Seriously. Happy NY pride everyone! The name of the dish "faggot" comes from “fegato” which is Italian for liver. Basically it’s a big wad of liver, as you may have guessed. Faggots are often made with bacon and some of the more less commonly used organs of various livestock. This is a basic faggot recipe because I couldn’t get my hands on any venison heart or pork belly or anything of that nature. Not for lack of trying. Let's just say I livened up a few butcher's days. So enjoy these basic faggots any old time. Hell, bring ‘em around at Thanksgiving. Nothing says family fun like a baker's dozen of faggots at the dinner table. I hear your grandfather loves them. Anyway, you need:
1 lb of veal liver
Sage
Bread crumbs
A medium yellow onion
White rice (not parboiled, it makes the color less vibrant)
Food coloring
Beef stock
Total cost: $10 - $20
Bring some water to a boil and add however much rice you feel like making. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stir, remove from heat, and set aside.
Chop about a cup of onion as coarsely or finely as you’d like. Mix with 6 oz of bread crumbs and set aside.
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| Savor this step. The hurt is coming. |
Set the liver on a clean cutting surface.
You need to get this minced. Liver is a BITCH to chop. To make it easier, you have to peel off the membrane on the liver. Trust me, its gross but it’s worth it.
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I don’t have a mincer. If you do just use that. If you don’t you can mince it with a sharp knife while pretending that you’re in a happy place. Start by chopping it into strips. Remove any veins you find. Trust me, you will know them when you find them. On the plus side, after the initial chopping is done, the liver itself is soft enough to rip and knead by hand to make it into small pieces. I would like to take the time to mention that this process is making me look back on the tripe recipe with fondness. I have to wash my hands every time I want to use the camera or handle anything and it smells like cat food. It also looks like cat food.
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As my friend pointed out, that’s to be expected from an organ that filters toxins out of the blood. I honestly felt kind of sick a few times and it made my friend lose her appetite at one point. I don’t wanna put you off of all the joys that faggots have to offer, I’m just giving you a heads up.
Dump the liver into the bread crumbs, add 4 tsp of sage and mix it all together. Kneading it by hand worked better for me than a spoon.
Roll the mixture into 8 small balls and place in an oven safe dish.
Pour a can of beef stock in the dish and put a pat of butter on top of each faggot.
Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes at 350. Afterwards, take the foil off and bake another 15 minutes.
While that’s cooking you can make the rainbow rice.
Put a bit of rice into a resealable bag and put some food coloring on it.
Mush the rice inside of the bag to distribute to the food coloring.
I'm sure I don't have to tell you how to make orange and purple from your standard red, yellow, green, blue food coloring pack.
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When the faggots are done, serve them on the rice and spoon some of the broth over them.
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| I think this is the best picture I've taken so far. |
It’s like a liver meat ball. The onion adds a nice extra bit of texture to it. If you like liverwurst, as I do, you’ll definitely like this. I’m reminded a bit of pate. I don’t know if rice was the right choice of side dish, I think mashed potatoes might have been better. Not because they taste bad together, but the gravy doesn’t absorb into the rice as it would with potatoes. All in all, these faggots were a nice addition to my day. By the way, the more you let them marinate, the better they taste and they're good with spaghetti sauce.
Well, I’m off to the city today to see the parade and meet some friends. If any of you are planning to join the festivities remember to stay on the charming side of drunk and the right side of the law. Happy pride, huzzah for NY legalizing gay marriage and stay queer!
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