Chicken Liver in Sour Cream

Preparing the liver

1. Baked chicken liver in sour cream turns out best with fresh offal that has never been frozen.

2. Prepare the liver. The pieces do not need to be cut. But checking that there are no bile stains is a must. Rinse the liver thoroughly and remove any membranes and bits of fat. It won’t hurt to let the excess moisture drain: put the liver in a colander for a while.

   

3. Soak the liver. Put the pieces in a deep bowl and pour in half a cup of fresh milk (100 ml) or cream. You can use medium-fat cream, which is perfect for the sauce when baking. Stir and leave in the cold for at least half an hour, but not longer than an hour. Then pour the milk off into a cup, since you will need it later.

   

Frying the liver and onion

1. The liver must be fried until a crust forms, and only then baked with the sauce.

2. Coat the liver in flour and fry it. Sift flour onto a plate and coat the pieces of chicken liver in it. Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp each of butter and sunflower oil in a frying pan. Frying in this mixture of fats makes the liver very tasty and aromatic. When the fat is hot, add the floured pieces of liver.

   

   Fry over medium heat on both sides, turning several times, until a golden crust forms. There is no need to fry the liver until done, as it will still bake in the sauce and will be fully cooked by the time you serve it. Transfer the browned pieces to a baking dish, glass or ceramic works well.

   

3. Fry the onion. Peel the onion and cut it into thick strips. Fry it in the remaining fat over medium heat until soft and golden. Don’t overcook the onion, as it is better to leave it slightly underdone. Spread the fried onion over the fried pieces of chicken liver. If you like, you can even mix them together.

   

Sauce and baking

1. Make the sour cream sauce. Pour the sour cream into the frying pan; it should be natural, otherwise the sauce will look like cottage cheese thinned with milk. Add the cream or milk left over from soaking the liver. Salt and pepper the sauce and stir in 0.5 tsp of paprika. Bring the sour cream sauce to a boil over medium heat, stirring. In 2-3 mins it will be ready. You can add more spices to taste.

   

2. Pour the sauce over the liver and put it in the oven. I recommend laying 4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme on top of the onion, since chicken liver in sour cream should be well spiced. Pour the sour cream sauce over the fried pieces of chicken liver and onion. Gently toss the pieces so that the sauce fills all the gaps and spreads evenly. Put the dish, uncovered, into an oven preheated to 200°C.

   

3. Bake until the sour cream sauce starts to thicken and darken. This can take about half an hour. If you like, the sour cream can stay semi-liquid or become very thick. The liver can also be cooked as separate pieces on which the sour cream sauce turns into something like a crust, which is very tasty.

   

Serving

1. Serve the dish hot as an appetizer or a main course, with mashed potatoes as a side dish. Remove the thyme sprigs from the dish before serving. You can portion the dish onto separate plates before serving or leave it right in the baking dish. I recommend sprinkling the liver with finely chopped parsley or green onion tops.