Do I need to remove the film from chicken liver? How to remove the film from pork liver

Beef liver is a frequent guest on the tables of Russian housewives. This product can be used to prepare stews, liver pancakes or a cake, stewed in sour cream or used as a filling for pie and pancakes - even a novice housewife can cope with these tasks. However, it is difficult to remove the film from beef liver. But even in this case, there are several options for simply and quickly eliminating the translucent shell.

How to choose?

Before you begin to cleanse the liver from the film and prepare the dish, you should pay special attention to the choice of meat. To do this, we recommend that you listen to the following tips.

• It is better to choose a fresh product, since during freezing the liver loses most of vitamin A, which is very important for the health of the visual organs, strengthening the immune system, and skin health.
• You should avoid meat that gives off a sour smell. You should give preference to offal with a sweetish aroma - this is an indicator of the freshness of the liver.
• Fresh liver of high quality has a juicy cherry color with a brownish tint.
• A good product feels quite elastic to the touch: if you press the surface with your finger, the indentation will immediately restore its shape.
• The bile ducts present on the surface should not scare off the buyer, however, they should be eliminated during preparation. You should be careful with the liver, which has visible stains or other damage.

How to remove the film?

If you do not remove the corrosive film shell from the surface of the liver, it will spoil the taste of the dish and make it hard and dry. The film adheres very tightly to the meat. It would seem that there is nothing simpler - to pick up its tip with a knife and remove it. However, due to the close fit of the two surfaces, pieces of the liver are often removed along with the film. This is an expensive product, and it’s always a shame to throw away these parts. There are several simple and affordable ways to remove film using materials that can be found in any kitchen.

1. Using salt. Before we begin removing the film, rub the meat with table salt and then use a knife. Salt crystals, acting on the thin skin, greatly simplify the process of removing the film, the hostess’s fingers do not slip.
2. Using lemon juice. The principle is the same as in the case of salt. Before preparing the dish, rub the meat with lemon juice, leave for a couple of minutes, pick up the edge with a fingernail or knife, and remove the film. By the way, this method will not only help rid the liver of the film coating, but will also give the meat additional tenderness.

You can easily clean the film from meat without the help of the above materials. The simplicity and longevity of the process is influenced by the condition of the liver. Listen to the following tips.

• The film is easiest to remove from a frozen liver. The offal needs to be slightly defrosted until it is minimally soft, then rinsed thoroughly with running water. The casing of frozen meat can be quickly removed by hand or with a knife, without catching the good pieces. Before cooking, the liver, freed from the film, must be rinsed thoroughly again.
• If you need to remove the film coating from chilled meat, then the steps will be slightly different. First, wash the product well, then place it in warm water for a couple of minutes. Next, we take out the meat and place it on a cutting board, make an incision on one edge, place a finger in the resulting depression, and carefully remove the film.

• Another option for removing the shell from a chilled liver is to place it in the freezer for half an hour. During this period, the meat will not lose its vitamins, and the frozen structure will greatly facilitate the process of cleansing the offal from the film.
• It is important to rid the liver not only of the film, but also of the veins. To do this, chop the product into small pieces along the bile ducts and vessels. Now all the veins are visible and can be easily separated from the surface with a knife.
• If the meat was purchased for making pate or pancakes, then you don’t have to waste time removing the film. You just need to pass the boiled liver through a sieve, and then all the shells and veins will separate on their own.

Beef liver contains a large amount of vitamins, namely: A, B, folic acid. You can prepare delicious and healthy dishes from this product, and knowing how easy it is to remove the corrosive film, you can turn the cooking process into a real pleasure.

To learn how to quickly and efficiently remove the film from beef liver, see below.

Liver is a healthy and inexpensive by-product, however, few people really love it. Many people eat liver dishes without pleasure, and even the specific taste and smell of liver has nothing to do with it. But from the liver you can prepare a wide variety of dishes - liver cake, goulash, pies and even kebab.

To really enjoy liver dishes, you just need to learn how to cook it correctly, but few people know how to do it correctly. An important role in preparation is played by preliminary cleaning of the liver from film and bile ducts, in which bile can accumulate. If the film is not removed before cooking, the liver will become very hard during cooking, and if the bile ducts are not removed, it will also acquire a bitter taste. Agree, it’s not very pleasant to eat such a dish.

