Having been pleased at the outcome of our fried and grilled calves liver recipe, I wanted to go back and try the more conventional approach. We had reverted to grilling the meat after initial frying as the temperature of our plancha/pan had really not been hot enough when we added the liver. The situation had been made worse because the amount of olive oil and the moisture from the olives almost allowed the meat to braise. So yes it was cooked but it looked very bland and did not have any external char. Our earlier recipe worked beautifully and we have now done this a number of times very successfully.
Curiosity, however, meant we had to go back and try the more conventional way of doing the whole cook on the pan/plancha. This time we had a combination of calves liver and some lovely fresh chicken livers we had bought for a terrine we were making (but more of that later).
The pan was put on the MiniBGE which had been set up in direct mode. The pan was allowed to heat up for a good 5-6 mins before the meat was added. As a final precaution we also did the sizzle test just touching the liver into the hot oil. Only when this really sizzled was the liver aded to the pan. As you can see from the picture on the left the pan was so hot that by the time the last piece of liver was added the first piece had cooked through and the meat was almost ready to be turned. 
The pieces were turned over and at this point the olives were added and the BGE closed to complete the cooking. As you can see the liver had taken on that lovely caramelised colour that you only get at high temperatures. As the pan would have cooled by the simple act of adding the liver it was left for around 2 minutes before checking that the second side was well coloured.
The liver was again served with a green salad and a little balsamic dressing.
The question remains – which way is best? I have to say I am not sure! Instinctively, I would be tempted to go with this single pan (no grill) method as it is a classic way to cook liver. However, our 2 stage method does give the liver some very attractive grill lines and a little more sense of being charred. It also has the advantage that you can delay the last phase of the cooking to that very last minute, when you are sure everyone is ready!
The final question – calves liver or chicken liver?
I love them both…………………… so you are just going to have to try yourself!
Fried liver duo with black olives
Flash fried calf and chicken liver with black olives
Ingredients
- Calves liver
- Chicken liver
- Black olives (handful - stoned)
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Directions
- Step 1 Set up the BGE for direct cooking
- Step 2 Heat a heavy bottomed pan or plancha and some olive oil until hot enough to pass the sizzle test
- Step 3 Add the liver to the plancha and turn as soon as caramelised. Add the black olives and cook the second side until it takes on enough colour
- Step 4 Season and serve immediately
