Livermush (North Carolina)

Western North Carolina’s breakfast slice: pork liver and pulled pork simmered with sage in broth, puréed, thickened with grits (and cornmeal if needed), set in a loaf pan, then sliced, dredged in cornmeal and fried crisp.

Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here for the Pâtés and Terrines section and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 8 ounces pork liver (beef liver works fine, too)
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2–3 tablespoons rubbed sage, plus 2 tablespoons more
• 1 quart beef broth
• 1 pound cooked pulled pork
• 1 cup uncooked grits
• Cornmeal, as needed, plus more for dredging
• Salt and pepper
• Oil, for frying

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and sear the liver on both sides. Reduce the heat, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft.
2. Add the pulled pork, 2–3 tablespoons sage and the broth and bring to a simmer.
3. Carefully, so it does not splash, purée roughly with a stick blender.
4. Add the grits and the 2 tablespoons more sage. Simmer, stirring often, until the grits are fully cooked and tender, about an hour. If the mush has not thickened enough, add cornmeal 1–2 tablespoons at a time until it is about as thick as thick oatmeal. Season with salt, pepper and more sage to taste.
5. Transfer to a loaf pan, cover and refrigerate overnight.
6. Slice about 1 inch thick, dredge in cornmeal and fry in a little oil until browned on both sides and crisp at the edges.

Notes

Source Adapted from Steven Goff via Garden & Gun, “How to Make Livermush (and Love It).” The magazine’s other livermush, Clark Barlowe’s Caldwell County family recipe, calls for “1 pork liver” by count and no measured water, so it cannot be followed as published.

A restaurant variation Traditional livermush is bound with cornmeal mush alone; using grits is Goff’s variation.

Serving Goff: on a bun or white toast with American cheese and a runny fried egg, or just with mustard. The traditional Carolina way is seared, with yellow mustard. A loaf keeps a week refrigerated or a month frozen.

The Pâtés and Terrines section’s American Cousins page (/pates-and-terrines/american-cousins/) covers the history and technique behind this dish.

The photo The photograph shows fried slices of livermush.