Vinegar-Glazed Grilled Chicken Livers and Onions: 2000s Recipes + Menus : gourmet.com

2000s Recipes + Menus

Serves4

Active time:30 min
Start to finish:1 1/2 hr (includes soaking livers)

July 2009

Almost everyone has stories about moms who were always saying, “You can’t leave the table until you’ve eaten your liver and onions!” It wouldn’t have seemed like such a trial if the dish had been as good as this one—grilled red onion wedges and tender little chicken livers glazed with a Spanish-influenced sweet-and-sour sauce served over a light, summery salad. In fact, it would have been gobbled up in a flash.

1 lb chicken livers, separated into lobes, trimmed, and rinsed
1 cup whole milk
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar, divided
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 medium red onions, quartered lengthwise, then halved crosswise and layers separated
8 cups mixed baby greens (4 ounces)

Equipment:

10 (12-inch) skewers (soaked in water 30 minutes if wooden)

Soak livers in milk, chilled, 1 hour. Drain, then rinse and pat dry. Season with 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper.
While livers soak, cook shallot in 1 Tbsp oil in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup vinegar, orange zest and juice, sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt and simmer briskly until reduced to about 1/2 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter. Reserve half of glaze in a small bowl.
Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over medium-hot charcoal (medium-high heat for gas); see “Grilling Procedure.”
Toss onions with 1 Tbsp oil and 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. Thread onions and livers on separate skewers, leaving a small space between livers.
Oil grill rack, then grill onions, turning occasionally, until crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a clean tray and brush with some of reserved glaze (from bowl).
Oil grill rack, then grill livers 2 minutes. Loosen with a long-handled spatula and turn, then brush with glaze from skillet. Continue to grill until livers are cooked through but still pink inside, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to tray with onions and brush with remaining glaze (from bowl).
Whisk together remaining Tbsp vinegar and 2 Tbsp olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt in a large bowl. Add greens and toss to coat. Serve liver and onion skewers over greens.