Poultry Viscera and Other Offal

[liuzhou]

@Anna Nasked me recently on the Snacking while eGulleting topic about dealing with chicken hearts and their preparation, saying 

 

Quote

I see there are those who claim they do not require any preparation prior to cooking, and those who are horrified by this idea.

 

I answered that I always prepare them by removing excess fat, veins, ventricles, and membranes, etc and I promised a picture. This isn't quite it; these are duck hearts but the principles are the same. Then I got thinking that I eat a lot of poultry viscera / offal and perhaps a dedicated topic would be useful to some people. We've got the various livers obviously, but also hearts, kidneys, gizzards, duck or goose intestines, chicken testicles, duck tongues and more.

 

Anyway, I'll start with the duck heart preparation, cooking and eating. This was my lunch.

 

First the hearts. First this lot needed washing.

 

Duck hearts as bought

 

Them I trimmed off most of the excess fat using a small paring knife (scissors would work, too) and cut the hearts in half lengthwise. This exposes any veins etc, which should be removed as they are unpalatable and can make the hearts bitter.

 

Trimmed hearts. The excess fat, veins and ventricles are on the left. The cleaned hearts at top centre.

 

The hearts - I did remove that fat on the piece at the top after taking the photo.

 

Chopped about 4 cloves of garlic and one hot red Facing Heaven chilli pepper. Fried those in a cast iron frying pan / skillet along with the hearts in olive oil with salt and pepper for about 5 minutes, testing for just doneness. You want them when they just leave medium rare otherwise they get very tough.

 

Cooking Hearts

 

These I served in wholewheat pita breads. Three servings (all for me) from 250g of hearts purchased.

 

Spicy Duck Hearts in Pita

 

Of course, I used a spicy approach and they do work very well with garlic, but feel free, as always, to experiment with your favourite flavours.  I would have added some finely chopped coriander leaf / cilantro at the end but forgot to buy any . They would be good with a salad, too.

 

Then there is breakfast and there is nothing nicer than duck hearts on toast.

 

Duck Hearts on Toast

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

I’ll get this one out of the way. 鸡蛋 (jī dàn) means chicken eggs which obviously come from the hens, but 公鸡蛋 (gōng jī dàn) means roosters’ eggs!

 

公鸡蛋 - Chicken Testicles

 

What we are talking here are chicken testicles which are popular delicacy here in China. In western countries, few people even know roosters have such appendages as they are found inside the bird next to the kidneys, near the backbone. The little pink (usually*) sausage-like, vaguely egg-shaped nuggets are, no surprise, believed by followers of TCM to enhance male virility.

 

They are known by various names, such as prairie oysters**, rocky mountain oysters**, rooster fries, chicken beans, and many more names. “Chicken balls” is a mainly Chinese-American preparation, generally unknown in China. They do not contain reproductive organ meat!

 

The testicles can vary a lot in size depending on the age of the rooster, but are generally larger than one might expect until you realise that the average rooster on the farm has to “service” 20 to 30 hens per day!

 

Testicles showing size variation

 

The prep is simple. They only require washing and any strings removed. The outer skin is usually removed like peeling a sausage. They are then usually simmered in a simple broth with vegetables or, especially, mushrooms. Sometimes, they are briefly marinated in rice wine before being introduced to the broth.

 

Fifteen minutes maximum will see them fully cooked, but true connoisseurs prefer them rarer, with a soft tofu like texture even heading to liquid in the centre.

 

Fried chicken testicles are a popular street food in Taiwan and I’ve seen grilled sets on skewers (ouch) in various parts of China.

 

The taste is mild and reminiscent of chicken livers. If you imagine chicken liver flavoured tofu, you’ll be close. I find them quite pleasant, but don’t go mad looking for them, not that I have to here. They are easily available.

 

They seem to be seldom eaten in the west, so are not so easily obtained most places, although I hear that in Hungary, kakashere pörkölt (rooster testicle stew) is a fairly popular dish at festivals.

 

Turkey testicles can be treated in the same fashion, but turkeys (火鸡 - huǒ jī, literally 'fire chicken') are rare in China.

 

* Silkies, aka black chickens or black-boned chickens (although they are almost always white-feathered), have black testes matching the colour of their flesh and bones. Their testes are seldom available in western countries, but can be found here.

