Liver and onions

{{Infobox food

| name = Liver and onions

| image = Tortillas con biste de higado.jpg

| caption = Tortillas con bistec de hígado, a Panamanian dish of liver and onions

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| main_ingredient = Liver and onions

| minor_ingredient = Bacon, butter, and lard, olive oil

| variations = {{lang|it|Fegato alla veneziana}}, {{lang|it|fegato alla romana}}

| serving_size = 100 g

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File:Chicken Livers.jpg

File:06018 Fried pork liver, Sanok.JPG)]]

Liver and onions is a dish consisting of slices of liver (usually pork, beef, chicken or, in the United Kingdom, lamb) and bulb onions. The liver and the onions are usually sautéed or otherwise cooked together, but sometimes they may be sautéed separately and mixed together afterwards. The liver is often cut in fine slices, but it also may be diced.{{cite book | last1=Rombauer | first1=I.S. | last2=Becker | first2=M.R. | title=Joy of Cooking | publisher=Scribner | year=1975 | isbn=978-0-02-604570-4 | url=https://archive.org/details/joyofcooking400romb | url-access=registration | page=[https://archive.org/details/joyofcooking400romb/page/501 501]}}

Description

Liver and onions is widely eaten in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and in Germany,{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} where it is usually eaten along with boiled or mashed potatoes. Beef or veal liver is common in the US; veal or lamb liver are the usual choices in the UK.

In the French traditional recipe the liver is fried with butter and bacon.[http://www.recettesdecuisine.tv/recette-r7859/foie+aux+oignons/recette+foie+aux+oignons.html Foie aux oignons] {{in lang|fr}} In Catalan cuisine olive oil is used instead of butter, and fried garlic is added to the mixture.[http://www.gastroteca.cat/ca/fitxa-receptes/fetge_de_vedella_amb_ceba/ Fetge de vedella amb ceba] In Italian cuisine, the fegato alla veneziana ({{lit|Venice-style liver}}) recipe includes a dash of red wine or vinegar,[http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/calves-liver-venetian-style-fegato-alla-veneziana-recipe/index.html Fegato alla Veneziana] and the fegato alla romana ('Rome-style liver') a dash of white wine and is cooked in lard.

In the United States liver and onions has long been an iconic staple of many diner-style restaurants. It is served either dry, with the liver, onions and sometimes bacon simply sauteed and heaped together, or the onions can be turned into a gravy or sauce with stock and flour added, and with the liver returned to the gravy briefly before plating. Sometimes, QR meals can consist of this dish. This form is sometimes called "smothered liver and onions" but that name is only common in the Deep South. Liver and onions is especially common in the regions of Pennsylvania and the Midwest with a strong Germanic culture, for instance in Amish and Mennonite communities. In large Eastern cities such as New York and Philadelphia, it is simply a popular urban diner food.

Beef liver and onions is widely popular in Latin America ({{langx|es|hígado (de res) encebollado}}, {{langx|pt|fígado (bovino) acebolado}}), where it is often eaten along with tortillas or rice. In Brazil, the traditional recipe calls for potatoes or other root vegetable, prepared most commonly boiled and puréed or as home fries.{{Citation needed|date=April 2014}} These recipes have also migrated to the large Latin populations in several US cities and are often found on Honduran, Colombian, Cuban and Dominican menus. One typical US Latin recipe includes tomato and peppers to make a "criollo" gravy for the liver and onions.

Variants

There are variants of this dish using chicken and lamb livers. These are popular in Spain, among other countries.{{which?|date=February 2018}}

In popular culture

"Liver and Onions" has become an online meme stemming from The Simpsons episode "The Day the Violence Died". In said episode, Chester J. Lampwick, while talking to Bart, exclaims that he would like to celebrate via eating liver and onions. This clip has been edited into various other Simpsons scenes{{Citation |title=Simpsons Liver and Onionsposting | date=20 May 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdFd2KmJn-A |access-date=2023-05-17 |language=en}} in what is known as "Liver and Onionsposting". The most famous instance of this meme comes from a scene in The Simpsons where Bart and Lisa are laughing at grotesque content. The joke eventually turns into liver and onions.

In the Doug episode "Doug's Dinner Date", it is revealed that liver and onions is Doug's most hated food.

In Season 2, Episode 24; "Red Tape" of 7th Heaven, a coupon has the Camden family visiting a new restaurant only to discover that the coupons are for liver and onions, much to the revulsion of the children.

In the Powerpuff Girls segment "A Very Special Blossom", Professor Utonium claims his favorite dish is liver and onions. But when the title characters serve it to him as a Father’s Day gift, he is inexplicably hesitant to taste it.{{cite episode |title=A Very Special Blossom |series=The Powerpuff Girls|network=Cartoon Network |date=November 26, 1999|season=2 |number=7}} In a later segment titled "Lying Around the House", the Powerpuff Girls come to the dining table for lunch, expecting to be given something they enjoy, but instead the Professor serves them liver and onions, which they dislike; thus, they secretly give the dish to the outside dogs.{{cite episode |title=Lying Around the House |series=The Powerpuff Girls|network=Cartoon Network |date=January 9, 2004|season=5 |number=7}}