I’m committed to serving organ meats weekly in our home. It’s become a steady part of our rhythm that has familiarity and comfort. This week, let Chicken Liver Enchiladas inspire you to put liver on your table.
In the Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck pauses to explain the steadiness of Ma. “She seemed to know that if she swayed the family shook…” I’ve learned, through motherhood, that my own steadiness defines the world around me. Both in how I see the world, and how steady action compounds over time.
Weather
A mom sets the weather for her family. We have the privilege and opportunity to regulate little (and big) people sometimes dozens of times a day. Didn’t like the way you handled that one? Not to worry, they will give you another chance momentarily.
Want to change the path of your life? Your health, or work, or relationships? An intentional and small divergence today, with steady action over time, will shift the path in a completely new direction.
It’s up to us to take responsibility for how we see the world, and how that spills around us. Take responsibility for our choices, our responses, our interactions and decide how they will go. I’ve found that setting intentions for the seasons of my life, each day at a time or even for individual interactions can cast a strong influence on outcomes. Besides, as my friend Carrie Contey often says, “What you appreciate appreciates.”
No kids, no family? We all have many interactions each day and our view of the world will be reflected through all of them.
John Steinbeck’s description of ‘Ma’
Perhaps one of the most beautiful descriptions of an intentional mom comes from John Steinbeck’s poignant book, The Grapes of Wrath. Through tragedy and suffering, Ma “steps into a high calm and superhuman understanding.” Graceful and humble.
“Ma was sturdy, but not fat; thick with childbearing and work… and her strong, broad, bare feet moved quickly and deftly over the floor. Her full face was not soft; it was controlled, kindly… She seemed to know, to accept, to welcome her position, the citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken…”
She chooses how to regulate her family, using her own emotions.
“And since old Tom and the children could not know hurt or fear unless she acknowledged hurt or fear, she had practiced denying them in herself. And since, when a joyful thing happened, they looked to see whether joy was on her, it was her habit to build laughter out of inadequate materials. But better than joy was calm. Imperturbability could be depended on.”
And so she carries them through.
“And from her great and humble position in the family she had taken dignity and a clean calm beauty. From her position as healer, her hands had grown sure and cool and quiet; from her position as arbiter she had become as remote and faultless in judgement as a goddess. She seemed to know that if she swayed, the family shook…”
Chicken Liver Enchiladas
As enchiladas always are, this dish is a bit of a labor of love, but yields a large casserole with leftovers to spare. And listen, anything that comes wrapped and covered in sauce should definitely include some liver. Whether you intend to hide it or not.
From top left: poaching the livers, shredded chicken, mashed livers. From bottom left: combining tomatillo sauce, chicken and chicken livers, enchilada filling, and tortillas pan-fried in lard before stuffing
This recipe was inspired by Hilary Boynton‘s ‘Chicken and Liver Enchiladas’ recipe from The Heal Your Gut Cookbook. She continues to inspire as the “Lunch Lady” at the Manzanita School in Topanga Canyon. Speaking of steady, she and her team served up 19,200 nutrient-dense and nourishing meals in 2018-2019, and counting for this school year.
So own your values and commit to being steady in your pursuit of them. In this case, organ meats every week, no matter the vehicle. While offering Chicken Liver Enchiladas, trust that “from [your] position as healer, [your] hands [have] grown sure and cool and quiet.”
Chicken Liver Enchiladas
Notes
This recipe could be made with about 2.5 lbs chicken breasts and 1 lb livers, and poaching water could still be reserved for the 'broth' in the recipe and other kitchen uses if desired.
Ingredients
For the Chicken and Livers (and Broth)
- 1 large whole chicken
- filtered water
- 1 lb chicken livers, trimmed
- 1 carrot (optional)
- 1 celery stick (optional)
- 1 onion, peeled and split into quarters (optional)
- 1 head of garlic, halved (optional)
- bouquet garni of bay leaves, parsley, and thyme (optional)
For the Enchilada Sauce
- 3 lbs tomatillos
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 t cumin, optional
- 1/2 t oregano, optional
- 1/2 t new mexico chile powder, optional
- salt
- 2 T lard
- 1/2 c chicken broth
For the Enchiladas
- Shredded chicken
- Enchilada sauce
- 4-8 T lard
- 16 tortillas
- 8 oz pepper jack or cheddar cheese, shredded
- sour cream
- avocado slices
- tomato, coarsely chopped
- cilantro, chopped
- lime wedges
Instructions
For the Chicken and Livers (and Broth)
- In a large pot, barely cover chicken with filtered water and bring to a boil. Skim any foam that rises and leave at a simmer. After about 45 minutes, keep broth on a simmer and remove chicken. Take as much meat from your bird as you can and reserve carcass.
- Using the broth in the pot, add the trimmed livers and poach for 5-8 minutes until cooked but still pink in the center. Remove these and reserve. Return your chicken carcass to broth in the pot. Shred chicken and reserve. Mash livers and reserve.
- Optionally, add carrot, celery, onion, garlic and bouquet garni to pot with the carcass and continue simmering. Regardless if you add the vegetables, after another few hours, strain, season and reserve remaining broth for other uses.
For the Enchilada Sauce
- Meanwhile, peel tomatillos and place on a baking sheet. Roast at 400F for about 45 minutes until browned. If tomatillos are soft, but not browning - turn oven up to broil for last few minutes to get some color on them. When soft and browned, dump tomatillos into a food processor along with the onion and garlic, optional spices, and salt. (Note: I had a 5lb chicken, yielded about half that in meat, and used 3-3.5 teaspoons fine-ground celtic sea salt - about 1 teaspoon per pound of cooked meat, including livers. It's nice to get the salt mixed well into the sauce, but you will have a chance to taste and add more later if needed.) Blend well.
- Heat lard in a pan on medium-high. When shimmering (but before smoking), pour the contents of the food processor into the lard and stir a bit to let everything get to know one another. Lower heat to medium-low, scoop out a half cup or so of chicken/liver broth from your simmering pot and add to the sauce. Let all of this cook down for about 10-15 minutes and thicken just a bit.
For the Enchiladas
- Reserve 3/4 cup enchilada sauce and set aside. In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken, mashed chicken livers, and remaining enchilada sauce. Mix well. Taste. Add more salt or other seasonings if needed. If adding seasoning at this stage, make sure to mix very well afterward.
- In a pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons lard. Two at a time, add the tortillas, fry them up in the lard, using tongs to flip them over and move them around a bit, until they are nice and malleable, but saturated with lard (pardon the pun) and puff a bit. Set aside on a plate and cook up two more, until you have fried them all. Add more lard as needed.
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Pour 1/4 cup of your reserved enchilada sauce into a 9 x 13 baking dish to barely cover the bottom of the casserole. When cool enough to handle, fill your tortillas one at a time with the meat/sauce mixture, roll them up and arrange in your dish. Continue until you have used all your tortillas and meat/sauce mixture. Cover with the remaining enchilada sauce. Bake until warmed through (if prepared in advance and refrigerated, this could be up to 75 or 90 minutes, else about 20-30 minutes). Two options with your cheese: add shredded cheese before baking and cook until cheese is bubbling and browned. Else, warm enchiladas through in advance and add shredded (raw) cheese afterward to melt on your hot dish. Garnish with sour cream, avocado slices, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
Wow that looks great!
Thanks, Andrea!