lamb liver

hi, one of the vendors at green city market is offering lamb liver. i love beef, calf and chicken liver, but can't recall ever tasting lamb. can anyone describe how it compares? thanks, justjoan

Joan,

I've never had it but on the basis of lamb sweetbreads, which have a distinctively "lamby" flavor, I would strongly guess that it would also have a lambish quality.

It's been quite a few years since I have eaten lamb liver, but I recall it having a fairly strong flavor compared to calf or pork liver. The main flavor associated with lamb, as many meats, is from the fat so the liver flavor isn't lamby in that sense.

Obviously, I haven't gone out of my way for stuff. On the other hand, someone who grew up in a culture where they eat a lot of lamb including the liver might think calf liver is hopelessly bland.

I last had lamb liver at The Parthenon about a year ago. They have a "mixed grill" mezes plate consisting of lamb liver, lamb sweetbreads, sausage, and meatballs. The flavor of the grilled liver was quite strong--more livery than lamby--but pretty good. You do have to be a liver fan to enjoy it though. The star of the plate was the house-made sausage, nicely spiced and heavy on the orange rind. After dinner our waiter asked how we had enjoyed the liver. It was obviously a favorite of his and when not everyone at the table expressed unreserved enthusiasm he seemed slightly offended and began extolling its virtues, at one point pulling out his pen to make an anatomical drawing of a lamb liver. Very amusing.

So, if you're a hepatophile, I bet you'd be thrilled with lamb liver. The stuff at Green City Market is probably really good, at least as liver goes. Let us know how it was.

yeah, the dominant flavor is liver rather than lamb, it is more pronounced than pork liver though not that much stronger than beef IMO.

I've always had decent results with the lamb liver sold at various spots on devon