eaten deer liver, but have red deer, which again has to be reel close. I've found this to be true of white tail and espically true of red deer and sika, a cousin of reds and W/Ts. It is excellent unless the animal is in rut. In that case, toss it! When I was in Africa, they soaked it in something oily, something similar to Italian dressing, and grilled on a BBQ grill w/onions. It was real good, but I haven't been able to duplicate it here. capt david

Yup I have but I prefer Peanut Butter and Jelly,my choice growing up in Elk camp over liver....Some of my family likes it so I usually bring it back butttttt if weight is an issue,the wolves can have it!!!

My Grandma fixin Elk Liver and I was gone....



Jayco

I have never tried elk liver but I do like liver from a young deer. Pork liver is my favorite. miles

Mrs Dash is the answer. That and cooking in bacon grease.

Well I see to some its great and to others its just dirt. Exemplifies a lot of extremes on topics we have here. I think for those who had experiences with the Depression or other similar hard times are more resourceful in utilizing more of what we kill. Not that it is wanton waste to discard the liver or heart, but a lot depends on your upbringing.

That is also true with what is used as food from farm animals.
Some of the old ways are disappearing.

It's always been a tradition in our Elk camp to eat the liver and hearts from the kills cooked over the camp fire with fried potatoes. I think it's good. One of our group grabbed a cold left over liver slice out of the pan the next morning and slapped it between two slices of bread and ate it for breakfast. He said it was good but I'm not sure I believe him. :>)

I ate a piece of my first elk's liver raw when we gutted her. It was horid.

For many years it was my practice to drive far out of my way to Burns, OR to give Francis Egan any liver I might have collected. With his passing I don't know what to do with the worthless things.

But Elk heart is mana from heaven.

Some like it some don't, I never been much of a liver eater of any kind. However liver & onions was always the traditional meal the night of a dear or elk kill. Soaking it in milk seemed to "sweeten" it up. Some was better than other, none of it was as good as the rest of the animal.

As a youngster some 50+ years ago one of my favorite sandwiches was buttered bread with cold liver and onions inside. Definitely must have been an aquired taste. As my dad used to say when I complained about meat or liver being tough he said- It's tougher when there ain't none.

Liver is guts and should be left with the guts. Now heart....

L...liberal
I...internal parts,
V...vaginally discharged,
E...excreted by
R...repulsive prostitutes

you eat it, not me !

You hit the nail on the head I think. My dad suffered the depression on the farm in Missouri, and strangly, I dont love liver, but I eat liver thanks to him. I will say that my youngest boy cussed liver, and while I was cooking it about 10 -12 years ago, the night before his uncle, granddad, and I left for Idaho deer hunting, I told him to try some of my first batch, and while I was BS ing with my brother in law and cooking the next batch, I looked around and Jake had eaten the entire first batch. He's liked liver ever since.

YUCK !!!

we ate it all the time. we would soak it in saltwater for several hours with the heart.

I like liver if its cut real thin about 1/4 inch slices with a lot of onions cooked in butter. Cook it well and make sure the onions are cooked well too.

Personal preference but that is how i liked it.

if you cut it too thick it will be real pasty in your mouth.

Liver taste like game meat that hasn't been taken care of to me.

No thanks.

Up in Oregon elk hunting with Pop he shot this bull on a dead run dropped one shot thru the neck 270 rifle. He pulls out the liver/heart, WOW that was the biggest liver I had ever seen, soaks it in salt a few hours, cooks up the onions, flours the liver and fries it. I had 3 portions that night, best I ever ate. The tradition continues to this day. Try buffalo liver some time, sweet!

Keep in mind that the liver is the "oil filter" of internal organs.
Then remember that a bull elk spends as much time as possible in the summer licking cow piss to check for breeding timing.

You sure you want to eat that?

P

Mrs. Glock asked me this afternoon what I would like for supper. I had just finished reading this thread, so I said I wanted some elk liver. She said well you will have to cook it then. So I when to the freeze and got out a package and let it thaw. Then I fried it in flour, salt, black pepper and fried it in hot oil. Then I sauteed half of and onion, then added a couple of Tbs. of flour and made a dark roux, then added 2 cups of water and put the fried liver back in the skillet and let it simmer about 15 minutes. Made a pan of biscuits. Served the gravy over rice with the liver, with the hot biscuits on the side.
I was carrying on about how delicious it was, and the wife said let me have a taste. She said it was delicious and that she wanted some. So now I guess I will have to share liver with her.

Tim

Liver and onions can taste really good. Then did some reading about what can be in there. No more.... Kinda like eating his oil filter...