How do I cook liver so it is not grey and grainy?

Liver has almost no connective tissue and very little fat, so the difference between excellent and inedible is about ninety seconds. Everything about cooking it is a response to that.

Safety

Step by step

1. Choose it well.Lamb's liver is mild and the easiest to start with. Calf's liver is the finest and the most expensive. Ox liver is strong and better braised than fried. Chicken livers suit pâté and quick frying.
2. Trim the membrane and tubes.A thin silvery skin on the outside and any pale tubes inside. Both tighten in the pan and give a chewy result.
3. Slice it evenly, about 1cm.Thicker and the outside overcooks before the inside warms; thinner and it is grey before you have turned it. Consistency matters more than the exact figure.
4. Soak it in milk for thirty minutes if it tastes strong.Optional, but it noticeably softens the iron edge in lamb's and ox liver. Drain and dry it thoroughly afterwards.
5. Dry it and dust it with seasoned flour.A thin coating gives something to brown and protects the surface. Shake off the excess or it goes claggy.
6. Get the pan properly hot.A film of oil, or oil and butter, until it shimmers. A cool pan poaches liver in its own juices and that is the grey, grainy result.
7. Cook 60 to 90 seconds a side.Do not crowd the pan — do it in batches. Press gently: it should feel springy, not firm.
8. Take it out while it is still faintly pink inside.It carries on cooking off the heat. Fully grey liver is overcooked liver.
9. Make a pan sauce with the residue.Onions softened in the same pan, a splash of sherry vinegar or balsamic, a knob of butter. Liver benefits enormously from acid and sweetness.

Tips

• Hot pan, thin slices, short time. Everything else is detail.
• Onions cooked slowly first and set aside, then the liver in the same pan, is the classic order for a reason.
• Overcooked liver cannot be rescued — cook it last, with everything else already on the plate.

Common mistakes

• Cooking liver until it is uniformly grey — The proteins tighten and squeeze out moisture, which turns the texture grainy and concentrates the bitter iron flavour people say they dislike about liver. Faintly pink is the target.
• Crowding the pan — Liver releases a lot of liquid. Several pieces at once drop the pan temperature and it stews in that liquid instead of browning, producing exactly the grey result you are trying to avoid.

If it doesn't work

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