Do I have the guts to use the guts?

[beacooker]

I am roasting a chicken for dinner tonight, and I have been thinking that I wish I was woman enough to try cooking up some of those innards in the chicken. I am not guaranteeing that I will get up the courage to do it, but if I did, could you guys help me figure out what to do with them? I want to do something to make them unrecognizable.

Ugh. Just writing this post has left me feeling a bit weak. :rolleyes: All the really good chefs use them, right?

[badunnin]

You can save them for stock, or I usually use them for stuffing. The cat loves them, too. ;)

[oskie]

All I can think of is the old Saturday Night Live sketch where Dan Akroyd is playing Julia Child and he imitates her cutting up a chicken- "Save the Livers! Save the Livers!" :D

In theory, you can use them as a base for making gravy, but I usually just pitch them because they gross me out.

[claire797]

They're also packed with cholesterol and fat.

[wallycat]

I love chicken livers....but the rest goes to the cat :)

[beacooker]

No offense, but I don't need reasons not to use them. I can come up with plenty of those on my own.

If I were to use them to make gravy, what would I do? The recipes I have seen say to use the giblets, but, um, I am totally ignorant - what are the giblets? Is that the entire package of innards, or certain pieces? And wallycat, which piece is the liver?

[erin elizabeth]

There isn't much you can do with the little you have from one chicken--I use the guts to make a broth. Drop the neck, along with some celery, onion, salt, and peppercorns, into a small to medium saucepan of water. Let simmer while your chicken is roasting and then use to make gravy.

One of the organs gives an off taste to the broth, but I can never remember what it is so I just use the neck. As a kid, I loved fried chicken livers, but today? No way--well, maybe if my granma made them again, just one for memory's sake :)

[wallycat]

Originally posted by beacooker
No offense, but I don't need reasons not to use them. I can come up with plenty of those on my own.

If I were to use them to make gravy, what would I do? The recipes I have seen say to use the giblets, but, um, I am totally ignorant - what are the giblets? Is that the entire package of innards, or certain pieces? And wallycat, which piece is the liver?

The liver is a very dark brownish-red colored piece. I agree that one chicken won't really let you do much. I used to save and freeze a bunch of the livers from my organic chickens and then make chopped liver...yummmmmmmmmm.

[lhall]

I will eat giblet gravy, but no one else in the family will.

With a turkey I'd toss the neck, gizzard, and liver into a small sauce pan of water. I'd let that cook then pull the meat of the neck and cut up the other pieces. Then I add a chopped up egg and some turkey drippings. Finally using cornstarch to make a gravy. You could do something similar with a chicken, or if you can't bring your self to eat those parts just cook them and use that liquid as your gravy base.

Leigh

[claire797]

Originally posted by beacooker
No offense, but I don't need reasons not to use them. I can come up with plenty of those on my own.


Oh. Okay. I'll be of no use to you then ;).

[Ohioan]

I like to roast the neck along with the chicken -- but it cooks faster than the rest of the chicken, so you have to remove it from the pan and set it aside until the rest of the chicken is done, and then pop it back in to heat up.

As for the liver and gizzard, either save lots of them in the freezer for giblet stew, or make Dirty Rice. I don't have a recipe handy, but basically you chop up the liver and gizzard, cook up the gizzard in a bit of olive oil with onion, garlic, bell pepper, and celery until the gizzard bits are tender, and then add the liver and continue cooking until the liver is cooked through. Season everything with lots of pepper (red and black), and a bit of salt, basil, and thyme. Meanwhile, cook up a pot of long-grain rice (white is the usual, but you can use brown). When the giblets are done, stir them into the rice -- or the rice into the giblets, depending on which pot is bigger ;) -- stir well, and let everything heat up together for a few mintues.

Cheers,
Phoebe

[bluestocking]

Well, believe it or not my Italian grandfather fryed up the gizzards and then chopped them up very finely to add to our spaghetti sauce. They were quite poor and used all the pieces of the chicken or turkey that they had! You can't really taste anything weird and I grew up thinking that was just what everyone put in their sauce. Now I now differently!!:D

['lil cooker]

Usually it goes this way -
I'm scraping out the cavity of my chicken, ridding my dinner of those slimy, yukky innards, hoping I don't get too much gunk under my nails. Quickly I make for the trash can, turning my head so I don't have to look. Just as I reach for the relief of the plastic trash bag, I look up and what do I see?????
Two sets of big brown eyes looking pleadingly (is that a word) at me, two tails wagging appreciatively in anticipation of what "mama" may have in store for them. Grudgingly, I withdraw my hand from the "trashpit of no return" and instead fumble around for a saucepan with my clean hand. In a few minutes, my kitchen smells of poultry "insides" simmering on the stove - YUM! And needless to say, the dogs win. After all, aren't they really "man's (or mama's) best friend"!!!!!

