Camp Skillet Venison Liver with Onions
Dredged liver, browned in a cast iron pan, finished with onions and a can of beer.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 58
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total time
- 50 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Venison liver | 1 whole, sliced 1/2 inch thick | soak at home in cold water 24-48 hours, changing the water two or three times |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 2 cups | |
| Salt | 2 tbsp | |
| Seasoning salt | 1 tbsp | |
| Black pepper | 1 tbsp | |
| Dry mustard | 2 tbsp | |
| Paprika | 4 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 2 tbsp | |
| Yellow onions | 2 medium, sliced thin | |
| Beer | 1 can, 12 oz | boxed chicken stock works the same way |
| Vegetable oil | 1/2 cup, for frying |
Method
- Do the soak at home. Slice the liver half an inch thick, rinse it, cover it with cold water in the cooler, and change the water two or three times over a day or two. Carry it cold and cook it the first night out.
- Set the cast iron over the fire or a grate and pour in enough oil to coat the bottom by a quarter inch. Let it get hot enough that a pinch of flour sizzles.
- Shake the dredge bag, then drop in a few slices at a time and coat them.
- Fry in batches, a few minutes a side, until the crust is dark and the center is barely pink. Move the finished slices to a plate near the fire.
- Pour off most of the oil, leaving the browned bits. Add the onions and cook them down until soft and brown, scraping the pan as you go.
- Pour in the beer. Let it boil down by half, stirring in a spoonful of the leftover dredge flour to thicken it. Pour it over the liver.
The soak is the whole recipe. Liver holds blood, and blood is what makes it taste like iron filings; a day or two in cold water, changed a few times, pulls most of that out. Skip it and no gravy will save the pan. This one stays in the cooler until the first night, since liver is the fastest-spoiling thing you will carry.
Everything else is a dredge and a hot pan. The flour crust sets fast in the oil, which keeps the inside from going gray and grainy, so pull each slice while the center is still faintly pink. The beer and the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet become the gravy, thickened with the dredge you already made. One pan, one plate, no second pot.
Packing
Mix the whole dredge at home in a gallon freezer bag and dredge right in the bag. Liver rides in a doubled zip bag at the bottom of the cooler, on ice, and gets cooked first.
Variations
- Chicken stock instead of beer if you would rather not open one.
- Bacon fat in place of the vegetable oil, cooked out first, with the bacon crumbled into the gravy.
- Beef or pork liver from the store behaves the same way and takes the same soak.
https://realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/pan-fried-venison-liver-with-onions-and-beer-gravy-recipe