Simple turkey liver appetizers

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I recently bought a whole turkey. They are usually very cheap after the American thanksgiving and before the Christmas holidays. I didn't buy it to roast it and serve 12 peoples but to butcher it in smaller pieces that I could use in a variety of recipes. It's a cost saving decision that I would gladly discuss in a latter post.

This turkey came with a little bag containing the heart and the liver, nothing more. I usually love these little bagged gifts but I was a bit disappointed by its meagre content. I nonetheless decided to make the best use of what I had and made a small liver appetizer for my girlfriend and I and dumped the heart with the bones from the carcass to make a broth.

Contrary to many people, I love liver. My mom cooked the very traditional liver and onions quite often and although there were times when I protested eating it, I grew up loving this meat. Over the years however I learned that liver was not always a healthy choice: it contains a high level of cholesterol and in rare cases a good amount of pollutants. As with everything else, I guess it means we should eat liver in moderation. As such, I don't buy this delicious part of meat very often.

Conversely, when I get my hands on free liver (from a chicken or a turkey for instance), I find it hard not to cook it and savour it. This is exactly what happened a few days ago. I simply pan-fried the turkey liver until medium-rare and served it with a bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and my carrot and anchovies sauce leftover from my recent paper chef contribution. To this, I also added a bit of sauteed watercress and a few leaves of coriander. I think it was delicious but I know I won’t convince the many liver-phobics… Their lost!