 

** These terms are also applied to the testicles of other animals.

Edited December 13, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Where I come from, they're also known as "bull fries." Many years ago there was a barbecue restaurant near Glenwood Springs (CO) that served them, but you'll be hard pressed to find them on many menus these days. Ranchers, of course, have ample access to them. I'll have to ask our rancher friends if they ever eat them. I would think a day of castrating calves would kinda put you off anything like that, though.

[liuzhou]

3 hours ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

Where I come from, they're also known as "bull fries." Many years ago there was a barbecue restaurant near Glenwood Springs (CO) that served them, but you'll be hard pressed to find them on many menus these days. Ranchers, of course, have ample access to them. I'll have to ask our rancher friends if they ever eat them. I would think a day of castrating calves would kinda put you off anything like that, though.

 

Bull fries from chickens? And why would ranchers have more access to chicken testicles?

Edited December 11, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Anna N]

8 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Then I got thinking that I eat a lot of poultry viscera / offal and perhaps a dedicated topic would be useful to some people.

Great idea. Thank you.

[kayb]

4 hours ago, liuzhou said:

I’ll get this one out of the way. 鸡蛋 (jī dàn) means chicken eggs which obviously come from the hens, but 公鸡蛋 (gōng jī dàn) means roosters’ eggs!

 

公鸡蛋 - Chicken Testicles

 

What we are talking here are chicken testicles which are popular delicacy here in China. In western countries, few people even know roosters have such appendages as they are found inside the bird next to the kidneys, near the backbone. The little pink (usually*) sausage-like, vaguely egg-shaped nuggets are, no surprise, believed by followers of TCM to enhance male virility.

 

They are known by various names, such as prairie oysters**, rocky mountain oysters**, rooster fries, chicken beans, and many more names. “Chicken balls” is a mainly Chinese-American preparation, generally unknown in China. They do not contain reproductive organ meat!

 

The testicles can vary a lot in size depending on the age of the rooster, but are generally larger than one might expect until you realise that the average rooster on the farm has to “service” 20 to 30 hens per day!

 

The prep is simple. They only require washing and any strings removed. The outer skin is usually removed like peeling a sausage. They are then usually simmered in a simple broth with vegetables or, especially, mushrooms. Sometimes, they are briefly marinated in rice wine before being introduced to the broth.

 

Fifteen minutes maximum will see them fully cooked, but true connoisseurs prefer them rarer, with a soft tofu like texture even heading to liquid in the centre.

 

Fried chicken testicles are a popular street food in Taiwan and I’ve seen grilled sets on skewers (ouch) in various parts of China.

 

The taste is mild and reminiscent of chicken livers. If you imagine chicken liver flavoured tofu, you’ll be close. I find them quite pleasant, but don’t go mad looking for them, not that I have to here. They are easily available.

 

They seem to be seldom eaten in the west, so are not so easily obtained, although I hear that in Hungary, kakashere pörkölt (rooster testicle stew) is a fairly popular dish at festivals.

 

Turkey testicles can be treated in the same fashion, but turkeys (火鸡 - huǒ jī, literally 'fire chicken') are rare in China.

 

* Silkies, aka black chickens or black-boned chickens (although they are almost always white-feathered), have black testes matching the colour of their flesh and bones. Their testes are seldom available in western countries, but can be found here.

 

** These terms are also applied to the testicles of other animals.

Not uncommon at all in the American Mid-South, both the poultry and the cattle variety. If they’re chicken, they’re usually called “rooster dainties.” Usually dusted heavily with seasoned flour and either pan-fried or deep fried.

[liuzhou]

8 minutes ago, kayb said:

Not uncommon at all in the American Mid-South, both the poultry and the cattle variety. If they’re chicken, they’re usually called “rooster dainties.” Usually dusted heavily with seasoned flour and either pan-fried or deep fried.

 

Thanks. Yes, I knew they were eaten in parts of the USA, but wasn't sure which. Love the euphemistic name, 'dainties'.

[heidih]

Here is a prior topic on gizzards. As a kid the only ones I had were from inside a whole chicken and us cousins had a "pecking order" on whose turn it was for heart and gizzard.Tjey were as clean as need be. @Shelbyn has often shown us her fried gizzards - cpnsider the gizz-queen

[Smithy]

10 minutes ago, heidih said:

Here is a prior topic on gizzards. As a kid the only ones I had were from inside a whole chicken and us cousins had a "pecking order" on whose turn it was for heart and gizzard.Tjey were as clean as need be. @Shelbyn has often shown us her fried gizzards - cpnsider the gizz-queen

 

Thanks for that note, Heidi. For those who can't find it, the specific topic is here: Chicken Gizzards.

