Giblets

[adrober]

I realize there are many recipes for using the giblets that come in the little package inside a whole chicken, but I'm curious if anyone cooks giblets on a regular basis? How do you use them? Or do most of you just throw them away?

[jackal10]

Sure.

Liver->chopped liver. That is what it is there for.

Fat-> schmalz (for the chopped liver), gribeens, etc

Neck-> stuffed

rest -> stock, or chopped into a stew, or into the stuffing

[Jaymes]

I never throw them away. I reserve the livers in a small bag in the freezer until I have enough to fry for dinner (fried chicken livers with gravy are very popular in my part of the country) or use to make chopped liver for a spread.

The remainder are good stewed in broth when making stock. Often, though, after making the stock and straining it, I remove the giblets and give them to the neighbor's dog. Who loves them. I swear he can tell when I'm simmering stock because he always appears at our back door.

Edited January 9, 2006 by Jaymes (log)

[wattacetti]

If you're talking about just the amount that you get inside when buying a whole chicken, not much because there's not material. Neck goes to stock, fat pads get rendered and the gizzard, liver and heart become a quick snack.

I do however buy gizzards in bulk and make confit with them.

[Jensen]

Neck >> eaten by Streaka

Gizzard >> eaten by Tighe

Liver >> eaten by Dayton

Heart >> eaten by Rogie

[I_call_the_duck]

If I'm making a soup or stew, the neck, gizzards and heart are thrown into the pot and given to the cook as a treat. If I'm roasting the bird, I simmer them in a bit of water and use it as a base for gravy. The livers are frozen until there are enough to make a batch of chopped liver.

ETA: If they weren't so bad for me, I'd cook up a whole batch of gizzards and have it for dinner.

Edited January 9, 2006 by I_call_the_duck (log)

[annecros]

I too buy the whole chicken nearly all the time and cut it up myself. I save the scraps in the freezer and use for chicken soup when I have three or so bundles.

After straining the stock, I get the liver and gizzard, the dog gets the rest, along with the skin.

I HAVE made a dinner out of fried livers and gizzards. Yum.

[mizducky]

If I'm making a soup or stew, the neck, gizzards and heart are thrown into the pot and given to the cook as a treat.  If I'm roasting the bird, I simmer them in a bit of water and use it as a base for gravy.  The livers are frozen until there are enough to make a batch of chopped liver.

ETA:  If they weren't so bad for me, I'd cook up a whole batch of gizzards and have it for dinner.

←

I do exactly what my fellow duck-named eGulleteer does. I especially love the gizzards! When I was a kid, my mother would simmer the gizzards right along with the couple of chickens they came from, and then we kids would fight over who got them. With long gentle simmering they become pretty tender, though they still have a bit of chewiness, which I happen to like. In Yiddish the gizzard is often called a "pupik," which word I believe more accurately translates as "belly button"!

I also note that simmered gizzards, sliced and served cold, are one of the many Sichuan-style cold appetizers served at what is fast becoming my favorite Chinese restaurant here in San Diego, Ba Ren. They're only mildly spicy compared to some of their much more firey offerings, but with that same tender/chewy texture that I so enjoy.

[I_call_the_duck]

If I'm making a soup or stew, the neck, gizzards and heart are thrown into the pot and given to the cook as a treat.  If I'm roasting the bird, I simmer them in a bit of water and use it as a base for gravy.  The livers are frozen until there are enough to make a batch of chopped liver.

ETA:  If they weren't so bad for me, I'd cook up a whole batch of gizzards and have it for dinner.

←

I do exactly what my fellow duck-named eGulleteer does. I especially love the gizzards! When I was a kid, my mother would simmer the gizzards right along with the couple of chickens they came from, and then we kids would fight over who got them. With long gentle simmering they become pretty tender, though they still have a bit of chewiness, which I happen to like. In Yiddish the gizzard is often called a "pupik," which word I believe more accurately translates as "belly button"!

I also note that simmered gizzards, sliced and served cold, are one of the many Sichuan-style cold appetizers served at what is fast becoming my favorite Chinese restaurant here in San Diego, Ba Ren. They're only mildly spicy compared to some of their much more firey offerings, but with that same tender/chewy texture that I so enjoy.

