# What to do w/the innards of the chix



## ps8 (Dec 2, 2006)

Preparing my first ever roasted chicken.  What can I do with the neck, gizzards, liver and heart?  I hate to throw them away, but I know we won't be eating them.  Would they make a good broth?


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## pdswife (Dec 2, 2006)

You're missing a good treat by not eating the heart and liver.  Boil them up and give them a try.


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## Half Baked (Dec 2, 2006)

I toss them into my stockpot with the bones...except the heart.  I really have tried to like it, but I don't.  Even our cats wouldn't eat it.


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## Alix (Dec 2, 2006)

LOLing out loud HB, I was thinking cook 'em and feed 'em to the kitties. I guess not all cats are like ours.


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## StirBlue (Dec 2, 2006)

*Necks, Livers, Gizzards, & Heart*

Sometimes it is easier to find a purpose for these parts if you separate them.

Necks:  Ever count the pieces of chicken in a can of noodle soup?  You have enough from that neck to make a case.

Livers:  Do you like liver?  Saute the liver until firm and use it as a salad topping by crumbling it.  

Gizzards & Heart:  Use these together as they are compitable in flavor.  Remove the small meat from the gristle and slice the heart into 4-6 slices.  Saute them then continue in the same pan making a white sauce or gravy.

Broth:  Simmer your chicken parts with chopped onion, celery, and carrots until chicken is done.  Debone neck and chop chicken parts and return to pot.  Season to your liking.

It will be interesting to read what you did with those chicken parts.  Don't ever never freeze them raw until you save up a few batches.


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## Half Baked (Dec 2, 2006)

Alix said:
			
		

> LOLing out loud HB, I was thinking cook 'em and feed 'em to the kitties. I guess not all cats are like ours.


 
LOL, our cats would play with it for awhile, carry it around for a few days and then I'd find it under a sofa cushion or the bed....never a mark on it.


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## Ishbel (Dec 2, 2006)

I use them all for giblet (as we call it in the UK) gravy.


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## Half Baked (Dec 2, 2006)

We call them giblets, too, Ishbel...and giblet gravy.


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## Ishbel (Dec 2, 2006)

YAAAAY, a common expression


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## suzyQ3 (Dec 2, 2006)

pdswife said:
			
		

> You're missing a good treat by not eating the heart and liver.  Boil them up and give them a try.


Honestly doesn't sound like a treat. I can see using them in something, like gravy or chopped chicken liver or some of the other suggestions on the thread. But for the life of me, I can't see just boiling them and eating them plain. I think I'd discard them quite happily before doing that. Just my two cents, of course.


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## pdswife (Dec 2, 2006)

That's ok suzy... just leaves more for us to fight over


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## callie (Dec 2, 2006)

I put them in a sauce pan along with whatever skin/fat I trim off the chicken and simmer in enough water to fully cover the parts.  Then I use the broth and cut up all the chicken parts to feed my doggies.  They love it over rice for breakfast!  (I don't salt or season it.)


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## Constance (Dec 2, 2006)

I do the same thing, Callie, except I stick it in the microwave. I pierce the giblets with a cooking fork first, so they won't explode (hopefully) and cover bowl with a piece of waxed paper in case they do.
My cats are very picky, but they do like the livers. My pup will eat the rest. I throw away the neck once it's picked and boiled, though, as I don't want my animals getting choked on the little bones. 

Now, if I'm frying the chicken, I fry up the liver and giblets, and my husband and I fight over them.


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## bullseye (Dec 2, 2006)

Ishbel said:
			
		

> I use them all for giblet (as we call it in the UK) gravy.


 Me, too!  I love the tasty bits in the gravy.  Some I cook for think they don't like them, so I often strain half and don't tell them from what the gravy was made.


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## Robo410 (Dec 2, 2006)

simmer all but the liver with aromatic herbs and vegetables for a broth for the gravy you will make with pan drippings.  the liver fry up in butter or bacon fat and chop into your stuffing/dressing or just  enjoy it on toast!


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## amber (Dec 2, 2006)

I toss all the parts into a pot with some water, celery, carrotts, onions, bay leaf, poultry seasoning, and let simmer for a couple hours, then strain all and use in a gravy with the stock from a turkey or chicken.  I chop up the liver to add to the gravy.


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## Constance (Dec 2, 2006)

You've got it goin' on, Amber.


