Grill/Barbecue

Grilled Calf's or Beef Liver Served With A Famous Romanian Sauce Mujdei

by:
May  7, 2013
4
4 Ratings
Grilled Calf's or Beef Liver Served With A Famous Romanian Sauce Mujdei
  • Serves 4-6
Author Notes

Please do not say YAK before you make and taste this liver dish. Liver perfectly cooked is perfectly delicious. Grilled until golden on the outside but still rosy and tender inside, it is truly luscious.
Because liver is an organ meat, its flavor is usually rich and intense. Beef liver from calves is the most palatable meat because the flavors have less time to intensify. When you prepare this dish, marinate beef liver before cooking it. By marinating it, the meat will become tender and the flavor will mellow to make a delicious beef liver meal. —Kukla

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • For the Mujdei sauce (Makes 1 cup)
  • • 1 bunch parsley, leaves finely chopped
  • • 1 bunch dill, fronds finely chopped
  • • 2 -3 large garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed
  • • 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
  • • About 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • • 1/2 cup strong concentrated chicken broth, at room temperature
  • For the marinade; marinating and grilling liver
  • • Juice of 2 lemons
  • • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • • 1/2 cup dry sherry wine
  • • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely ground
  • • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  • • 2 pounds calf's or beef liver, cut into about 1 to1 1/2-inch thick slices
  • • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions
  1. For the Mujdei sauce (Makes 1 cup)
  2. Place the parsley, dill and garlic in a medium mixing bowl and toss to combine. Add the vinegar, salt, red and black pepper and stir. Pour in the chicken broth and mix until well combined. Let sit for 30 minutes so that the flavors blend.
  1. For the marinade; marinating and grilling liver
  2. To make the marinade: Juice the lemons and place the juice into a glass bowl; add the olive oil, sherry wine, parsley, ginger and red pepper flakes to the bowl and mix the ingredients well.
  3. Rinse the liver with hot water and loosen the membrane covering the meat with your fingers. As you hold the liver under hot running water, pull the membrane off the liver and discard it. Place the liver into a shallow dish.
  4. Pour the marinade over the liver, and flip it several times to coat all sides with the marinade. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. Chill the liver in the refrigerator for about two hours.
  5. Preheat a charcoal or gas grill to medium-high. Remove the liver from the glass dish; discard the marinade and dry very well with pepper towels.
  6. Dip liver slices in the melted butter. Place on the grill about 4 inches above the fire. Grill until liver is browned, for about 3 minutes per side. Turn once. Do not overcook; it should be still pink inside.
  7. Remove from grill to a serving platter, sprinkle with salt and pepper and tent with foil for about 10-15 minutes; then, if you like, slice into thinner slices on a bias. Serve with the mujdei sauce. Grilled or sautéed in oil and butter onions and mushrooms is a very traditional side dish for liver.
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12 Reviews

ChefJune
ChefJune May 7, 2013
Oh my, this sounds wonderful! Never thought of grilling liver, but why not?
 
Kukla
Kukla May 7, 2013
Thank you ChefJune! If you like crispy and browned meat, but still pink and juicy inside, it is a dish for your to try.
 
QueenSashy
QueenSashy May 7, 2013
Cannot agree more! It has to be pink inside. Love the dish!
 
Kukla
Kukla May 7, 2013
Thanks QueenSashy! Coming from Eastern Europe, I am sure you know many wonderful dishes prepared from offal.
 
pierino
pierino May 7, 2013
Anything offal is mighty fine with me. I had a bowl of menudo for a late night dinner yesterday.
 
Kukla
Kukla May 7, 2013
Where I come from, any part of the animal is used as long as it is very fresh and prepared with love, pleasure and knowledge. Thanks a lot for the comment pierino!
 
pierino
pierino May 7, 2013
Kukla my personal approach to eating anything animal is this; if an animal is going to die for your dinner you should be willing to eat every edible part including the ears, tail, blood, snout and the nasty stuff inside. You owe it to the creature that died for you. God didn't put meat in cute little foam trays.
 
QueenSashy
QueenSashy May 7, 2013
This weekend, I got hold of the most beautiful pair of lamb kidneys, courtesy of my friends who hate offal. Yay! So, I kind of like people who say YAK.
 
Kukla
Kukla May 7, 2013
I am with you pierino a 120%!!! How tender and delicious is beef or veal tongue, just boiled in a flavorful broth and served cold, sliced not very thin and served with a simple horseradish or mustard sauce. One of my husbands’ favorite dish is Hash or Khash. It is an Armenian National Man’s Cow’s hoof soup, which is barely simmering the whole knight on the stove and eaten as an early breakfast hot with a shot of very cold vodka. This soup is so good and in moderation is so healthy because of the amount of collagen, that you won’t need any supplements for your joints. And so many more great dishes made from heart, kidneys and lungs. Oh, and I also make a scrumptious spread from cow’s brains.
 
Kukla
Kukla May 7, 2013
I like to fill Pirogues with a combination of cooked with veggies and spices heart, kidneys and lungs ground with a lot of caramelized onions, hard boiled eggs and some good broth to keep it moist.
 
pierino
pierino May 8, 2013
Good luck. I hope it turns out to be a Community Pick because I'd love to test it.
 
Kukla
Kukla May 8, 2013
I’ll be thrilled to hear your opinion pierino, even if the recipe isn’t chosen as a Community Pick!