[heidih]

ops forgot to insert link - I'll blame the weather and the elders

 

I think the US chain Popeyes used to sell fried gizzards so maybe a South US thing. I do enjoy them.

 

 

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

3 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

Bull fries from chickens? And why would ranchers have more access to chicken testicles?

I was talking about cattle, although many ranchers probably have a few chickens. They are generally not interested in harvesting chicken "dainties," and I'm sure most young roosters are eaten with their testicles intact. Bull calves are routinely castrated to turn them into steers, which are meat animals. Only the best calves are left intact as breeders, and not very many of those. Too many bulls in the pasture makes for a lot of trouble, as you can well imagine. Most ranchers only have a few, depending on the size of their herds, and the bulls are generally kept separate from the cows except during breeding. At least they were where I grew up in Colorado.

[liuzhou]

1 minute ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

I was talking about cattle

 

I guessed but it is topic about poultry.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

That's true. I was so taken by the concept of chicken testicles that I diverged from the topic. But of course they have testicles--don't know why it surprised me.

[blue_dolphin]

13 hours ago, liuzhou said:

I always prepare them by removing excess fat, veins, ventricles, and membranes, etc

When you say you remove the ventricles, does that mean you are only eating the small upper chambers (atria) and discard the muscular lower part (ventricles) or does ventricle have another meaning here?

 

Edited to add that these look like ventricles to me. 

13 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

Edited December 11, 2022 by blue_dolphin (log)

[heidih]

I think processing has changed in mainstream US - you'd see them in the past (the rooster bits). But I have nit seen them "in situ" for a while.

 

I'll mention as well whole cultures that adore grilling these innards. The hearts are a big deal in Latin America - like this https://braziliankitchenabroad.com/grilled-chicken-hearts/  and Japan is no slouch on the grilled chicken innards of all sorts. https://www.kaveyeats.com/japanese-style-yakitori-chicken-hearts

[liuzhou]

6 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

When you say you remove the ventricles, does that mean you are only eating the small upper chambers (atria) and discard the muscular lower part (ventricles) or does ventricle have another meaning here?

 

Edited to add that these look like ventricles to me. 

 

Apologies. I meant the connecting tubes etc between the various parts of the heart have to be removed. The cleaned ventricles are eaten.

[liuzhou]

Perhaps the most divisive ‘nose-to-tail’ part of poultry is a part which many people find repulsive, yet many have eaten unawares, albeit probably not from poultry.

 

Chicken Intestines

 

I’m talking intestines which, of course, have been used as natural sausage casings for centuries*. Poultry intestines aren’t normally used in this way but are very popular in parts of the world.

 

In China, a spicy Chongqing hotpot is incomplete without having some intestines to drop in to quickly cook. Chicken or duck are common but most highly prized are 鹅肠 (é cháng), goose intestines, which in some birds can be as much as three metres / nine feet long. Intestines are also stir-fried with soy sauce. Poultry intestines can be hard to avoid in Hong Kong.

 

Goose Intestines

 

Across SE Asia, poultry intestines are valued highly. Marinated and fried chicken intestines are used in the Philippines for a dish known as ‘Adobong Isaw ng Manok’, or just ‘isaw’, for example.

 

In South Africa, grilled intestines are often part of a braai, or barbecue. Alternatively, they can be curried as ‘curry malana’. Recipe here.

 

Of course, the Southern States in America have their chitterlings or chitlins, but do they also eat poultry intestines?

 

Of course, given the intestines function in the bird, correct and careful preparation is required. The tubes have to be thoroughly cleaned. Squeezing hem between the finger tips can remove the bulk of any waste, but then people get inventive. There are those who destroy their coat hangers to improvise tools to push out any unwanted material. Others fashion mini hoses to wash away the detritus. Many, including me cut the things open and clean under running water. A pair of scissors will do the job, or you can buy these dedicated tools to slit open the guts.

 

Intestine Cutters

 

The Chinese for ‘sausage’ is 腊肠 (là cháng) which literally means ‘cured intestine’.

Edited October 9, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[gfweb]

We really need a "grossed-out" emoji

[liuzhou]

 

...and here is a recipe from one of my Chinese language cookbooks. I have translated the ingredients and summarised the method. Note the lack of detail which is typical of Chinese cookbooks. No timings.

 

泡椒鹅肠 (pào jiāo é cháng)

Goose Intestines With Pickled Chili Peppers

 

300 grams goose intestines

100 g pickled chili peppers

1 red bell pepper

1 clove garlic

1 scallion

10 g ginger

5 g corn or potato starch

salt

sesame oil

 

Clean goose intestines and cut into sections.

