Probably the most difficult task most paleo and ancestral health advocates advise you to do is to eat organ meats, particularly liver. Frankly, I just have a really hard time stomaching the preparation of organ meats. One time, I made this with both liver and kidneys and felt so nauseous afterwards that I couldn’t eat it, even though the rest of my family scarfed it up.
There is a mental block there, I think, where a liver looks exactly like what it is: an organ from an animal that was once alive. Most of us grew up so separated from the life and death of our food that we are not comfortable with the reminder that animals are our meat. It’s why some people thought Food, Inc. was gross, even the Joel Salatin section.
That’s not my problem, though (I’m pretty calloused to gore, frankly, as I was once a fourteen year old boy on the internet). My problem is my sensitive nose. Heart is fine; it’s just a little more iron-y than other muscles. Tongue presents mostly a visual and feel problem (can’t get around the fact that you’re handling a tongue), so I can do that. Both taste great and are relatively easy to prep.
It’s the smell I can’t get over. The kidneys and the liver that are the real problem for me to prepare. I have a hard time with their pungent aroma; and I’m guessing a few of you might have the same problem.
Luckily, I have a solution for you. Why not buy organ meats already processed and ground into palatable proportions already for you? Why not eat some head cheese or liverwurst or braunschweiger? Don’t let the names scare you! You’ll get the nutritional benefit of the offal, but not have to handle it and the smell will be masked by fragrant spices! It’s perfect for those of use who are slightly squeamish about these foods!
With that in mind, we tried out US Wellness Meats‘ braunschweiger sausage. It was shockingly easy to handle and paired with their beef bacon ends ground into 50/50 burger sliders they became amazingly delicious AND have a significant liver component!
Beef Bacon 50/50 Braunshweiger Sliders
Ingredients
1 lbs. beef bacon (we used ends because it’s cheaper)
1 lbs. uncooked braunschweiger (or about a 60/40 ground beef/liver mix)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- ♥ Grind beef bacon in meat grinder or food processor (supervise little ones!)
- ♥ Mix ground bacon with braunsweiger, cumin, salt and pepper by hand until evenly incorporated
- ♥ Form into thick 2″ diameter patties, handling as little as possible (gentle hands = tender sliders!)
- Cook over medium-high heat, about 4 minutes per side (we like these cooked medium). The outside will get browned and crispy while the inside stays tender.
- ♥ We recommend you serve wrapped up in lettuce, with sauteed mushroom & onions, and guacamole or any other topping you’d like!
Steps marked with a ♥ are perfect for little helpers!
We loved it!
Very little of that liver-y taste and lots tender beefy flavor.
Our boys gobbled down a half dozen and still wanted more!
