Offal Meats
What are Offal meats? Offal are organ meats and include; liver, heart, gizzard, sweetbreads, and pretty much everything else that Americans no longer eat. It really is a shame that these delicious meats are no longer part of the American kitchen table. I am frankly shocked that the yuppy gormet-mart in my neighborhood does not sell a single variety of offal. On the farm livers, hearts, and gizzards were part of our regular diet. I really like liver and I'd love to have it more.
Why should we care about offal? First and foremost offal is inexpensive. What's really great about that is that they are also delicious. How often can you find stuff for your family's dinner table that is both delicious and inexpensive? Not too often is my experience. But, I'll be the first to admit that offal meat has a bad reputation. I think it mostly comes from being forced to eat stuff as a kid. OK offal is not kid food. Its too minerally and strongly flavored for most kids to love. On the other hand, as adults I think we can rediscover (and love) these flavors with a little effort.
And if you are on a budget these meats can stretch your dollars while still being flavorful and healthy.
Lets start with a list of all the edible offal meats and their names...
- Brain: pretty much impossible to buy because of mad cow disease
- Caul Fat: fat from intestines
- Chitterlings(in the South known as Chittlins): Pig's intestines
- Cock's Comb: floppy thing on the top of a rooster's head
- Foie Gras: fattened livers from ducks and geese (of all the Offal this one is not cheap)
- Giblets: all the stuff that comes in the bag inside your Thanksgiving Turkey
- Gizzards: first stomach of a bird (I absolutely love gizzards)
- Heart: Beef hearts are probably the most popular but all hearts are edible
- Hog's Maw: Stomach of a pig
- Lights: Lungs (OK nobody eats lungs...except maybe in Appalachia)
- Liver: a major organ found in all livestock
- Marrow: the inside of bones
- Orielles: Pig's Ears
- Oxtails: technically the tail of a steer and not really organ meet.
- Prairie Oysters (AKA Rocky Mountain Oysters): Testicles
- Sweetbreads: Often confused for brain its actually the thymus gland
- Tripe: Stomach lining
- Trotters: Feet
