Liver Dumplings — The Dish That Made Me Feel Like I Was Already Home

Thanksgiving again. Third one with the Clarkes. Second one married. The first one I was a guest with careful manners. The second one I was family learning how to be family. This one I just showed up and started cooking and nobody had to tell me where anything was.

I made Gloria fried chicken and brought it alongside Debbie chicken and dumplings and twenty people ate at three tables pushed together in the Clarke living room. Marcus said grace and included my name again and this time I did not need Tyler hand to hold. I just let my name be in the grace and felt it land.

Gloria came this year. She did not come last year because the drive was too far for her hips. This year Marcus drove out to Prattville and picked her up himself and brought her, and Destiny came too, and at some point during dinner Marcus said to Destiny: you know you are basically family now, right. Destiny looked at him with enormous seriousness and said yes, she knew. Marcus laughed. Debbie teared up. I teared up. Tyler looked at me tearing up and said to the table: this is a standard Thursday in our house.

Tyler brother Daniel said I was officially a Clarke now, ring or not. He did not know that Marcus had said almost exactly the same thing last year. I told him that. He said great minds. He is not wrong.

Debbie’s chicken and dumplings have been the anchor of every Clarke Thanksgiving I’ve been lucky enough to sit through, and the year Gloria finally made it back to the table, I wanted to bring something that could hold its own beside hers — something with the same quiet weight, the same sense that someone cared enough to make it from scratch. Liver dumplings are not glamorous, but they are exactly that kind of food: dense, savory, the sort of thing you make when you want people to feel full in a way that goes past the stomach. That’s what that Thursday asked for, and that’s what I brought.

Liver Dumplings

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 lb beef or chicken liver, trimmed and finely ground or minced
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 small yellow onion, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 6 cups beef or chicken broth, for simmering

Instructions

1. Prepare the liver. Finely mince or grind the liver until it reaches a smooth, paste-like consistency. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
2. Mix the dough. Add the breadcrumbs, flour, eggs, grated onion, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and marjoram to the liver. Stir until a cohesive, slightly sticky dough forms. If the mixture is too wet, add breadcrumbs one tablespoon at a time until it holds shape.
3. Rest the mixture. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 10 minutes. This helps the dumplings hold together during cooking.
4. Shape the dumplings. With lightly floured hands, roll the mixture into balls roughly 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Set aside on a floured surface.
5. Simmer the broth. Bring the broth to a gentle simmer in a large pot over medium heat. Do not allow it to reach a rolling boil, which can break the dumplings apart.
6. Cook the dumplings. Carefully drop the dumplings into the simmering broth in batches. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, turning once, until the dumplings are cooked through and firm. They will rise slightly when done.
7. Serve. Ladle the dumplings and broth into bowls. Garnish with additional fresh parsley if desired. Serve hot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 210 | Protein: 18g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 16g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 620mg