Friday, September 5, 2014

on the grill -something different-chicken livers

i actually enjoy chicken livers and most of the time fry them with a bit of corn meal coating.
On occasions i will make a pate' which is to die for, but yesterday i wanted something a bit different.
I wanted to grill the chicken livers, with grilled onions and hot peppers.
Okay i was given a special piece of grilling equipment - a pan with holes.
 there were several parts to the preparation
1) the fire:
I use one of several brands of hardwood charcoal, but have actually enjoyed the Royal Oaks brand best.  (This despite find a significant amount of rocks, yes rocks in 3 bags).  Other bags have been fine,
I use a fire starter chimney (like Alton Brown uses on his shows and get a good fire with in 15 minutes, but i also use several pieces of wood..maple or cherry are local and occasionally hickory (which is my favorite, but also hazelnut, which is also local)
charcoal burning, wood down, charcoal on top, wait for flame.
Pan preparation:  I oil the pan and the grill grates and let them get hot.
I use canola oil
liver preparation:
probably this is the most complicated, because the liver is high in iron, it can have a bitter, metallic taste.
Standard method is to soak in milk for at least 1 hour
While fat is important, the most important is the calcium, which will exchange for the iron, a bit.
drain and discard the milk.
because this is on a flame and the livers have no fat, after they are drained get a good high temperature oil (like canola) and mix it in.
Add salt, pepper and any other spice (I sometimes use tarragon)
No matter what the livers may dry and so you want some form of sauce and i used a plain yogurt with tarragon, lemon and a bit of salt.
I always cook my onions and peppers first, but a 2 tiered grill so whatever i do works.
pan on the grill and it should be hot.
Add the chicken livers and mostly close the lid.
you actually get 2 things this way - a smoky flavor and the temperature, which should be about 300 to 350 F
10 to 15 minutes later open the grill and let more air in.
You will get flame, which should give you just the slight char on the livers that is very tasty.
They need to be cooked completely ( over 165 F), but not made into charcoal, use your eyes.
There was a lot more of the livers, but it was eaten rapidly, but you might get the idea.

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