Add Chopped Bacon To Liver And Onion Gravy For A Richer Flavor

There's a renewed interest lately in foods and dishes that were popular decades ago, but then fell out of favor with younger generations. Cottage cheese, gelatin desserts, and tinned sardines are all making a comeback, thanks in part to viral videos and reviews on social  media. A dish that may not have yet had a resurgence, but deserves to be the center of the next big food revival, is liver and onions. Savory beef liver and onions in gravy make a skillet full of umami goodness, brimming with earthy, salty richness. And, that richness can be enhanced even more with the addition of a single ingredient: bacon.

Adding bacon to liver and onions boosts the flavor of the gravy, and even the biggest lovers of liver can't deny that the gravy is the best part. To add bacon to a classic liver and onions recipe, cook it separately and reserve the grease. (Adding bacon grease to dishes gives them such an upgrade that it's practically liquid gold.) Add a few tablespoons of the bacon grease back in as you make the gravy, and crumble the cooked bacon into the finished liver and onions dish. The resulting gravy will have the flavor of the best onion gravies, with the richness of a country sawmill gravy. You'll want to make plenty of mashed potatoes as a side dish to soak up every drop. 

If you're now hooked on the flavor combination of liver and bacon, there are plenty more ways to enjoy them together. You can riff on the recipe above by using chicken livers instead of beef, and add ingredients like collard greens, or mushrooms for even more umami. If it's the gravy you like best, increase the proportions of the gravy components and make extra to pour over potatoes, rice, meatloaf, or chicken. You can also make a liver roast by wrapping a whole beef liver in bacon, instead of cutting it into small pieces. 

Rumaki, which has been around since the 1940s, is another liver and bacon recipe that's still a crowd-pleasing appetizer. The bacon-wrapped bits of chicken liver and water chestnuts are marinated in soy sauce and brown sugar, then secured on skewers or toothpicks and baked. Even folks who proclaim to not like liver will usually end up gobbling down a few. Bacon is also a fine enhancer for chicken liver pâté. Just add it to the food processor with the other ingredients (plus some of the grease) for a richer texture and taste. And don't neglect to add bacon to your liver sandwiches. Chopped liver is a common product at Jewish delis, but you won't find pork there. If you're not on a kosher diet, purchase chopped liver and try some with bacon on your homemade sandwiches.