Veal liver and bacon is a dish containing

veal liver Veal is the meat of Calf (animal), calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any List of cattle breeds, breed, however most veal comes from young male calves of Dairy cattle, dairy br ...

and

bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...

History

Cookbook authors such as Xavier Raskin (1922) have suggested that the dish was French in origin. It appears in American cookbooks as early as 1857, and in Scotland as early as 1862. For many years, liver was quite inexpensive in the United States, as many Americans were not interested in it. As Americans became more cosmopolitan in their tastes, they learned to appreciate new dishes. This trend, combined with the discovery of the nutritive value of iron-rich liver, caused an increase in demand for, and the price of, liver. While the "simple" and "homely" dish is found frequently in cookbooks that feature inexpensive foods, such as the 1898 ''Practical Cookery Manual of Plain and Middle Class Recipes'', it is also featured in ''The White House Cookbook'' by Hugo Ziemann, who was a

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

steward. For some restaurants, liver and bacon was a signature dish: in 1925, the Homestead Room in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, took out a full-page ad praising its calf's liver and bacon. In 2004, the American ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good House ...

'' cookbook referred to the dish as "classic", a status reinforced by its occurrence in such famous cookbooks as

Isabella Beeton Isabella Mary Beeton ( Mayson; 14 March 1836 – 6 February 1865), known as Mrs Beeton, was an English journalist, editor and writer. Her name is particularly associated with her first book, the 1861 work ''Mrs Beeton's Book of Household ...

's ''

Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management ''Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management'', also published as ''Mrs. Beeton's Cookery Book'', is an extensive guide to running a household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton and first published as a book in 1861. Previously p ...

'' and

Christian Isobel Johnstone Christian Isobel Johnstone (1781–1857) was a prolific journalist and author in Scotland in the nineteenth century. She was a significant early feminist and an advocate of other liberal causes in her era. She wrote anonymously, and under the pseud ...

's ''The Cook and Housewife's Manual''.

Preparation

Slices of bacon are fried and slices of veal liver (often covered in flour) are sauteed in the rendered fat. The bacon and slices of liver are placed in a dish and covered with a gravy made with the

fond In the culinary arts, fond is a contraction of ''fonds de cuisine'' which is loosely described as "the foundation and working capital of the kitchen". It refers to a flavorful liquid that is used as foundation (''fondation'' in French, hence the ...

. Many recipes call for the liver to be scalded first. It is imperative that the dish be served quickly, as the liver ought to be eaten when hot and tender. Besides at dinner or supper (Mrs Beeton suggests it ''aux fines herbes'' as an entree in a copious meal), one finds calf's liver and bacon as a breakfast meat also, for instance in the Sherwood hotel in Florida, 1903.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calf's Liver And Bacon Bacon dishes Veal dishes British cuisine French cuisine Food combinations Liver (food) Historical foods in American cuisine