Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (2024)

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Follow this detailed description of how to prepare beef liver and onions with gravy, just like Grandma used to make. Step by step instructions with photos are included.

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Old Fashioned Liver and Onions

Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy is a simple recipe that transforms beef liver into a tasty dinner. It is a dish that was on the dinner table back in the day, and this Old Fashioned Liver and Onions Recipe tastes just like Mom or Grandma made it back in the day.

Liver and onions is about as old fashioned as meals come. It’s not often eaten nowadays, but if you grew up eating it, you probably have an acquired taste for it. Plus, beef liver is a great source of an assortment of vitamins and minerals.

I’m guessing your mom or grandma made it for you growing up because back in the day, nothing went to waste. My Grandma was of the era of the Great Depression when you had to use up every bit of food you had.Once you’ve survived that, being frugal tends to stick, and that means using every part of the beef, including the liver.

Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy

Making beef liver and onions is quite simple. I’ve been looking for a recipe for quite some time. My dear friend Rachel (who’s only in her thirties, by the way) loves beef liver with onions. I actually thought she was kinda crazy for some time, but she kept insisting.

So once I finally found step by step instructions for how to fry beef liver with onions in a 1920 Good Housekeeping’s Book of Recipes and Household Discoveries, I set out to conquer this old fashioned recipe.

It turns out, Rachel was right. The flavors of the slow cooked onions and bacon grease, combined with pan gravy really mask the liver flavors of the beef.

Ingredient List for Simple Beef Liver and Onions

Beef Liver Slices, cut thin

Bacon Grease (vegetable oil or butter work too)

Onions

Salt

Black Pepper

Flour

Water

Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (4)

Tips for Fried Beef Liver

  • Make sure skin and veins are removed.
  • Order the liver sliced thin, around 1/4 inch in thickness.
  • Soak the liver in milk for 2 hours to remove some of the metallic, bitter flavors.
  • Use bacon grease to fry up the liver for the best flavor.
  • If the pan still seems dry, add vegetable oil or a tablespoon of olive oil.
  • Don’t skimp on the onions. They will help mask the gamey flavor of the liver.
  • Over-cooking the liver results in a tough beef liver. Fry the liver rapidly in medium-high heat.
  • Make a pan-gravy from the bits leftover in the pan.
  • Season with garlic powder, for more flavor.
  • Use crumbled bacon as a garnish.

How to Fry Beef Liver

Step By Step Instructions

  1. Slice onions thin. Fry in bacon grease in a hot skillet over medium hot heat until soft. Remove onions and set aside.
  2. Combine flour, salt and pepper. Dust thin-sliced beef liver.
  3. Fry rapidly in leftover bacon grease (add some vegetable oil if needed) until brown.
  4. Flip, add onions over top of the liver. Finish frying second side.
  5. Remove to a hot platter.
  6. Stir in a little bit of the remaining flour to the grease leftover in the pan, whisk.
  7. To the flour, add 1/4 cup hot water, whisking until a gravy forms. Let simmer for a minute or so.
  8. Pour over vintage beef liver and onions on the platter.
  9. Serve with mashed potatoes, if desired.

For the full recipe steps and ingredient amounts for vintage beef liver and onions, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

FAQs

  • Be sure the beef liver is sliced thin. This makes it more palatable.
  • Optional step: if you’ve got extra time, soak the liver in milk for a couple hours to remove bitter flavors.
  • I highly recommend using bacon grease for this dish; however, vegetable oil or butter will work too.
  • Either a cast iron skillet or regular skillet work fine.
  • Fry the beef liver rapidly so that it doesn’t get over cooked.
  • Don’t skimp on the onions!
  • The gravy step is optional, but highly recommended.
  • Beef liver is a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Copper, Folate, and Potassium.
  • Check out our Amazon store for our favorite kitchen picks.

So you have a bunch of packages of beef liver in your freezer from your freezer beef. What in the world are you supposed to do with all that beef liver?

  1. Fry it up with a bunch of onions and bacon grease to make beef liver and onions.
  2. Boil it, cut into small pieces, and treat your dog to a snack.
  3. Put raw liver in a food processor and pulverize. Freeze it in ice cube trays. Each time you fry up ground beef, add a couple frozen cubes of beef liver to add vitamins to your ground beef. It doesn’t affect the flavor, and your family will never know.

Recipes Grandma Would Make

Grandma’s Macaroni with Tomatoes Recipe

Old Fashioned Pickled Beets

Pinto Bean Pancakes

Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes

Favorite Main Dishes

Liver and Onions not your thing but you need ideas for an easy main dish? We love an easy protein made on the stove top or in the oven.

  • 12-Minute Old-Fashioned Ham Steak
  • Fried Pork Chops
  • Vintage Barbecue Burgers
  • Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Ham Steak
  • Chicken Fried Steak

What happens when you soak liver in milk?

Many recipes recommend soaking beef liver in milk for 2 to 3 hours before cooking. This process uses the natural properties of milk to tone down the bitter flavor of liver. This, in turn, makes the liver taste better. Soaking liver in milk also softens the texture so that you don’t have a tough texture. It is a highly recommended step.

Can you cook liver without soaking it in milk?

Yes, you can cook liver without soaking it in milk first. This step may not be 100% necessary; however, adding this extra step will result in a softer texture and a less bitter flavor.

Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (14)

Print Recipe

Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy – Old Fashioned Liver and Onions Recipe

Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy is a simple recipe that transforms beef liver into a tasty dinner. Old Fashioned Liver and Onions Recipe tastes just like Mom or Grandma made it back in the day.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Entree, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: beef liver and onions, beef liver and onions with gravy, beef liver with onions, how to fry beef liver, how to fry liver, liver and onions, old fashioned liver and onions

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Barbara

Ingredients

  • 3 Tablespoons bacon grease (butter or vegetable oil work too)
  • 3 small onions
  • 3/4 to 1 pound beef liver, sliced thin
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt or seasoned salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 cup hot water

Instructions

  • Slice onions thin.

    Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (15)

  • Fry in bacon grease in a hot skillet over medium-hot heat until soft. Remove onions and set aside.

    Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (16)

  • Combine flour, salt and pepper.

    Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (17)

  • Dust beef liver in flour mixture.

    Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (18)

  • Fry dusted liver in remaining bacon grease (if dry add a little bit of vegetable oil first) over medium-hot heat.

  • Once the bottom is golden brown, flip. Add the onions back on top and brown the second side.

    Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (19)

  • Remove to hot platter.

  • Optional: add a little bit of leftover flour to the drippings (no more than a tablespoon of flour), whisk. Add hot water, and whisk and heat until pan gravy forms.

    Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (20)

  • Pour over liver and onions on platter, and serve!

    Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (21)

Notes

  • Be sure the beef liver is sliced thin. This makes it more palatable.
  • Optional step: if you’ve got extra time, soak the liver in milk for a couple hours to remove bitter flavors.
  • I highly recommend using bacon grease for this dish; however, vegetable oil or butter will work too.
  • Fry the beef liver rapidly so that it doesn’t get over cooked.
  • Don’t skimp on the onions!
  • The gravy step is optional, but highly recommended.
  • Serve with Potato Pancakes!
Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (22)
Beef Liver and Onions with Gravy Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (2024)

FAQs

Do you have to soak liver in milk? ›

Some chefs insist on soaking in salt and lemon water. Others opt to soak in ice water or milk to lessen the intensity from an older animal. Others suggest that you should never soak a fresh liver and that its quick preparation is part of the appeal.

How do you cook liver so it tastes good? ›

  1. Avoid toughening the liver by putting wet liver in a hot pan. Dry the liver or pieces of liver by dredging it or dusting it with cornstarch, potato starch, flour or coarse cornmeal.
  2. Sauté it lightly in a thin coating of fat in a hot pan.
  3. Combine the taste of liver with one or more other interesting tastes:
Jun 18, 2021

Should liver be cooked fast or slow? ›

Since a raw liver has high water content, you have to cook it rapidly with medium to high heat. If you try slow cooking a liver, the meat will become dehydrated, leading to tough fibers and dry, chewy meat. Cook liver and other organ meats until they reach a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Why do you soak liver in milk overnight? ›

Milk is virtually pH neutral when liver is soaked in it it softens the texture and neutralizes any residual urine. All water does is wet your liver making one use more paper towels to pat the liver down and absorb the excess water.

How long should liver be cooked? ›

Cook over medium-high heat. Flip once, cooking each side for 3 minutes. Remove once done, and do not overcook the liver.

What makes beef liver taste better? ›

It's very simple to make but the three things that will set your liver above all others are: 1) soak in milk, 2) turn the liver as little as possible when cooking, and 3) don't overcook.

What takes the bitterness out of liver? ›

Some livers, like chicken livers, are mild enough to be cooked without any additional preparation. But beef liver, being from a larger animal, can be quite strong in flavor. There are ways however to diminish the strength of liver flavor by soaking it in whole milk (raw preferred!), apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice.

Why does liver go mushy when cooked? ›

If liver is to be sauteed, it should be purchased fresh, not frozen, since freezing breaks down the tissue and can make the finished dish a bit mushy. However, frozen liver, calf or beef, is perfectly acceptable for recipes that involve grinding up the meat.

Can liver be a little pink? ›

Livers should be cooked until they are no longer bloody in the core. Colour is not a reliable indicator of effective cooking. Studies have shown that liver tissue can remain pink after it has reached a safe temperature (see figure 2). Ensure juice from uncooked livers does not leak onto other foods.

How do you cook liver for the first time? ›

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add liver slices (work in batches if necessary) and cook until browned on one side. Flip and cooked the other side just until browned. Cooking time will vary, but should be minutes.

Which liver is best to cook? ›

What is the healthiest liver to eat? Different types of liver vary in the amounts of specific nutrients each one offers. But beef liver benefits your diet with the highest levels of most vitamins and minerals overall.

How do you know when beef liver is fully cooked? ›

Organs, such as kidney, liver, stomach, tongue, and tripe, from red meats (beef, veal, pork, or lamb) should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 160 °F as measured with a food thermometer.

How do you cook beef liver so you don't taste it? ›

The key is to slice and soak the liver; the soaking removes the pungent taste. After soaking, the liver is battered, fried, and dipped in garlic aioli -- it's a crowd-pleasing, crunchy preparation. Enjoy! Beef liver fry dipped in garlic aioli.

Is it better to soak liver in milk or water? ›

The secret to making good liver and onions is to soak it in milk before cooking. Don't skip this step! Some people say that liver has a metallic taste, bitter taste or slightly gamey taste.

What can I soak my liver in if I don't have milk? ›

To Do: Simply place your cut up liver in a bowl, barely cover with water and add the juice of a lemon or a tablespoon or two of vinegar. Soak for a few hours before cooking, drain and pat dry.

What can I soak my liver in besides milk? ›

Place your liver in a bowl with filtered water. Add 4-8 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, or whole milk (raw preferred.) Allow to soak for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. The time you soak is determined by the thickness of your slices and your texture preferences.

Can you soak liver in non-dairy milk? ›

Dairy Free: Use meat fat or coconut oil for frying the onions and the liver. Don't do the milk soaking variation. Grain Free: Prepare the liver without a flour coating, or choose a grain free flour. Avoid nut flour, as they will get too dark too fast.

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