This post will show you how to make carnivore beef liver strips which are great to take along when traveling.
They are also a good way to add liver to your carnivore diet for those who don’t like the taste of freshly cooked liver.
I created this recipe recently by accident.
I had bought a lot of beef liver to make dehydrated liver strips using the oven in order to take them along on a holiday.
But when I discovered that my oven had died, I thought about how I could make them on an ordinary stovetop.
I sometimes make shredded beef or shredded pork and decided to experiment with making the liver strips the same way and it was a great success!
They don’t have the overwhelming offal taste of fresh liver that may put many people off. They are not crispy or crunchy but taste more like savory meat jerky but a lot softer.
Below is the recipe which only needs a few basic ingredients.
Carnivore beef liver strip recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh beef liver (0.45 kg), remove all connective tissues and slice into thin strips
- 2 tbs beef tallow
- 3 tbs thickened bone broth
- 1 tsp sea salt or 2 tbs fish sauce (30 ml, choose one that has only fish extract, salt and water)
- Optional seasonings: 1 small knob of fresh ginger (sliced), 6 garlic cloves.
Instructions
- Heat a heavy-based pan on high till it’s hot
- Add beef tallow and heat till it bubbles
- Add the beef liver strips to the pan and stir regularly for a few minutes to caramelize them
- Add salt (or fish sauce), bone broth, ginger, and garlic cloves. Cook until the juice evaporates
- Reduce heat to low or medium and cook until the liver strips are relatively dry
- Remove the ginger and garlic cloves
- Transfer to a plate and let cool completely
- Store in a glass jar.
A few tips
Please remove all visible connective tissues, they will make the liver strips chewy.
You can slice the liver into thin strips or small bites. The thinner you slice it, the less time it’ll take to cook. However, if they are too thin, they’ll break off easily during cooking and may get burned.
You can omit the ginger and garlic but they’ll help to neutralize the liver taste. I like to leave the garlic cloves whole and slice the ginger into medium slices so that when cooking is done, I can remove them easily. If you like eating them, you can grate the ginger and mince the garlic instead.
Experiment with seasonings that you like. For example, if you like them to be a little spicy, add 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Use single-ingredient seasonings if possible.
However, they still taste good even without any seasonings because of the caramelization reaction and the bone broth.
Cook the liver strips till they are dry but not crispy to avoid burning them. They are also softer and taste better in my opinion. However, drier liver strips will keep for longer.
You can adjust the amount of salt or fish sauce you use. Salt is a natural preservative, the more salt you use, the longer the liver strips will stay fresh.
The first time you try this recipe, just cook a small amount of beef liver (a pound or so). If you enjoy it, double or triple the recipe to save time. You’ll need a big enough frying pan so that they can be cooked evenly.
You can try to make them with lamb, pig or chicken liver but I’ve only used lamb and beef liver so far and can’t tell what others taste like.
I’ve found that they are good for a couple of weeks if kept in the fridge at a very low-temperature setting. If you do a big batch, you’ll need to freeze them obviously.
Health benefits of beef liver
Liver is the superhero of the carnivore diet and a genuine superfood.
Liver is loaded with so many essential nutrients. It is especially rich in vitamin A and B12 and high in riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), B6, and folate. Liver is also a good source of copper, selenium, phosphorous, zinc, and iron. [1]
In a very old but interesting study, Ershoff (1951) found that rats whose food was supplemented with 10% whole liver powder were able to swim in 20°C water for a significantly longer period of time than rats fed a basic diet or a basic diet with supplements. [2]
The rats which were given a basic diet swam for 13.3 minutes before giving up.
The rats which were given a basic diet fortified with 11 vitamins managed to swim for 13.4 minutes.
However, incredibly, 9 out of 12 rats that received liver powder swam for over 120 minutes and the other 3 rats swam for 63 to 87 minutes.
There is clearly something magical and powerful about liver and natural whole food that is impossible for synthetic vitamin supplements to emulate.
Sadly, this superfood is mostly used to make dog treats at the moment. But with the current carnivore diet movement, one day the world will wake up and appreciate the superior nutritional value of liver.
In the meantime, please enjoy this superfood at throw-away prices while you can!
You don’t need to eat a lot of liver every day. A couple of thin slices of fresh liver a few times a week is enough.
If you eat those homemade liver strips, just a few strips a day should be sufficient.
Below are some photos from my cooking process.
Use fresh beef liver or lamb liver and remove all visible connective tissues
Slice it into thin strips
Cook for a few minutes to brown them then add seasonings and cook till the juice’s gone
Cook on low heat till they are dry
Remove garlic and ginger pieces and transfer to a plate
These beef liver strips are dry but just soft dry, not crispy dry because of the fat and collagen in the thick broth.
Other recipes that you may be interested in:
- Carnivore Braised Pork Belly and Eggs Recipe
- Carnivore Lamb Rib Roast Recipe
- Delicious and Nutritious Carnivore Meatloaf Recipe
- Beef Tendon Stew Recipe – All Things Carnivore
- Carnivore Braised Lamb Shank Recipe
Disclaimer:The information in this post is for reference purposes only and not intended to constitute or replace professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified medical professional before making any changes to your diet or lifestyle.
