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Chicken hearts...

Stigand

By Stigand
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Stigand

Stigand

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Just had a couple of dozen chicken hearts for dinner.

Marinaded in lemon juice, chilli, garlic and ras-el-hanout (because it happened to be around), then grilled quickly in a hot pan so still pink within.

I can't believe how good they are, especially given that they are so cheap. (Less than £1 ($1.80) for a pound, even in the food hall of Selfridges, a posh London department store) They're succulent in the way that chicken thighs are, but have the deep flavour I'd associate more with chicken livers (without the slightly unwholesome crumbly/gooey taste that chicken livers can sometimes take on).

Does anyone else have any good tips for cooking chicken hearts? Why are they so hard to find in shops (at least, in the UK - but I remember them being hard to find in the US too)?

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Knicke

Knicke

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Maybe it's just a demand thing? People just don't want them or know what to do with them? I admit that I would not have thought of eating them until seeing this post...now I really want to try 'em!! Dang. I haven't seen them at any of the run-of-the-mill groceries here in the States...I don't know why so many folks are squeamish about attacking the innards; a lot of them will eat hotdogs without a second thought (shudder).

Nikki Hershberger

An oyster met an oyster

And they were oysters two.

Two oysters met two oysters

And they were oysters too.

Four oysters met a pint of milk

And they were oyster stew.

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Stigand

Stigand

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Looking at the ingredient list on the back, it's a mixture of:

Galangal, Rosebuds, Black peppercorns, Ginger, Cardamom, Nigella, Cayenne, Allspice, Lavender, Cinnamon, Cassia, Coriander, Mace, Nutmeg and Cloves.

I picked up a packet about a year ago to make a sort of Moroccan-influence lamb dish. It's got a floral/curry/spicey smell (as you can imagine with all that lot in there!) :smile:

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Susan in FL

Susan in FL

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They do rock. I wish I could find a place to buy just hearts. When we cook the giblets of a whole chicken, before dinner for that treasured snack, one giving the other the heart is such a good way to say I love you. :wub: Then besides that, he eats the liver and I eat the gizzard.

Life is short; eat the cheese course first.

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bleachboy

bleachboy

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I'll be honest. I've never eaten the heart, liver, gizzards, etc that come with poultry. But I'm game. My chickens never seem to have those parts, but my ducks always do. What's the simplest way to cook them for a "snack"?

Don Moore

Nashville, TN

Peace on Earth

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Stigand

Stigand

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Either cook it quickly in a grill pan, or, if you're making stock for gravy for the duck, boil the heart in the stock with the other giblets and eat it when it's boiled. I prefer grilled.

I remember hearing that in Argentinian churrascarias (sp?) they're grilled on skewers as an appetiser (before the more serious business of eating pounds and pounds of steak).

As far as supply is concerned, I can only find one place in London that sells them: the Selfridge's food hall. Even the poulterer at Borough Market laughed when I asked him if they'd sell the hearts. Given how many people buy chicken breasts or even whole chickens without giblets, I imagine there's a huge surplus of chicken hearts sitting out there somewhere (although the idea of a warehouse of chicken hearts isn't all that appealing, come to think of it :huh: ).

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Ling

Ling

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They do rock. I wish I could find a place to buy just hearts. When we cook the giblets of a whole chicken, before dinner for that treasured snack, one giving the other the heart is such a good way to say I love you. :wub: Then besides that, he eats the liver and I eat the gizzard.

I buy packages of chicken hearts, gizzards, and other innards at Asian grocery markets.

Lorna Yee

the cool kids at belltown lofts

The Cookbook Chronicles

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KatieLoeb

KatieLoeb

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Perhaps if there's a good poultry only shop near you, you could request the hearts? Here in Philly, I'd probably go to Godschall's Poultry at Reading Terminal Market or Esposito's Meats at the Italian Market. Are there any large markets near you that have a poultry vendor? I suspect if no one asks for them they probably get thrown out. :sad:

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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Jinmyo

Jinmyo

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Packages of chicken hearts, chicken livers are common at grocery stores in Ottawa.

But then tripe and pig's feet and cow hearts and so on are pretty common as well.

