Best Liver and Onions – (Nourishing Traditions)

So you’ve decided to include liver in your diet! Or maybe you are a liver pro and just wanted to try making a new liver recipe. Either way, you are going to love this classic Nourishing Traditions liver and onions recipe! It is so easy to make and tastes delicious!

What is special about Nourishing Traditions Liver and Onions?

The original recipe for Nourishing Traditions Liver and Onions can be found on page 307 of the Nourishing Traditions cookbook. I highly recommend that you get that cookbook for yourself! You can get it here. It is full of traditional recipes and so much ancestral wisdom on eating and preparing food! I’ve altered the recipe a little bit from the original to make it as easy and delicious as possible.

This recipe for Nourishing Traditions Liver and Onions uses only real ingredients and nothing harmful! It is also super simple to make. If you are looking to get your organ meats in every week but don’t exactly love liver, you will be surprised when you taste this recipe. It almost tastes like fried chicken!

History of Eating Organ Meats

Throughout history organ meats have been prized in traditional cultures. They are the among the most nutrient dense foods on planet and contain an amazing amount of essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. Only a century ago recipes for organ meats were common and served in homes at least once a week! Now we are being told to avoid eating all meat due to it’s “health risks”. Nonsense! In traditional cultures organ meats were fed to growing children and babies because their parents knew of the amazing nutrients found in organ meats! You will not regret adding organ meats into your diet once a week! If you want to learn more about how to eat organ meats read my post here.

Is Nourishing Traditions Liver and Onions good?

Yes! You’ll be surprised at how delicious it tastes! The livers are perfectly crispy and tender and pair amazingly with the buttery, soft, onions. Eating your liver every week will be easy with this recipe! I would enjoy this dish every day if I could.

How often should I eat Nourishing Traditions Liver and Onions?

You don’t have to eat this exact recipe every week but I’d recommend eating organ meats at least once a week. Whether that’s adding a little bit of frozen liver to your smoothie, taking liver capsules, eating ground beef with organ meats mixed in, or liver and onions.

Ingredients for Nourishing Traditions Liver and Onions:

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make Nourishing Traditions Liver and Onions:

Liver

You’ll need 1 1/2 pounds of sliced chicken or beef liver for this recipe. I recommend organic, free range (or grass-fed) livers. Try to find organic.

Lemons

This is for removing some of the strong organ taste from the livers. You’ll want to soak the liver in the juice of 2-3 lemons for a few hours or overnight. You can also use lime juice or milk in place of lemon juice. Technically you only need to do this to beef liver because the taste is much stronger than chicken, but if you want a nicer texture you can do it anyway. I find that soaking my chicken livers in milk for 24 hours make them perfectly tasty and gives them a nice texture.

Arrowroot Flour

This is for coating the livers in before sauteing. It gives them a nice texture and taste! You can get some here. You can also use a different flour such as sprouted whole wheat flour, coconut flour, einkorn, or unbleached pastry flour.

Sea Salt

Sea salt is full of amazing minerals and is essential to our health! Be sure to use real, unrefined salt and not table salt! Adding salt to this dish brings out so much flavor. You can get my favorite brand here.

Pepper

This seasoning tastes great in this dish! However, if you don’t like the taste of pepper you can leave it our or add very little. You only need 1/2 a teaspoon. You can experiment with different seasonings if you like such as garlic or parsley.

Ghee or Lard

This is for sauteing the onions and liver in. Ghee is perfect for this recipe! In my opinion, you could sauté anything in ghee and it would taste great. Ghee is so nutrient dense and adds so much flavor to to the whole dish! Don’t use seed oils! If you are confused by which oils and fats are healthiest, read my post here. I always recommend grass-fed ghee. If you want, you can use lard, or tallow in place of ghee for a different flavor!

