Liver in Sour Cream
Two things ruin liver: salting it early and frying it too long. Salt draws out the juices, and an extra five minutes turns a tender piece into shoe leather. Liver needs three or four minutes over high heat and then finishes in the sour cream. Soaking it in milk first is not folklore — it genuinely takes the bitterness away.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Total
- 1 h 15 min
- Servings
- 4
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 380 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
Buttermilk works instead of milk, and single cream instead of sour cream for a milder sauce.
Makes: 4 servings
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Soak the liver
Trim off membranes and tubes, cut the liver into 3 cm pieces and cover with milk for 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
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Step 2: Flour it
Toss the pieces in flour right before frying — do it earlier and the flour goes damp, so you get no crust at all.
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Step 3: Fry the onion
In two spoons of oil, fry the sliced onions for 7–8 minutes until golden, then lift them into a bowl.
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Step 4: Sear the liver
Heat the rest of the oil until it just shimmers and fry the liver in batches, 2 minutes a side. Crowd the pan and it will stew in its own juices.
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Step 5: Combine
Return the onion to the pan, pour in the sour cream loosened with hot water and stir.
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Step 6: Simmer
Cover and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes. Only now add the salt and pepper — earlier they would toughen the liver.
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Step 7: Check
Cut the largest piece open: it should be an even greyish pink, with no blood and no dry grey core.
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Step 8: Serve
Scatter with dill and serve with mash, buckwheat or simply good bread.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Removing the membrane matters: it is what tightens over heat and makes the pieces tough.
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Variation
A spoon of mustard or a handful of fried mushrooms in the sauce gives a deeper, different dish.
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Swap
Buttermilk works instead of milk, and single cream instead of sour cream for a milder sauce.
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Storage
Keeps 2 days in the fridge; reheat gently with a spoon of water added.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 4 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 380 kcal | 1,520 kcal |
| Protein | 28 g | 112 g |
| Fat | 24 g | 96 g |
| Carbohydrates | 12 g | 48 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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