Duck season is here, finally bringing prized duck liver. Understanding how the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, K2) work together explains why we love it so much!
Pastured or wild ducks are known for having some of the highest quantities of vitamin K2 in the western diet – stored in the liver and fat. But the beauty of the high K2 content in the liver is that it’s combined with vitamins A and D as well, making it a true superfood.
How the fat-soluble vitamins work together
At the highest level, here’s a review of how these three fat-soluble vitamins works together:
- Vitamin A breaks things down, creating opportunities for…
- Vitamin D to build things back up, especially by placing calcium. Yet…
- Vitamin K2 provides the instructions to vitamin D for where to put that calcium.
Consider vitamin A your most important detox vitamin. Detoxing cells (of all types) that are no longer serving you well, clearing them out of the body.
Meanwhile, after you’ve cleaned house, vitamin K2 miraculously tells the vitamin D to put calcium into the bones. Without K2, vitamin D doesn’t know exactly where to put calcium. If you took large amounts of D without any K2, the calcium might end up as plaque on your arteries or teeth, or calcification of soft tissue.
After vitamin A, vitamin K2 shows D exactly how to rebuild – by placing calcium in the bones, where it belongs! Moreover, K2 actually helps remove calcium from those aforementioned places it’s not supposed to be!
Props to Weston A Price
Chopping liver and anchovies
Weston A Price DDS found that all the cultures he studied that were free of dental decay and immunity to tuberculosis, cardiovascular disease, etc all had diets very high in vitamin K2. This vitamin was not known at the time and he referred to it as ‘Activator X.’Â Modern research which has confirmed his findings.
In fact (as I’ve mentioned before), the people he studied had 10 times the fat-soluble vitamins in their diet than Americans of the 1930s.
Vitamin K2 is absent when animals are not raised on pasture. And these nutrients cannot be well-absorbed in a low-fat diet (oops! hence the name fat-soluble vitamins, and the irony of skim, vitamin D-enriched milk).
Duck Liver and Anchovies over Buttered Toast
An earlier version, pureed
That said, don’t be shy about add a generous serving of butter to your toasts before topping with the duck liver and anchovies.
This recipe is adapted from the Duck Liver Crouton recipe in Chez Panisse Cooking by Paul Bertolli with Alice Waters. Â I stumbled upon it flipping through a beautiful library of cookbooks at a friend’s home. Bertolli notes, “traditionally, the mixture forms a coarse spread for country bread that has been doused in poultry broth.”
I did not ‘douse’ my toast in broth for fear of collapse, though please tell me if you have success doing this! A side of broth makes an easy substitute.
The savory flavors in this appetizer, including the salty anchovies and capers, make it hard to eat just a little. Â Then again, liking anchovies and capers on their own may be a prerequisite.
If you can’t find duck livers, carry on anyway with chicken livers. Â It will still be delicious.
Ingredients
For the liver
- 2-3 T lard, divided
- 3 oz proscuitto, chopped
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 T port
- 1 lb duck livers
- salt
- pepper
- 2 oz tin of salted packed anchovies, drained and chopped
- 2 T capers, rinsed
To prepare
- bread
- butter
Instructions
- Prepare the livers by cutting off any connective tissue or any discolored edges. Split or separate the lobes so that they will lay flat in the pan. Lightly season with salt and pepper on each side. (Remember that anchovies will add salt to finished dish.)
- Add the prosciutto to a saute pan over medium heat. Allow it to render it's fat for a few minutes and another minute or so for the edges to crisp. The add a tablespoon of lard, wait for it to melt and add shallot. Cook for 5 minutes until the shallots are soft. Add the port and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Let this cook down for a minute or two until the alcohol has mostly evaporated. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Do not clean pan.
- Add another tablespoon of lard to your pan over medium. Once melted, add the livers and cook for 3-4 minutes per side (slightly less if using smaller chicken livers). Flip the livers with tongs or a spatula and cook on the other side. Livers are done when they are lightly browned or cooked on the outside, but still pink in the center. Remove to a plate. Do not crowd pan, use additional tablespoon lard and cook in another batch if necessary.
- Remove the liver lobes to a cutting board along with the anchovies and coarsely chop all together. Add the liver/anchovy mix to the bowl with the prosciutto and shallots. Add half of the capers and loosely mix. Taste for seasoning, adding salt if necessary and freshly ground pepper.
- Toast bread slices, add a generous serving of butter, and cover with duck liver mix. Garnish with remaining capers.
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