For pig's ears and "beef bung" and "pork bung" you'll have to go to the Asian markets.

I've never seen "chicken bung" though.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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balmagowry

balmagowry

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Perhaps if there's a good poultry only shop near you, you could request the hearts?  Here in Philly, I'd probably go to Godschall's Poultry at Reading Terminal Market or Esposito's Meats at the Italian Market.  Are there any large markets near you that have a poultry vendor?  I suspect if no one asks for them they probably get thrown out. :sad:

I always figured they ended up as cat food. "Chicken by-products," don't you know.

My parents always loved the gizzard but not the heart - go figure. I love gizzards too, but I figured being guaranteed the heart was not a bad trade-off, when eating with them - especially since I'm the only one who likes the lungs. And my mother and I always scrupulously shared the pope's nose.

Chicken livers are easy to come by here, in 1-lb tubs, but none of the other offal. Go figure. Once in a blue moon a package of hearts and/or gizzards will turn up at my local supermarket for no discernible reason, and that's when I make merry. Asian grocers - will have to try that. Thanks, Ling.

BTW, Bleachboy, since you're new at this - you probably don't want to cook the liver the same way as the heart and gizzard; it's more delicate and can be more easily ruined by overcooking. I like to sautee it in plenty of butter, very hot, so it gets brown on the outside, even a little crispy at the edges, but stays pink inside. Mmmmmmm... and then I do reprehensible things with the butter that's left in the pan.... :wub::wub:

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Mabelline

Mabelline

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Mhhhm..chicken hearts...5 million cats with smiles on their little catfaces. I think the mass purveyors got tired of packages of intense innards going unsold, and they are indeed the stuff of my kitties' Fancy Feast. It's too bad.

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KatieLoeb

KatieLoeb

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D'oh! "By-products". Of course, of course...

I can't believe this didn't dawn on me, but I guess I always thought "by-products" referred to ground up skin, cartilage, popes noses, etc. and not necessarily the innards. Since I see the livers and gizzards for sale at the local market, I just presumed the innards were for (selective) human consumption and if nobody wanted them they'd get tossed.

So how do the bajillions of pounds of unwanted "by-products" get delivered from my local corner butcher shop or poultry store to Purina? Do they come around and pick them up? Just curious, because this whole commercial level operation isn't adding up for me, and clearly there's lots of "by-product" to be had. Does anyone know where the large pet food suppliers source their protein from?

I may not like the answer to this question... :unsure:

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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KatieLoeb

KatieLoeb

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Katie, when you have a large processing plant, not just a producer, there are 100 thousand chickens being 'processed' in a day. In probably two or three days they will have a truckload or two of 'parts'.

OK. It's all making sense now.

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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Susan in FL

Susan in FL

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I buy packages of chicken hearts, gizzards, and other innards at Asian grocery markets.

The super markets carry packages of hearts and gizzards together, but as is printed on the packages, "mostly gizzards," :sad: and of course just livers are widely available. Good idea to check Asian markets.

Life is short; eat the cheese course first.

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jsolomon

jsolomon

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When we grew and butchered our own chickens for our own consumption, the gizzards and hearts were definitely the most sought-after pieces of chicken. Dredged and fried. MMmmmmmm.....

The cats would usually get the livers, but mother would cook them too ungently, so they usually turned out pretty nasty.

I always attempt to have the ratio of my intelligence to weight ratio be greater than one. But, I am from the midwest. I am sure you can now understand my life's conundrum.

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Mabelline

Mabelline

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One of my favorite meals in the whole world is from Wanda's, in Weatherford, Texas. It consists of fried chicken livers, white gravy on the side, a side of lemon slices, collards with bacon, mac/cheese,mashed, and bisquits. All that for 4.95 . Be Still My Heart!!

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Jinmyo

Jinmyo

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Mabelline, that's quite a deal.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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stovetop

stovetop

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chicken liver pate

Wash livers very well

Hot pan

Onions, garlic, thyme, carrot, celery, s&p (small dice)

Add cognac or what ever booze you like

Sautee until fully cooked

cool

add in food processor

put in a crock

add gelatin on top if you want

bread and dip

bottle of wine

Cook To Live; Live To Cook
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