Welcome to the 6th installment of The Liver Experiment, a 10-week study on how to conquer foods you hate, with spiced Chicken Liver Tacos with mole sauce. I hope my experiment will inspire you to try the same with your own personal food nemesis.
I seem to have assumed a second challenge too. When you search online for ‘liver recipes’, overall the results are not pretty. So it has been a challenge to find varied and visually appetizing recipes. So far I have made French, Indian, Austrian and Middle-Eastern prettier recipes. This week is no exception with a Mexican dish: Spiced Chicken Liver Tacos with Mole Sauce. Doesn’t a pretty taco look more appealing than a blob of plain cooked liver strips in a plate?
Up here in Canada, we do enjoy the occasional Mexican or Tex-Mex dish. It is however not a cuisine I cook often. So I am doing my best with my skills to make it taste and look as authentic as possible. I loved the idea of a liver filling for tacos. It’s different, unexpected, and you can cover the taste of the liver .. if need be .. with all sorts of flavorful condiments. With this adapted recipe, we have a nice spicy note, salsa, coriander, and a Mole sauce. And it was really quick to prepare.
On a nonauthentic note, I found a great cheat for a Mole sauce. I know the real deal is a fabulous but long recipe. I just needed a bit of sauce for 4 tacos. Please forgive Mole Sauce purists! Here is what you do: buy a bottle of good quality salsa with a good spicy kick. Add to the bottle 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of dried coriander and 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder. Put the lid back on and mix it up very well. Voilà a Mole sauce cheat!
Educational notes of the week
Let’s pretend that we are all back in Biology class. Last week I threw off a few readers when I was discussing the lobes of my lamb liver. No, I was not discussing ear lobes ha ha. Here is a quick lesson in animal liver anatomy.
(1) right lobe, (2) left lobe, (3) caudate lobe, (4) quadrate lobe,
(5) hepatic artery and portal vein, (6) hepatic lymph nodes, (7) gall bladder.
The liver is a reddish brown vital organ with 4 lobes of varying sizes (humans have only 2 lobes). A lobe is a clear anatomical division or extension of an organ. It is the largest single internal organ, and it has a metabolic and secretory function. The main ones are related to digestion and blood detoxification. If you look at last week’s post you will see I had the left lobe of the lamb liver. A little note: if you ever buy a liver with the gall bladder attached do not consume it. Toss it.
Spiced Chicken Liver Tacos with Mole Sauce
Spiced Chicken Liver Tacos with Mole Sauce
Ingredients
- 250 gr 1/2 lb chicken livers
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup cake flour
- 1/3 cup frying oil
- 1 avocado
- 1 to mato
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 4 to rtillas
- 1 cup Mole sauce
- coriander
Instructions
- Clean the livers by cutting off any fat or stringy bits. Cut into bite size strips. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Coat in flour, shake off excess flour and fry in oil (should still be a tad pink in the middle).
- Cube the avocado and tomato. Mix together and add olive oil and vinegar.
- Take a tortilla, place 1/4 of the liver mixture in a line down the middle, top with the avocado salsa. Pour a bit if the Mole sauce on top and garnish with coriander.
I have to say I was very pleased with the results again this week. This was a really nice recipe and a great way to eat liver. I only used chicken liver during the 1st installment in a paté so I had yet to really taste it more on its own. At this point, I will still claim lamb liver is my favorite. But fried in bite sizes with a flour coating and lost of oil made the chicken livers lovely and crunchy. The taste was pretty good too.
I will admit I am still working overall on the texture but small sizes make it easier. I went with a mole sauce instead of a plain salsa for a simple reason: I thought the earthiness (mostly from the cocoa powder) of a mole was a better match for this type of protein. It really was a great paring. So who want tacos tonight?
Read the entire The Liver Experiment series:
Week 1: Chicken Liver Pate and Absinthe
Week 2: Liver & bacon sauté with potatoes & parsley
Week 3: Austrian Liver Dumplings (Leberknödel)
Week 4: Indian Liver Curry
Week 5: Stuffed vine leaves with liver and apple
Great for the liver-challenged. But is a fresh chicken liver (start with one lobe) cooked quickly and well in the fat of your choice so unappetising? This is a serious question
You are a more daring soul than I am, but I think you’re right about covering the flavor with condiments if needed 🙂 Actually, I don’t mind chicken liver…and I shouldn’t say I dislike lamb’s liver as I’ve never tried it! Great photo of your tacos!
I was wondering if you were going to work with chicken livers. My cat always gets the liver when I make chicken and he seems to love it. 🙂 Truthfully, I bet this is a great taco! I love mole and having made it from scratch a few times, I don’t blame you for taking a short cut. I can see how it would be a great complement to chicken livers. Very creative!
Thank you MJ and I was sure you would be intrigued by this recipe!
G’day! I have to give it to you Evelyne for continuing to pursue this “liver” quest!
Love learning all things new and this Mole I think I like best!
Cheers! Joanne
Thanks Joanne for your positive words, yep the Mole is great 🙂
What a creative taco recipe! I would happily eat this too.
Thanks Angie for your comment! It was good.
I love chicken livers! what a delicious dish,Evelyne!
Thanks Erica, hope you try the recipe!
look outrageously delicious!
Thank you so much!
Although I am not a liver fan I would eat this gladly!
Thanks Katerina, exactly the kind of reaction I love to hear with this experiment 🙂
I must admit it looks tempting! Mole makes it all better 🙂
Ha Mole makes it all better sounds like a great slogan Gus 🙂