Lambs fry with bacons and onions is a classic Australian recipe that anyone who enjoys liver and onions will love. Outside of Australia and New Zealand, lambs fry isn’t well known, in fact, if you were in America and ordered something called “lamb fries” you’d get another part of the lamb entirely (testicles!).
Tender pieces of lamb liver in a rich brown sauce with bacon and caramelized onions? Yes please.
Ingredients
Unlike most American liver recipes, typical Australian lambs fry is served in a brown gravy flavored with Marmite, a flavor-packed paste made from yeast. Marmite is hard to get in the United States (you can easily order Marmite online) so I recommend using Worcestershire sauce. It isn’t the same, but it’ll give the gravy some of the depth you want to have.
Cutting lamb liver into large pieces.
Browning the liver.
The finished dish should have a rich brown gravy.
Caramelized Onions
All you need are yellow onions, a good heavy skillet, and about 20-25 minutes. As another idea, one of my favorite recipes for Veal Liver with Mushrooms, Onions and Bacon is similar to this.
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1.5tablespoonsWorcesterchireor to taste (marmite can be substituted)
1.5cupslamb or chicken stock
Serving
4thick slices of toast
Unsalted butter
Freshly chopped Italian parsleyto garnish
Instructions
Lambs fry should be cooked and served quickly, so read through the entire recipe before proceeding.
Soak the liver
The night beforehand, cut the liver into 1 oz pieces, cover with the milk or water, and refrigerate. When in doubt, cut the liver into larger pieces rather than smaller, since you don’t want to overcook the liver, and you’ll be eating the dish with a knife and fork.
Caramelized onions
Slice the onion into 1 inch julienne, then cook in a greased 12 inch skillet, stirring occasionally, until dark brown, about 20 minutes. If the pan threatens to get too dark, add a splash of water and stir as needed.
Reserve the onions—from here they can be prepared a day or two ahead of time. Reserve 4 oz (1/2 cup) for the sauce. Extras are nice warmed up on a steak.
Toast
Butter the bread on both sides and cook golden brown in a skillet or on a griddle while you prepare the liver and sauce.
Cooking the liver
30 minutes before you want to serve, cut the bacon slices into ½ inch pieces then render on medium high heat (you can bake it too if you prefer) until crisp. Remove the bacon and reserve, and keep the pan hot. You can also prepare the bacon ahead of time and simply reheat it.
Drain the lamb liver well, then toss with the flour. Turn the heat on the pan with the bacon fat to high, then quickly add the pieces of liver, tapping off the excess. Brown the liver quickly over high heat, then transfer the browned pieces to a pan or dish to keep warm while you make the sauce.
Add the teaspoon of flour to the pan, stir, then add the onions and brandy, and cook for 1 minute. Add the stock and Worcesterchire, bring the mixture to a simmer, stir until thick, double check the seasoning, adjust as needed, then add the browned liver back to the pan and stir to coat with the sauce.
Finishing and serving
Add the bacon back to the pan, or save it to garnish the finished plates as pictured. Divide the lambs fry, onions and their gravy between the slices of toast on 4 preheated plates, garnish with the fresh parsley, and serve. Alternately, supply the griddled toast on plates and allow guests to serve themselves from the pan, family style.
Notes
Either lamb or goat liver can be used for this recipe. Venison liver works too.