# Cooking Liver Does Kinda Smell



## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

I asked a few weeks ago if liver smells while it's cooking. It does, but not nearly as bad as cooking turkey does to me. 

What's worse is cutting up liver to cook it. I had blood all over the knife, the cutting board, the counter, the floor, my hands . . . the set of all the Saw movies combined weren't that bad.

Kabota loves cooked liver, though, so I'll be freaking myself out on a regular basis.


----------



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Try mostly freezing the liver before cutting it up. I don't cook liver (I'll feed it raw) but this works great for slippery chicken parts and other meats, esp. to get nice thin slices. 

If it wasn't winter, I'd say use a grill outdoors to avoid the smell issue.


----------



## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Shell said:


> Try mostly freezing the liver before cutting it up. I don't cook liver (I'll feed it raw) but this works great for slippery chicken parts and other meats, esp. to get nice thin slices.
> 
> If it wasn't winter, I'd say use a grill outdoors to avoid the smell issue.


Thanks! I wish I'd thought of that.

I just sprayed some fabreze. It worked.


----------



## kathylcsw (Jul 4, 2011)

I am a raw feeder too and I absolutely HATE daling with liver. The blood is everywhere and it is so smooshy feeling. I agree that it works much better to deal with it partially frozen. There is no blood that way and it is firm rather than mushy.

You can also dehydrate for treats. I haven't tried that yet since mine have liver weekly as part of the PMR diet.


----------



## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

When I am dealing with something super messy I clean out the sink and do the job in there. No lovely drips to the floor and washup is easier.

Try putting a smashed clove of garlic in the water, works well.

I got used to the smell just watching my dogs. They thought it was so yummy it must be worth dealing with that smell!


----------



## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I've heard kidney is way worse. . .

Some people like to cook and eat liver, so I don't suppose it smells too bad. Although they usually cook it with onions so that probably masks the smell.


----------



## kathylcsw (Jul 4, 2011)

Willowy said:


> I've heard kidney is way worse. . .
> 
> Some people like to cook and eat liver, so I don't suppose it smells too bad. Although they usually cook it with onions so that probably masks the smell.


I have never cooked either liver or kidney but I can tell you that raw kidney smells like urine. Ick!


----------



## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

Kidney is definitely worse, but I still don't find it that smelly- compared to things like tripe and wild game. I don't find kidney to have a urine smell. I've also discovered I can turn off my nose lol. I was butchering once and hub had me smell a bbq sauce he was making for dinner. I couldn't smell it! I had to take a few deep breaths and really try to smell it. Then when I turned back to the meat, it was a little smelly. Normally I don't smell the meat much at all.

When I cook liver for treats, I don't really need to cut it much when it's raw. I boil it first so being in big chunks is fine. After it's cooked I let it cool then cut it into treat-sized pieces, and then bake it.

My dogs always help by licking the cutting board clean. No point in wasting all the blood!


----------



## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

Well if you want to cook kidneys to eat, you'll have to do some deveining and prepping. It doesn't really smell bad afterwards. If you're cooking for the dog and want to keep it smelling as nasty as possible, it'll probably be worse than liver.

Cutting up liver is kinda messy cause the liver itself kind of falls apart. It's like a mixture of blood and liver goo. More fresh liver tends to stay together better and also doesn't smell as bad. Liver seems to go rancid pretty quickly for me. Partially frozen like Shell said is always a good way to make any meat or organs easier to cut.


----------



## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

I really like liverwurst with brown mustard and onions, so maybe I'd like the taste of liver, but the look, gag!

To me, though, cooking turkey is way worse. I love to eat turkey, but cooking turkey makes me nauseated. (Yeah, I just love Thanksgiving.)

I really want a dehydrator. I just have to convince my husband that it's cool to give me appliances for Christmas. I'm so old.


----------



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Dehydrators are practically given away on craigslist around here. Big bulky single use appliances are not popular with many people. I think my mom got a working one for under $5 at a garage sale.


----------



## Selah Cowgirl (Nov 14, 2009)

livers and kidneys are not to bad IMO, lungs are worse from my experiences. So squishy and sponge like, plus the tubes are structurally different.


----------



## marsha=whitie (Dec 29, 2008)

I actually really like the smell of cooking liver.

When I deal with liver, I throw it in a big bowl and use a pair of kitchen shears to cut it up. I don't aim for a pretty dinner, just something more easy to eat. LOL

Unless its chicken liver. I don't bother cutting that up. Just flour it and throw it in a frying pan. 

I don't cook liver for the dog, though. I give it to her raw, or give her the blood after I am done prepping my dinner.


----------