←

Mizducky,

After posting this, I was wondering if I was the only one here that ate food that normally goes to the dogs. Mom is the only one in my family besides myself that really loves the gizzards. She used to braise it in a soy-anise mixture. One recipe I was reading said to discard the back, neck, and gizzards. "The recipe's telling me to throw out the best parts!" I fumed to my husband. He just looked at me like I'm crazy.

Must be a duck thing.

[slkinsey]

If they weren't so bad for me, I'd cook up a whole batch of gizzards and have it for dinner.

AFAIK, gizzards aren't all that bad for you. A gizzard isn't really an organ or gland like a liver, heart or kidney. A gizzard is simply a specialized, very muscular "pre-stomach" that is found in birds and other animals that lack teeth. The idea is that the chicken swallows bits of gravel which stay in the gizzard (aka "craw") and act in place of teeth to grind food into small pieces before they are passed to the main stomach.

So, fundamentally, a gizzard is just a piece of tough muscle. I don't think they're particularly high in fat or anything like that.

[mizducky]

If they weren't so bad for me, I'd cook up a whole batch of gizzards and have it for dinner.

AFAIK, gizzards aren't all that bad for you. A gizzard isn't really an organ or gland like a liver, heart or kidney. A gizzard is simply a specialized, very muscular "pre-stomach" that is found in birds and other animals that lack teeth. The idea is that the chicken swallows bits of gravel which stay in the gizzard (aka "craw") and act in place of teeth to grind food into small pieces before they are passed to the main stomach.

So, fundamentally, a gizzard is just a piece of tough muscle. I don't think they're particularly high in fat or anything like that.

←

Alas, gizzards and other organ meats do happen to be hazardous for those of us who suffer from gout. All animal protein has a goodly amount of the amino acid purine, which can kick off an acute gout attack, but organ meats are especially high in the stuff. I eat the darn things anyway, because I love 'em so, but I try to space out my indulgences to avoid the nasty side effects, which even meds and copious amounts of cherry juice can only do so much to stave off.

(Aside: yes, cherries and cherry juice really do help with gout. Even the head pharmacist at the Kaiser Permanente branch I go to made a point of recommending it to me a couple different times. I try to always keep a bottle of the stuff around in case I start feeling that tell-tale tingle in the big toe...)

Edited January 9, 2006 by mizducky (log)

[I_call_the_duck]

If they weren't so bad for me, I'd cook up a whole batch of gizzards and have it for dinner.

AFAIK, gizzards aren't all that bad for you. A gizzard isn't really an organ or gland like a liver, heart or kidney. A gizzard is simply a specialized, very muscular "pre-stomach" that is found in birds and other animals that lack teeth. The idea is that the chicken swallows bits of gravel which stay in the gizzard (aka "craw") and act in place of teeth to grind food into small pieces before they are passed to the main stomach.

So, fundamentally, a gizzard is just a piece of tough muscle. I don't think they're particularly high in fat or anything like that.

←

Thanks for clearing that up, slkinsey. I was under the impression that they were organ meat, therefore bad for people with high cholesterol. (That of course, wouldn't necessarily stop me from eating stuff high in cholesterol, but I must do so in moderation.)

[ChefCrash]

I HAVE made a dinner out of fried livers and gizzards. Yum.

We mince gizzards real fine and saute them with oil and butter, they braise in their own liquid til tender. When all the liquid evaporates, add more butter and season with salt and pepper and let them brown a few minutes.

We serve them with Hummos or Baba Ghanooj and Pita bread. Yum.

[annecros]

I HAVE made a dinner out of fried livers and gizzards. Yum.

We mince gizzards real fine and saute them with oil and butter, they braise in their own liquid til tender. When all the liquid evaporates, add more butter and season with salt and pepper and let them brown a few minutes.

We serve them with Hummos or Baba Ghanooj and Pita bread. Yum.

←

That sounds good. I can see myself loading up that pita with lovely, oily gizzards!

Yum again.

[MarkinHouston]

If you're talking about just the amount that you get inside when buying a whole chicken, not much because there's not material. Neck goes to stock, fat pads get rendered and the gizzard, liver and heart become a quick snack.

I do however buy gizzards in bulk and make confit with them.

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I had some duck gizzard confit in some salads while in France, and they were great. Would you have a recipe you care to share ? Thank you very much.