Film removal methods

1 The easiest way is to remove the film from a frozen liver. To do this, you need to slightly defrost it by placing it in a pan of hot water for a few minutes. During this time, the film should defrost, but the liver itself will remain frozen.

Use a knife to pry it from the edge, grab it with your fingers and begin to carefully pull. The film will easily come off the product. After you clean the liver from the film, you need to rinse it under running water.

2 If you have already thawed the liver or bought it chilled, scald it with boiling water or place it in a bowl of hot water for half a minute. Cut the edge of the film and carefully pull it out with your fingers.

3 To prevent the film from slipping out of your fingers when removing, dip them in salt or sprinkle the film itself with salt. It is best if the salt is coarse, not fine.

Attention! To make it easier to clean the film from the liver, cut it into smaller pieces. Cut the resulting pieces further along the bile ducts, then carefully remove the film and cut out the veins with a knife.

Beef liver is healthy and tasty; many people are also partial to pork liver. However, despite the love for this offal, not all housewives cook it. Some people are stopped by the price; good beef liver from private owners is sometimes more expensive than the pulp. But most housewives do not like the preparatory process, which includes removing the film and removing the white bile ducts. What also stops it is that the liver often turns out hard and dry. One of the reasons for this problem is improper preparation of the product.

So, first of all, you should get rid of the tightly adjacent translucent film covering the surface of the liver. Many people simply pry it with a knife and rip it off. This is quick, but part of the liver itself is removed along with the film. It happens that this method does not work, or the film does not come off well, or it often breaks and you have to pry it off with a knife again and again. The structure of the liver is delicate, and as a result of such actions with sharp weapons, it is easily damaged.

We will return to the issue of removing the film later, but for now we will learn how to choose the right liver, since even the most skillful chef will not be able to cook an initially low-quality product.

Rules for choosing beef / pork liver:

Fresh liver has a slightly sweet odor, and low-quality offal gives off an unpleasant acidity;

It is important to pay attention to the color: high-quality beef liver can be identified by the rich color of ripe cherry, with a slight brownish tint. Pork offal is an order of magnitude lighter;

If you press your finger on the liver, the resulting hole should quickly return to its original position;

The surface must be clean without any damage or stains.

How to remove film from beef liver

Salt

The film is rubbed with coarse salt, after which it is also pryed off the edge with a fingernail or knife and removed. The withdrawal process should go faster.

Removing film from frozen liver

It was mentioned above that vitamins are lost as a result of freezing, but sometimes you cannot do without a food supply in the house. As a result, frozen offal is available.

It is recommended to act without waiting for defrosting. To begin with, the liver is transferred from the freezer to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, where the slow thawing process will begin. A little more and you can remove the film. To help, a sharp knife is used to pry up the film and calmly remove it (it comes off quickly from a frozen liver).

By the way, fresh liver can be frozen by keeping it in the freezer for half an hour. During this time, the vitamins will not have time to be destroyed, and the offal will reach a condition convenient for easy removal of the film.

Lemon juice

The process is identical to the salt method, only in this case the surface of the liver is rubbed with lemon juice, and then after a couple of minutes the film is removed without much effort or damage to the structure of the product. By the way, such a lemon “massage” will benefit the liver, it will be more tender.

How to remove film from pork liver

The film of pork liver is not easy to pry off with a knife, since it is very thin, almost transparent.

What to do? The washed pork liver under running water is placed in a clean bowl and filled with hot water. After 15 seconds, the offal is taken out, laid out on a cutting board, and immediately the film should be carefully removed from the uncooled liver.

This method is also suitable for beef liver, only it is left in hot water for 3 minutes.

There is another way to remove the film from pork liver, which will also improve the taste of the future dish made from this product. The method involves pre-soaking in milk, which will help you easily get rid of the film and soften the liver fibers. To process a kilogram of pork liver you will need half a liter of milk.

The liver, washed under running water, should be placed in a deep bowl filled with milk. After taking a two-hour “bath,” the liver is removed and dipped in a paper towel. There should be no problems removing the film.

In addition, milk will remove the characteristic bitterness of pork liver, which turns off many eaters. Although, due to its composition, this product is very beneficial for the body.

You can also remove the bitterness from pork liver using soda. The offal is cut into portions and sprinkled with baking soda. The pieces should be mixed and left for 1 hour, after which they are washed under running cold water, dried with a paper towel and fried in a frying pan or used to prepare any dishes.

