Pulled it off when internal temp hit 140* and sliced at 146*...Did up a sage and red wine gravy with the bacon and onions and served with smoked veg
Any one have a better way of doing this?.. Flavour was great but the texture kills me.
That's something I haven't smoked yet, myself, but, I think a very thin slice will at least somewhat help the texture at a lower finished temp (that always was something I needed to get past as well).
The finishing touches and plating make it look good enough to eat!!!
OK, as for suggestions on possibly making it better, think along the lines of pulled pork...high finished temp to tenderize it. I know what you're thinking...high finished temp equals dried-out liver, and this likely is true with conventional cooking methods. What I'm about to suggest may or may not be the right method for a liver, but I've had good results with everything else I've hot-smoked...I just never had the opportunity to try it with liver.
This is a long read, and explains the whole concept and how to set up your smoker to make this method work (very simple, actually)...it may be worth a shot to get the texture more palatable without drying-out the liver beyond recognition. Read the first few paragraphs explaining how and why it works...then decide if it's something you'd like to try in the future:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/wet-to-dry-no-foil-smoke-chamber-method-for-smoking-meats
BTW, being this is beef liver, I would also suggest a simple rub of SPOG (salt, pepper, onion, garlic), at a ratio of approx, 1:1:4:2. Beef doesn't seem to need a lot of enhancement, being it is a stronger flavor, and this is a very strong flavor of organ meat...the onion probably will do best as the dominant flavor, while the garlic gives a little extra push, just to cover some of the mineral flavor of the liver (dried onion has a slightly sweet back-ground).
Again, what you did with that liver looks and sounds primo...I had to scratch my head to figure out what you could do to make it better, but if texture is the main issue, I think the wet-to-dry smoke chamber may be just the trick. Exactly what finished temp will get the texture more to your liking may take a bit of trial and error...somewhere around 175*F may be a good starting point, and if it doesn't probe tender when you poke around inside, just give it more time for higher I/T and probe it again. I'm just not sure about how high you can go before the liver simply turns to mush inside from over-cooking.
I wish I had more definitive info for you...hope this helps.
Eric