Althouse: "The Liver Mush Wager."

May 6, 2011

"The Liver Mush Wager."

"Be it known that the undersigned (Mary Byrnes and Nate Kreuter) have agreed that liver mush is the most disgusting food product imaginable, and have placed the offensive frozen pork product at the center of a similarly agreed-upon wager. Mary Byrnes and Nate Kreuter have wagered to each write five (5) scholarly articles during the 2010-2011 academic year...."

Via 3X3 via Inside Higher Ed.

24 comments:

Shouting Thomas said...: Now, if they were real men, they would have a wager on who could eat more of that shit.; 5/6/11, 7:32 AM
traditionalguy said...: I suddenly have an idea for a new fast food chain.; 5/6/11, 7:43 AM
Joseph of FP said...: The main problem with liver mush is its name. heh heh

It would be more popular if folks called it something like Crispy Fried Sausage Patties.

Crispy Fried Sausage Patty
or
Liver Mush

One certainly looks more appetizing on a menu.; 5/6/11, 7:55 AM
Bob_R said...: Just what the world needs. five more English papers and five more sociology papers written under threat of liver mush.; 5/6/11, 8:00 AM
Crimso said...: Just plain old mush (a cornmeal-based concoction containing "normal" pork bits) is a personal favorite. Liver should not be eaten. It should be respected. The most glorious and wonderful of all organs, its selfless dedication to the rest of the body going largely unnoticed (until it is too late).

I wish it was as easy as declaring I will write 5 scholarly papers during the next year, and then just banging them out. The pesky detail of having to do conclusive experiments pretty much puts the kibosh on that (especially in light of the other duties I have assigned).; 5/6/11, 8:19 AM
Simon Kenton said...: I'll offer both a steak dinner not to write the articles.; 5/6/11, 8:33 AM
MadisonMan said...: Professors in Sociology and in English have time to waste on things like this.

How is liver mush different from scrapple?; 5/6/11, 8:42 AM
ricpic said...: Slimy okra is worse.; 5/6/11, 8:49 AM
Greg Hlatky said...: How is liver mush different from scrapple?

Scrapple is pork trimmings and cornmeal. Goetta ("Cincinnati caviar") is pork and beef trimmings and oatmeal. Both are delicious.; 5/6/11, 8:52 AM
MadisonMan said...: Greg, my question was in jest. I do not like Scrapple. I do not like liver. I suspect I would not like liver mush, however it's made.

Unless it's very small strips of liver, sauteed in bacon fat. That might taste okay if all you can taste is bacon.; 5/6/11, 8:55 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I love scrapple!

We had it all the time when I was a kid and never considered complaining about it.; 5/6/11, 9:17 AM
Ann Althouse said...: On the other hand, I'd be creeped out by a block of scrapple in the store and would never buy it and take it home and try to cook it.

But served up crispy on the outside and mushy on the inside, after somebody else has done the cooking... that's good!; 5/6/11, 9:18 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I do not like Scrapple. I do not like liver. I suspect I would not like liver mush, however it's made.

How do you know unless you try it (your mother scolds you).

Actually scrapple is very good when prepared properly and well spiced. I really like scrapple.

I've never had liver mush, but I would certainly give it a try.

The problem with liver today is that all we get in the stores are older beef livers instead of the delicious, tender, buttery calves liver that was the norm in the past.

And while I'm bitching about the food, what is up with chickens today. They are the size of small turkeys. A 'frying' chicken in the past was about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds. NOW they are over 5 pounds. Gigantic chickens!!!!; 5/6/11, 9:21 AM
Unknown said...: What, no "Liver Mush" tag? You know you're gonna need it. Don't you wish you already had one? Be the first on your block!; 5/6/11, 9:23 AM
Unknown said...: I feed my numerous dogs mostly raw meat. Even they don't like liver much. Some will refuse to eat it, even when hungry. I accept their conclusion and concur emphatically.; 5/6/11, 9:27 AM
John Burgess said...: I like nearly all the awful offal. Scrapple is great stuff, but yes, it needs to be cooked right: crispy on the outside, still soft on the inside.

Liver mush is always soft and that's not necessarily to its benefit. It's sometimes put into sausage casings, which helps, but the texture's not greatly improved.

If you don't like the taste of liver, there's no way you're going to like liver mush.; 5/6/11, 9:30 AM
Cheryl said...: I grew up having liver mush at my grandparents' house near Hendersonville, NC, and loved it. Of course, I only saw the thin slices, fried crispy. YUM Once I saw the block of it in their refrigerator. Gross! But I kept eating it, because it is so good.

The thought of actually buying and preparing it is just too much, though, so my kids have missed out. I wonder what else they've missed out on because of my ook-factor?; 5/6/11, 10:04 AM
Joe said...: Tripe and intestines are worse.; 5/6/11, 10:17 AM
MadisonMan said...: @DBQ: The smell of liver turns me off. My wife loves the stuff.; 5/6/11, 10:17 AM
edutcher said...: The Blonde will vote for oysters, squid, anything with a slimy texture.

Nice to see Ann remembers her Philadelphia-area roots.

My mom, however, couldn't stand scrapple. I'm willing to bet they ate a ton of it during the Depression.; 5/6/11, 10:26 AM
George said...: How is "liver mush" different than liverwurst, which rocks?; 5/6/11, 11:18 AM
Lincolntf said...: "I grew up having liver mush at my grandparents' house near Hendersonville, NC, and loved it."

Is "mush" the same as "pudding"?Moved to NC a few years ago and was horrified to see TV ads for "Neese's Liver Pudding" running at dinner time. The name turned my stomach. I couldn't escape the thought of creamy chocolate pudding somehow integrated with a chunk of fried liver. I've still never touched the stuff, and I guess I never will. Some first impressions just don't go away.; 5/6/11, 12:08 PM
Cheryl said...: Lincolntf-
No, it was nothing like pudding. It's a block of taupe, um, something, with spices. (Now that I've written that, I don't really recall eating many good things that were taupe.)

It is firm, so it can be sliced into thin (1/8-1/4 inch) slices and fried. As a matter of fact, if it got too thick I didn't like it. Too much mush and not enough crunch.

My mom, who grew up in Alabama, couldn't stand the stuff and never touched it, much to my grandad's amusement. But I was Pop's girl and loved it.; 5/6/11, 4:28 PM
caplight said...: I love scrapple. Best scrapple I ever ate I raised the hog myself and had it dressed by a Mennonite butcher who smoked the hocks and hams with cherry wood and made the scrapple himself. Fried till crisp on both sides. Heaven. Or whatever the Pennsylvania Dutch word is for paradise.; 5/6/11, 7:40 PM