# Chicken gizzards and hearts



## Raspberrymocha55 (Sep 9, 2013)

I love gizzards. (hate, hate, hate chicken livers). I stew them, like a regular stew. They Re browned and then let them stew for tenderness.  I cut the tough center piece out as my hubby can chew it (won't wear his dentures).  But, I love them.  I enjoy it when they have fresh deep fried gizzards at our local KFC buffet or at our grocery deli.  A real treat is pickled turkey gizzard, but they are hard to find in my area.  How do you all fix gizzards?


----------



## Andy M. (Sep 9, 2013)

Gizzards and hearts along with necks were a real treat for as long as I can remember.

When I was a child, mom used the gizzards and hearts as part of her stock making ingredients.  My sister and I used to fight over them after mom fished them out of the pot.  I still do the same thing but I don't have to share them now.  

I also use the gizzards along with chicken livers when I make dirty rice.


----------



## GotGarlic (Sep 9, 2013)

Along with the liver, I saute them in butter and give them to the cats.


----------



## Raspberrymocha55 (Sep 9, 2013)

We used to fight over the gizzards, too.


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 10, 2013)

I braise with a bit of oil or butter, when tender, I remove the lid and add in teriyaki, garlic and ginger with a little sesame oil.  I then reduce the liquids to a glaze.  I eat the whole thing...my favorite snackies!!!


----------



## Aunt Bea (Sep 10, 2013)

Chicken gizzards in red sauce over pasta is a nice change.

I clean the gizzards saute them in a little olive oil and add them to my basic tomato sauce.  I cook mine in the oven at 325 degrees F for about an hour to an hour and a half.  

You can also do them on top of the stove if you remember to give them a stir once every so often, I never remember.


----------



## Hoot (Sep 10, 2013)

Chicken parts...I love 'em!  (Sorry, CWS...)


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Sep 10, 2013)

I love both the gizzards and livers.  But I'm afraid that I'm  not very creative with the gizzards, or necks.  The livers will either be eaten by me, after they are fished out of the stock, or added to more livers purchased in tubs from the store (I know, triple prepositions in a single sentence, but hey, I'm not in English class.).  I then turn the livers into pâté. 

The gizzards are either eaten straight up, or chopped into chunks, along with the livers, and added to bread dressing, with lots of sage and pepper (DW hates bread dressing, and pepper, and livers, and gizzards, etc., so all the more for me.

To me, the neck meat is the best meat on the bird.  It has a sweet and wonderfully rich flavor.  Sadly, it's the hardest meat to  get to.  I usually am the only one in the kitchen when the holidays come, and so I get to gnaw on the neck while everyone else is waiting for the main course.

It can be lonely in the kitchen at my house.  But when I'm visiting my kids, like I am right now, I am the sous-chef, and get to cook with them.  It's treat.

Sprout tried livers in a dirty rice recipe and found that she just couldn't stomach them.  But at least she was willing to give them a try.  Her and PAG are such adventurous cooks, just like me, only with more kinds of foods to experience here in Kentwood than are available to me up in the U.P.

But as for livers, giblets, and necks, I'll eat 'em any way I can get them, except burnt.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Raspberrymocha55 (Sep 10, 2013)

Necks and backs make great stock.  I wouldnt use the livers as they spoil the taste for me. Gizzards and hearts are good for stock, too.  

Speaking of hearts. I have a beef heart and tongue in my freezer. Haven't cooked either in decades. Any suggestions?


----------



## GrillingFool (Sep 10, 2013)

Fried, baby, fried!
Livers get a milk bath, then are breaded and fried.
Gizzards get a little simmer in garlic and poultry seasoning infused 
chicken broth, then they get breaded and fried too.
Once they are done, I bread and fry some half inch thick pickle slices
and just feel my arteries clog as my taste buds dance!


----------



## Aunt Bea (Sep 11, 2013)

Raspberrymocha55 said:


> Necks and backs make great stock.  I wouldnt use the livers as they spoil the taste for me. Gizzards and hearts are good for stock, too.
> 
> Speaking of hearts. I have a beef heart and tongue in my freezer. Haven't cooked either in decades. Any suggestions?



I have not seen a beef heart or a tongue in the market for years!

I would stuff the heart and slow roast it in the ovens similar to a pot roast.

Pickle the tongue, peel it, press it, and slice it paper thin for some great sandwiches.