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## Andy M. (Dec 2, 2006)

The liver goes into a freezer bag and gets saved for a liver dish such as dirty rice or chopped liver.  Everything else is saved for stock along with the bones and scraps.


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## auntdot (Dec 3, 2006)

Gosh, I suppose someone could start a whole thread on chicken offal.

Usually with one chicken, just saute up the liver and gizzard, the treat for the cook. Can also do so with the heart but that is not my favorite.

Or, as amber said, will take the heart, gizzard, and neck and make a quick stock with mirepoix and seasonings, and use for a sauce.  You can get enough to serve with the chicken. Don't use the liver in the stock, don't like the taste it adds and besides, there is nothing better than a sauteed chicken liver.

I think that chicken insides are very overlooked as good eating.  We can sometimes buy the livers or gizzards at the local supermarkets in plastic containers. Yum.  But as I say, that could be a separate topic.


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## Andy M. (Dec 3, 2006)

auntdot said:
			
		

> Gosh, I suppose someone could start a whole thread on chicken offal....


 
Someone already did!


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Dec 3, 2006)

I tried something different this year, but with turkey (this applies because turkey and chicken giblets are very similar in flavor).  I purchased a package of gizzards and a package of smoked turkey wings from which I made the stock for my gravies and sauces.  I included the liver , gizzards, necks, and heart from the two turkeys I prepared this year.  After boiling, I removed them and let cool.  The neck meat was used along with the most of the gizzards to make turkey salad for sandwiches (chop and mix with Miracle Whip, onion, mustard, and pickle relish).  The rest was placed into the blender with  1/2 cup of the broth, and 1 egg and belnded into a slurry.  I seasoned with sage, onion, black pepper, garlic, and a bit of salt.  This went into a lightly greased loaf pan and was baked until everything was firm.  It was then allowed to cool and removed from the pan.  I now have my own luncheon-meat loaf.  You can also use these products uncooked, and turn them into a slurry before baking to create various pate's or turrines.  You can add ingredients such as peppers, either/both sweet and hot, tomato, onion, celery, herbs/spices, other meats, dry soup mix, etc.

This is a good way to create lunch meat for sandwiches that is both inexpensive, and has the nutritional value determined by the ingredients.  The resultant loaf is low in fat, and contains no preservatives or ingredients that you aren't sure of.

Try it.  You just might be surprized at how good your home-made sandwich meat can be.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Nicholas Mosher (Dec 3, 2006)

I make stock/pan sauces with everything but the liver (which can make things a bit bitter - to me anyways).

I usually toss the liver, but I've read some French bistro recipes where you saute them and then blend 'em into a vinaigrette using red wine vinegar, rendered chicken fat, salt-sugar, dijon, and a few fresh herbs (like some chives).  I plan to try this next time.


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## Katie H (Dec 3, 2006)

Since no one in our house likes them but me, I usually cook them up with the stock and eat them with a little salt and pepper as a snack when I'm preparing  Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.  We have turkey at Christmas, too.

However, when I have saved a quantity of livers, my children like a dish I created when they were very small.

I dredge the livers in flour with a little salt and pepper, then brown them up in some olive oil and butter.  After they're nice and brown, I add some chicken stock and white wine.  Put in some tarragon and simmer until everything gets nice and "happy" as Emeril would say.  The sauce thickens slightly and I serve over hot rice or noodles.


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## BreezyCooking (Dec 3, 2006)

I do one of 2 things with them after poaching them in water until cooked through.

I either freeze them until I have enough to mince up for "Dirty Rice", or I chop them up for the cats.

Now for the livers alone, one of my grandmother's favorite cocktail "nibbles" was to saute a pound of chicken livers in lots of butter - along with a heavy sprinkling of caraway seeds -  until cooked through, then squeeze the juice of a lemon over them & serve them on a platter with frilly toothpicks.  I still make them that way for myself for dinner sometimes (minus the frilly toothpicks).


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## XeniA (Dec 3, 2006)

Toss the neck, or if it makes sense, freeze it with other bones for a future stock.

Make a stuffing with the remainder:

Chop up the other goodies into small dice. Sautee them with some finely-chopped onion, toss in some currants and some pine nuts and then, after a few minutes, several cups of rice. Add stock and seasonings and partially cook. Cool and stuff.


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## shpj4 (Dec 3, 2006)

Boiling the liver and heart is really delicious.  I am not so fond of the other parts of the chicken.


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