Chop peppers. Mince garlic. Chop scallions. Set aside.

 

Boil goose intestines in boiling water, remove and drain.

 

Heat oil in pan and add ginger, garlic and peppers. Stir fry until fragrant.

Add intestines and salt. Thicken with starch. Sprinkle with sesame oil and serve.

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

4 hours ago, liuzhou said:

dedicated tools

I've seen them for sale here and always wondered what they were. The ones here are neon green.

[Tropicalsenior]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

Goose Intestines With Pickled Chili Peppers

Thank you but I will definitely pass on the recipe. Not crazy about pickled Chili Peppers.

[liuzhou]

Just now, Tropicalsenior said:

I've seen them for sale here and always wondered what they were. The ones here are neon green.

 

Yeah. I have some green ones somewhere, too. They came in a batch of 10 in mixed colours. I find them useful for all sorts of things other than what the manufacturer intended.

[liuzhou]

This was the first thing I ever ate in what was to become my future home city. It was 1997 and I was visiting Liuzhou from Hunan Province, where I then lived. The person I was visiting took me for dinner in the hotel I now live next door to all these years later. I moved in 1999.

 

On the table as we sat down was a plate of what looked to me like small, strangely shaped, bifurcated bits of gristle and a bowl of dipping sauce consisting of soy sauce and chilli peppers. Something to munch on as we contemplated the menu. I tentatively reached for a lump of gristle, duly dipped it and slipped it into my mouth. All I tasted at first was the dip, but gradually the flavour of what was dipped came through. A sort of intense duck flavour. The thing was crisp on the outside, but had a creamy mouthfeel on the inside and was oh so tasty.

 

Fried Duck Tongues

 

What I was holding was a deep fried duck tongue 鸭舌 (yā shé). Like most people, I guess, I had never considered whether ducks had tongues or not. I now know they do, but their tongues are not like ours; they have no taste buds. The tongues are merely used to manoeuvrer food into the right position to slip down their gullets. I know people who eat like that, too.

 

Duck tongues are a hugely popular snack or beer food in China; less so elsewhere, it seems. There are two main ways to prepare them here: the first being a Cantonese preparation where they are shallow fried and finished with soy sauce, rice wine and sugar, the second with more of a Hunan influence sees the tongues deep fried and sprinkled with chilli flakes and cumin. I like both, but my preference falls to the latter.

Cantonese cooks also steam the tongues with ginger and rice wine. For some unknown reason, these are never seasoned and for known reasons sorely need to be. I avoid those.

 

There is a recipe of sorts here for spicy duck tongues which is very similar to how I prepare them. Ignore the TCN (Traditional Chinese Nonsense) advice about these being a “cold” food and eating them not provoking anger!

 

I only get angry when they run out!

 

Advertising for industrially produced duck tongues

 

Ready to eat tongues are often sold on supermarket deli counters and there are industrially cooked and packaged versions in convenience stores, but the raw tongues are seldom seen in regular stores. I get them from the local wet market. In the west, I’d be looking in Asian markets or online. They are sold frozen in London’s Chinatown, I know.

 

Finally, here is another recipe from my collection of Chinese language books.

 

 

河虾芦笋鸭舌 (hé xiā lú sǔn yā shé)

River Shrimp, Asparagus and Duck Tongues

 

100 gram river shrimp

100 g asparagus

80 g duck tongues

soy sauce, salt, vinegar

 

Wash the shrimp, asparagus and tongues.

Boil the tongues in salted, boiling water and drain. Reserve.

Steam shrimp until done.

Blanch asparagus and drain.

Dress to taste with light soy sauce and vinegar. Serve.

 

Again, no indication of how long to boil the tongues. Some other recipes recommend up to 30 minutes, but that seems excessive to me. But then I never boil them; always fry.

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[TicTac]

Not having experience with duck hearts, I can only imagine chicken hearts are similar - I have never 'cleaned' (besides a wash in cold water a few times) chicken hearts prior to cooking.  Granted 90% of the time they just go into chicken stock and get the crap simmered out of them, they are delicious, no trace of any bitter taste or stringy'ness.

 

Seems like a waste of time to me! 

 

 

[liuzhou]

Wait till you get a bitter one, then tell me it's a waste of time.

 

Simmering hearts seems like a waste to me. Fry the fellas as nature intended! That's why they have the fat surrounding them.