Main Page
Fast and tasty
Beef liver in sour cream sauce

Beef Liver in Sour Cream Sauce

Tender, juicy, and smothered in gravy — all from one skillet! This beef liver in sour cream sauce comes out incredibly soft and is genuinely easy to make. The same method works beautifully with pork liver, too. The sour cream sauce mellows out the bold, distinctive flavor of this cut.

Ropotushka

Recipe author

Watch the video

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Beef liver

800

Onion

Sour cream

100

Milk

100

Wheat flour

Salt

Ground black pepper

Bay leaf

Vegetable oil

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 48 % 13 g

Fats 26 % 7 g

Carbohydrates 26 % 7 g

144 kcal

GI: 83 / 0 / 17

Cooking method

Cooking time: 30 min

Step 1:

How do you make beef liver in sour cream sauce? Start by gathering all your ingredients. Choosing fresh, good-quality liver really matters. Look for liver that's brown to dark red with a faint sweet smell; the membrane covering it should be smooth and intact, with no tears. You can swap the milk for cream with no more than 15% fat — I actually prefer the flavor of the liver made with cream.
Step 2:

Rinse the liver well, peel off the membrane, and trim away any large tubes or veins. Cut it into roughly 3/4-inch (1.5–2 cm) cubes. You can go bigger or smaller to taste, just remember that the cooking time depends on the size — larger pieces take longer, smaller ones cook faster. Season the liver pieces with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Step 3:

Peel, rinse, and dice the onion into small pieces. Heat a deep, heavy-bottomed skillet, carefully add the vegetable oil so you don't get splattered, and add the chopped onion. Toss in the bay leaf and cook over medium heat, stirring now and then, for about 2 minutes.
Step 4:

Dredge the liver in flour. Set aside about a teaspoon of flour — you'll need it later (step 7). To keep your hands clean and coat the liver evenly, use a resealable bag: add the flour, drop in the liver, seal the bag, and shake it a few times.
Step 5:

Once the onion just starts to turn golden, raise the heat a little and add the liver pieces.
Step 6:

Sear the liver on both sides until lightly browned — this took me about 10 minutes. Fish out the bay leaf and discard it.
Step 7:

Make the sauce. In a deep bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, and that reserved spoonful of flour until smooth.
Step 8:

Lower the heat and pour in the sour cream sauce. Stir so it coats everything evenly.
Step 9:

Bring to a gentle boil and add a little more salt if needed. Cover and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes.

Liver is packed with nutrients — but don't overdo it, since eating too much of it can do more harm than good.
Beef liver in sour cream sauce pairs well with vegetables, mashed potatoes, or rice.
Not a fan of onion? You can skip it and simply sear the liver on its own — it'll still be delicious.
To keep the sour cream from curdling or separating as it simmers, stir it together with a spoonful of flour in a separate bowl first, then add it to the pan. You can use cream of any fat percentage instead of sour cream, but keep in mind the fat content directly affects how rich (and calorie-dense) the dish turns out.
Use an oil with a high smoke point for frying. Every oil is good only up to a certain temperature — its smoke point — beyond which it starts to burn and form harmful compounds. Refined oils handle heat better and have higher smoke points than most unrefined ones. Good high-smoke-point choices include refined sunflower, olive, and grapeseed oil.