----------



## chrismcphee (Sep 11, 2013)

Raspberrymocha55 said:


> Necks and backs make great stock. I wouldnt use the livers as they spoil the taste for me. Gizzards and hearts are good for stock, too.
> 
> Speaking of hearts. I have a beef heart and tongue in my freezer. Haven't cooked either in decades. Any suggestions?


 
I just cooked my first calf tongue this weekend. Nothing complicated, just poached in water, with carrots, leeks, celery, onion and a few whole cloves (toasted first). Made delicious lunch sandwiches. 

The last beef heart I cooked was done in the crockpot with the usual vegetables, plus a bottle of oxtail sauce, beer, some Worcestershire sauce and some beef kidney. The whole lot went into a pie once cooked. A great success.


----------



## CarolPa (Sep 11, 2013)

chrismcphee said:


> I just cooked my first calf tongue this weekend. Nothing complicated, just poached in water, with carrots, leeks, celery, onion and a few whole cloves (toasted first). Made delicious lunch sandwiches.
> 
> The last beef heart I cooked was done in the crockpot with the usual vegetables, plus a bottle of oxtail sauce, beer, some Worcestershire sauce and some beef kidney. The whole lot went into a pie once cooked. A great success.




I will eat the liver, but the gizzards go to the doggie.  That's his treat.  If someone cooked the heart or tongue for me I would try it.


----------



## CatPat (Sep 12, 2013)

Chicken livers are very nice when they are coated and fried. But the gizzards (I had to look that word up!) are for the dog and the cats. Uckkkkkkkk!

We buy or cook the roasted chickens and cook those down to make a stock, then we freeze it. 

Beef cheekmeat is very good for making beef stock. Sometimes it is hard to find. It is very tender and has very much flavor.

Your friend,
~Cat


----------



## Raspberrymocha55 (Sep 13, 2013)

My family is split.  I absolutely would rather die than eat or even cook chicken livers. The smell is so awful.  My hubby likes them.  I will only cook gizzards as that is what I love.  White meat chicken is mostly served to our cat clowder. We prefer dark meat; love duck!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 13, 2013)

The Ogre gets the white meat...I get the good stuff, dark meat, gizzards, necks, wings...


----------



## CatPat (Sep 13, 2013)

Raspberrymocha55 said:


> My family is split.  I absolutely would rather die than eat or even cook chicken livers. The smell is so awful.  My hubby likes them.  I will only cook gizzards as that is what I love.  White meat chicken is mostly served to our cat clowder. We prefer dark meat; love duck!!



Clowder: a group of cats

This is a very interesting word! I did not know of this word. Thank you!

Your friend,
~Cat

PS. I am sorry for this is off the topic, but it is very exciting for me to learn a new word.


----------



## CarolPa (Sep 14, 2013)

CatPat said:


> Clowder: a group of cats
> 
> This is a very interesting word! I did not know of this word. Thank you!
> 
> ...




Cat, I have lived in US and spoke English language all my life, and I, too, have learned the new word, "clowder."    At first glance I thought it said "cat chowder."  Not something I would eat!  I would rather eat chicken gizzard!


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 14, 2013)

CarolPa said:


> Cat, I have lived in US and spoke English language all my life, and I, too, have learned the new word, "clowder."    At first glance I thought it said "cat chowder."  Not something I would eat!  I would rather eat chicken gizzard!



LOL!  "Kitten Teriyaki" is my threat to the cats when they are misbehaving.

Latté loves chicken gizzards and hearts as much as I do, it's a game to see who gets the most when I cook them up.


----------



## taxlady (Sep 14, 2013)

CatPat said:


> Clowder: a group of cats
> 
> This is a very interesting word! I did not know of this word. Thank you!
> 
> ...


Collective nous are fun. Here is a partial list: List of collective nouns - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They left out, among others, two of my favourites:

a bother of boys
a giggle of girls


----------



## Raspberrymocha55 (Sep 20, 2013)

I have a clowder of 23.  Teaching the new ones that my kitchen counter is off limits is a never-ending chore.  We joke that cat hair provides extra fiber in our diet.  We spay/neuter all.  $300 per month in vet bills is the norm. One must be a responsible pet caretaker!  Now if I could keep the gizzards out of their reach!


----------



## Scatterprime (Sep 21, 2014)

Beef heart makes the best beef stew


----------