Pork liver is widely used in cooking - cutlets, pancakes, and pates are made from it. It is also fried, stewed, baked with vegetables, and added to salads and porridges. Pork liver dishes can diversify your daily home menu and decorate your holiday table. Pork liver is a healthy offal that is recommended for dietary nutrition and for pregnant women.

Peculiarities

Pork liver, like any other liver, is covered with a barely noticeable translucent film. If left unattended, the dish may disappoint with its taste - it will turn out to be tough and dry. One of the conditions for preparing tender, juicy and appetizing liver is to clean it from the film and remove the bile ducts. The liver must first be washed. If the piece is large, then for convenience it should be cut into smaller pieces.

It is best to do this along the line of the bile ducts, as this will facilitate the process of removing the film and veins.

How to remove the film?

The easiest way is to remove the film from a frozen product. To do this, you need to slightly defrost it: rinse it with a warm stream of water or put it in a container with hot water for a while. If there is time, some housewives simply transfer it from the freezer to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

You can do the same with fresh liver. However, you can observe the picture when tidbits are removed along with the film.

For those who care about their health, we can offer some techniques for quickly and easily cleaning chilled offal.

• Removing film using salt. Coarse salt is suitable for cleaning the liver from film. To do this, you need to pour salt on top of the product, hold it for a while, and then use a knife and hands to clean the film. There is a second option: roll your hands in salt and do the same with “salty” hands.
• Lemon juice. And an ordinary lemon can cope with this task. A piece of liver is poured or rubbed with lemon juice. Then the film is removed in the usual way: using a knife and fingers.
• Soda. If there is no lemon, then baking soda will help remove the film. However, this method will take more time. The step-by-step instructions look like this:
  • the liver is cut into portions;
  • then sprinkle with soda for 1 hour;
  • the liver is thoroughly washed, dried, the bile ducts and film are removed, after which the offal is sent to the fire.

• Milk. Milk will not only help cleanse the liver, but also delight you with a culinary masterpiece. Gourmets complain about the bitterness that pork liver has. Pre-soaking the offal in milk will eliminate this unpleasant aftertaste. This marinade will also soften the fibers. For 1 kg of offal you will need 0.5 liters of milk. Soaking lasts about 2 hours. Then follow the usual procedure: rinse with running water, dry, and remove film and veins.

To learn how to remove the film from pork liver, watch the video below.

Liver ranks first among meat products in terms of the content of vitamins, minerals and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Cooking liver dishes, as a rule, does not require significant time and effort. This product goes well with most vegetables, rice, nuts, dried fruits, berries and honey.

Recipes for preparing liver, despite their apparent simplicity, are designed to require knowledge of certain subtleties of pre-processing the product. In particular, almost any dish will turn out tender and tasty if you first thoroughly clean the liver from the film.

Quick navigation through the article

Removing the film

There are several ways to remove the film from a piece of beef or pork liver quickly and without hassle. If the liver is fresh, it is recommended:

• Place the washed piece in warm water for a few minutes;
• Transfer the liver to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut a small section of the film on one side;
• Gently grab the film with your thumb. Helping with your other fingers, carefully separate it from the entire piece and gradually remove it.

If the liver is frozen, you must:

• Wash the piece well under running water;
• Let the liver thaw a little. A short period of time will be enough for only the top film to defrost;
• Pry it with a knife, grab it with your finger and remove it;
• After removing the film and veins from a piece of liver, rinse it thoroughly again.

In addition, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

• To facilitate the process of removing the film, you need to sprinkle a piece of liver with coarse table salt. You can dip your fingers in the salt first;
• Housewives also say that the film will come off easily if you soak the liver in milk for about an hour;
• If the liver has large veins, then it is advisable to first cut the piece into small slices. Each slice must be cut along the bile ducts and veins and films removed using a sharp knife;
• Pork liver can be pre-scalded with boiling water;
• The liver of fish (cod, burbot) does not require film removal;
• It will be enough to remove the bile ducts and large vessels from the chicken liver.

Liver selection

When buying liver in a store or at the market, you should know what to pay attention to first:

• It is preferable to buy fresh liver rather than frozen;
• The color of the liver should not be too light, dark or uneven;
• The surface of a high-quality piece is smooth, elastic, without dry spots;
• Fresh liver smells pleasant, slightly sweet. A sour smell indicates that the product is spoiled.