Offal / organ meat - Yum? Or no?

[Ripper]

i love me some liver and onions.

we have pickled deer heart every year at christmas, which is OK but im curious as to what it tastes like cooked.

and I do try almost anything at least once.

 

[rr5025]

Liver yes

Steak and Kidney pie FTW

 

[shadowtippy]

When I was younger, we would butcher hogs. You can use everything except the "oink" and the nails. Some of it I would prefer not to eat again, though

 

[Marley's Ghost]

Liverwurst or Liver pate' is as close as I can get to organ meat. My mother and grandmother used to eat it all, including calf's brain. Gross

Organ meats are unhealthy in general, very high in cholesterol and toxins. I would avoid completely.

 

[lunarpollen]

None of the above! I like to eat proper meat, with maybe some skin in the case of bird meat. I refuse to eat glands, mucus membranes, circulatory filters, etc. To me, meat = primarily muscle tissue. The organs etc. are the non-meat parts of the animal. I know not everyone thinks the same way, and I'm OK with that just as long as they don't try and trick me into eating something that will make me vomit!

 

[ehque]

Hrm, i'm asian, so...

Liver (pig, i think) is ok. I don't really eat kidney. Stomach (pig and cow) and intestine (pig) are fair game, and are great in soups or stews. Duck liver is nice, as is chicken heart.

And i don't even eat a lot of the stuff my parents would, so.

 

[Joe Gress]

Soak any liver in milk a few hours before you cook it. This takes out the sour taste. But fried liver with onions, apples, and bacon is super delicious.


Not offal, but have any of you guys tried out rocky mountain oysters? They're pretty tasty.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

No, just no.

Have tried most, but, just no

 

[standupright]

tried em all including sweetbreads. here's my take-

Liver - life would not be complete without foie gras. goose liver and chicken liver pate's....absolutely delicious. german liver dumpling soup....to die for.
Kidney - no thanks
Heart - smaller hearts like from fowl i enjoy skewered and grilled over charcoal.
Chitlins (intestines) - not a big fan
Oxtail - german oxtail soup......DELICIOUS......pho? absolutely
Tripe - nope, no thank you.
Brains - spongy texture was a turn off, flavor was real nice.

 

[Munjibunga]

The liver and kidney are filter organs. Think about it.

 

[Steveaux]

I love 'em all !!!

Get this ... when I lived in Eastern Pa. (mid 80's), there was a company named Miller. They sold jars of Pickled Lamb's Tongue.

Mmmmmmmmm ...

 

[Chunk-O-Funk]

I just threw up in my mouth a little.

 

[L-A]

The liver and kidney are filter organs. Think about it.

Filter organs are fundamentally able to evacuate toxins elsewhere. A liver transforms them. Kidneys throw them out.

Unless the cow was badly hungover at the time of being killed, which would mean it's full of formic acid, you're totally safe. Cooking will even burn off much of the toxins.

It's a lot of iron and vitamins in general. It's also a lot of cholesterol.

 

[Oric]

I'm a fan of organ meat- I like liver, heart (can be tough if not cooked right), I love tongue (ever had a good tongue taco?). Tripe is OK, but I'm not huge on the texture. The local Vietnamese restaurant offers a pho with tendon in it, not too sure about that yet. Brains have a ridiculous amount of cholesterol. I haven't tried chitlins yet (haha people actually call them "chitterlings"), but I would if I was sure they were extremely clean.

 

[Marley's Ghost]

Filter organs are fundamentally able to evacuate toxins elsewhere. A liver transforms them. Kidneys throw them out.

Unless the cow was badly hungover at the time of being killed, which would mean it's full of formic acid, you're totally safe. Cooking will even burn off much of the toxins.

It's a lot of iron and vitamins in general. It's also a lot of cholesterol.

I have to respectfully disagree. Unless the animal is raised on an organic farm with no antibiotics or pesticides, the organ meats are likely to have more toxins than the flesh.

 

[Ripper]

one thing thats amusing about the "other meats" of an animal, it seems like either you eat it or think its disgusting and would never try it. of course there are exceptions, but its amusing seeing how many people (not just on here) say that the organs are the worst things to eat. personally I think they're good for you because of some of the things in them. builds up a good immune system (which for most people who do eat them have a good one)

 

[Nivlem]

Yes, entrails are definitely an acquired taste. I would say you have to had your mom make you eat them as a kid to be able to stomach them (no pun intended) as an adult.

Also, entrails are usually poor people's food. Most of the time, they need a lot of work before they are edible. Definitely not as easy as throwing a steak on the grill: you need to clean them up, chop them, and prepare them in some non-standard way.

BTW, this thread makes me miss my mom

 

[Phalex]

I love this kind of stuff! My wife on the other hand hates it! (Except the pickled heart that is.)

Liver - Love Liver!! We fry a pound of bacon, fry up a coursely chopped onion in the hot bacon fat, dredge the liver in flour and black pepper and fry that up in the bacon grease too! It's a heart attack on a plate, but MAN it's good!
Kidney - Never done kidney. My aunt made it once, and it made the house smell pissy
Heart - This is great stuff! My mother-in-law pickles beef and buffalo heart. It's sort of like pickled herring around the holidays.
Chitlins (intestines) - I've never had them, but I expect I will this summer. One of my best friends called me from his home in CA a weeke or so ago, and was preparing chitlins with a buddy of his. I immediately demanded that he prepare them for me when he comes out here this summer. (I have a bucket in my freezer presently)
Oxtail - Not organ meat, and a great source of collagen, as well as flavor for soups and stews.
Tripe - I've only had this prepared Korean style, and it's FABULOUS!
Brains - Never had it, but I'd eat it in a heartbeat!

 

[playinpearls]

ok, you all are slacking. this is the perfect oportune moment for a hanibal lector pic, and still 4 pages in....none. i am disappointed.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

IMHO, there's a reason they're called "offal."