Onions

Yep! You’ll need 4 thinly sliced onions for this Nourishing Traditions Liver and Onions Recipe. Onions are one of my favorite foods and there is no better way to eat them than cooked thoroughly with some butter and salt. Try to buy organic if possible! For a twist on the classic liver and onions recipe, try using mushrooms like shiitake in place of onions. Preparation will be the same.

All Ingredients for Nourishing Traditions Liver and Onions with measurements

If you need a refresher or want to have all the ingredients and measurements in one place, here you are:

• 1 1/2 pounds slice chicken or beef liver
• juice of 2-3 lemons (or 2 cups milk)
• 1 cup arrowroot (sprouted, einkorn, coconut…) flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 8 tbsp ghee, lard, or tallow (may need more)
• 4 finely chopped onions

Kitchen tools for Nourishing Traditions Liver and Onions:

Now that you know all the ingredients for making this delicious dish, you’ll want to make sure you have all the proper tools. Here’s what you might need.

A Cast Iron Pan

You can also use any frying pan, but a good heavy, cast iron pan will be best for frying the livers. You can get a good one here.

Tongs

You’ll need tongs to sauté the onions, flip the livers, and transfer the food from the pan to the plate well sauteing. My favorite one can be found here.

A Cutting Board

When you go to chop the livers you’ll need a cutting board. You can get one here.

How to make Nourishing Traditions Liver and Onions

Now for the fun part! Making your yummy liver dish.

1. Marinate the Liver and chop the onions

Marinate your chopped liver in your lemon juice (or milk) for a few hours. (I’ve left mine in milk for 48 hours and it still worked out okay!) After the livers have marinated, rinse them off, pat them dry and set in a large bowl. While the livers marinate, chop your onions into thin slices to prepare them for cooking.

2. Coat the livers

Into the large bowl, add the arrowroot powder, salt, and pepper. Use a spoon or your hands to coat the livers thoroughly in the mixture.

3. Sauté the liver

Next heat your skillet to medium high heat. Add about 4 tbsp ghee. You may need to add more as you sauté. You’ll want to have a plate or bowl nearby to place the livers on right after you sauté them. After the ghee is sizzling, use your tongs to place a few coated livers into the sizzling ghee at a time. After they are cooked on each side place them on the plate. They will look browned on the outside. Continue with this until you’ve finished all the livers. After you are done, place the plate of fried livers into a warm oven (125 Fahrenheit or less) or a warmer. This will keep them nice and cool while you move onto the onions.

6. Sauté the onions

Next heat up the rest of your ghee in the pan on medium low heat and add the onions. It will take around 30-45 minutes for the onions to soften. Trust the process. You’ll need to use your tongs to stir the onions a little bit so all of them get cooked. Once they are done they should be very soft and buttery.

7. Enjoy!

After your onions are done, add the livers to the mix and serve! You are going to love it!

Questions you might have about Nourishing Traditions Liver and Onions

Does liver contain toxins?

Not when it is grass-fed (or free-range). The liver is used to remove toxins from the body and does not retain them. However, this may be different for caged and soy fed animals. Try to source your liver properly.

Can children eat liver?

Yes! Traditional cultures often times fed organ meats to babies as their first food! Children will love liver if they grow up eating it!

Where do I buy liver?

You can buy liver at most grocery stores or from your local butcher. Try to find organic, free range or grass-fed livers.

How often can I eat Nourishing Traditions Liver and Onions?

I’d stick to no more than once a week. You can get sick from eating to much nutrient dense organ meats! Once a week would be great!

Why should I eat organ meats?

I’ve got a whole post on that here!

Have fun!

Now that you have this delicious recipe you can make it for friends and family and show them how delicious healthy eating can be! If you (or someone you know) are a teen confused by all the mixed signals given to us by society about food, read my post about healthy eating for teens (from the perspective of a teen who was once very confused about food!) Hope this helps you on your Nourishing Journey!

WANT TO KEEP NOURISHING?

Get my FREE e-book here! This eBook, “5 nutrient dense foods anyone can cook with” is full of Nourishing recipes and tips for beginning your nourishing journey!