Want a Meat Cupcake? Or How 'bout a Meat Muffin?

It was only a matter of time before these became a reality.  I'm surprised I didn't make them sooner.  Think of them either as big meatballs, or baby meatloaf.  Whichever you prefer.  But they are meaty, yummy, packed insanely full of nutrients, and portable!

We are trying to incorporate grassed beef-liver into our diets.  We had some last month, and while good, not something I'll be making again soon.  It was just too tough and liver-y.   But mixed with ground meat and baked with herbs?  Now there's a winner.  This made quite a lot.  MKG ate maybe 4 of them, S ate 1,  so a normal servings is probably 3.  I highly recommend you try making these as described, with 100% grassfed beef liver.  Just try it!  Even grassfed liver is cheap- like $2.99 for a pound!  Can't beat that.

I made these with ground turkey- 1) because that's what I had and 2) i thought these would be heavy enough with the liver, so though some light meat might be nice.  Use what you got.

Meat Cupcakes with Grassfed Beef Liver (makes approx. 16)
1 lb 100% grassfed beef liver
1 1/2-2 lbs ground turkey, however much is in your container
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 red onion, chopped finely
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tsp oregano
your fave marinara sauce for dipping

In your cuisinart, pulse your beef liver until it is well broken up, basically a liquid.  Sorry- this is not fun and way gross.  I really don't know what else to tell you.  But I would feel terrible not giving you a little warning.  Maybe you won't be grossed out like I was, hopefully not!  Pour the liver into a bowl with your ground meat and throw in your onion, garlic, salt and pepper, oregano, and basil.  Incorporate well with a fork but don't over mix.  Spoon into lined muffin tin and bake at 425 for 30 minutes or so.  There will be a considerable amount of liquid so don't worry when you see it bubbling at the top.  The tops should brown nicely.

Want meatballs instead?  Be my guest!  But you'll need to add something starchy because this is a very wet mixture.  Or just bake as a loaf instead.  That will just take longer.

With some yummy marinara, this is a really great recipe and easy to eat/snack on and grab and go.  We have quite a few left and I bet these would even freeze well!

Try them and let me know what you think!  Or perhaps, sub the liver for pastured chicken liver if that's more accessible.  But please, don't use livers from a grain-fed, sick animal.

Enjoy GFG's!  Xoxo
Edit:  These actually get better in the fridge the next day, or the day after.  I actually much preferred them two days later.  Just FYI!