Origin: What am I, chopped liver?

[davidm]

Wiki, for what it’s worth, has a couple of possible explanations.

Chopped liver

Since eating chopped liver may not be appreciated by everyone, the Jewish English expression “What am I, chopped liver?”, signifies frustration or anger at being ignored on a social level.

An alternate explanation for the etymology of the “What am I, chopped liver?” expression is that chopped liver was traditionally served as a side dish rather than a main course. The phrase, therefore may have originally meant to express a feeling of being overlooked, as a “side dish.”

The first explanation isn’t cited. The second one (the side dish explanation) cites something call “Ask the Rabbi”, which doesn’t strike me as any more authoritative on this particular issue than Wiki.

What Am I, Chopped Liver?

I will say that the side dish explanation rings true to me but, as Cecil has said, in etymology something ringing true is often a red flag rather than favorable evidence.