[beacooker]

Well, DS was being a teething monster yesterday afternoon, so I didn't get a chance to do anything with the innards. BUT I stuck them in my fridge, and I will get them into the freezer later today. So, next time I will have 2 innards to use. Thanks for the advice, everyone. Phoebe, I was especially surprised to get advice from you - aren't you a vegetarian? And can someone tell me which part is the gizzard?

[Luiza]

In the innard package there are the neck (easily identifiable :) ), the heart (heart shaped :rolleyes: ), the liver, which has a dark colour and a soft consistency, and the gizzards, which form a roughly circular, flatter shape when connected (sometimes they are whole, sometimes you get the two halves) and have a tough covering membrane and a lighter colour than the liver. All of these can be eaten.

We usually fry them and eat them as is or chop them (without the neck) and make an omelet. You might want to try them as gravy first, because giblets have a distinctive taste and texture. I really like liver, especially chicken liver. Do not try to eat boiled liver (ick), and when you fry it ensure that it gets browned. The heart and gizzards have a crunchy texture, like cooked shrimp. I'm not fond of that texture, so I avoid eating them unless they are finely chopped (and I only eat shrimp as sushi to avoid the texture problem).

BTW, innards are very perishable, much more so than the rest of the chicken. It's best to cook or freeze them as soon as possible.

I think it's great you are trying to use them up somehow. (My grandmother lived through two world wars and two severe famines, and she infused me with her thrifty spirit :) )

[Sami]

I do what wallycat did....save the chicken livers in the freezer to make chopped liver when I have enough.

I think the liver is what will give you an off taste to the broth, so I use the nexk, and the other little pieces (except the liver)to make broth and then I dump the solids and use the broth for gravy.

Sami

[mrswaz]

When I was young, I remember my Mom cooking the gizzards and hearts with the rest of the chicken. She would just do a baked chicken and throw them in the pan. Gosh, the fights that ensued at the table among my siblings and myself over who got what- or whose turn it was for the heart. Yes, they are tasty, would I eat them now? Not on your life, not with the high cholesterol content. But you can eat them lightly seasoned and baked, fried, braised, etc.

[Ohioan]

Originally posted by Luiza
The heart and gizzards have a crunchy texture, like cooked shrimp.
Luiza, if you're getting a crunchy texture with the hearts and gizzards, that probably means they aren't cooked enough. They should be as tender as the dark meat. But they need a lot more cooking than the liver; that's why, in my instructions for Dirty Rice, I said to cook the gizzard until tender first, and then add the liver. (And oops, I forgot to mention the heart. That should cook along with the gizzard.)

Beacooker, yes, I was a vegetarian for a few years, but I started eating meat again last year.

Cheers,
Phoebe

[swquilts]

OK, I have to ask.....

What is the functionality of the gizzard for the chicken? I have no clue! :confused:

[Luiza]

From Merriam-Webster:
gizzard 1 a : the muscular enlargement of the alimentary canal of birds that has usually thick muscular walls and a tough horny lining for grinding the food.

I thought chicken ate stones for this purpose :confused:

Phoebe, thanks for the instructions. I've never had gizzard and chicken heart prepared any other way but fried, so I didn't realize they get tender with longer cooking. I will try your dirty rice recipe the next time I get a chicken. Will the innards of one chicken be enough to flavour two portions of rice?

[sammeybella]

Yummmmm....Gizzards!!!

You just brought back the most wonderful memories for me. We always had a big Sunday dinner. Could be a roast of beef, could be a ham, chicken or even a raost of lamb, but always a very big deal in our home.

Mom would roast the gizzards (she always had extra frozen in case bird came sans gizzards) with the chicken and then while she was making the gravy we'd all get our own little bowls with 3 or 4 gizzards. Um, um good!

Thanks for the warm and fuzzies!

T

[Ohioan]

Luiza, since the giblets are really a flavoring for the rice, which is meant to be a side dish, I think you might be able to stretch one gizzard and one heart into two portions of rice -- depending on how big the portions are. :rolleyes: But if it's going to be a main dish, you might want to save up two sets of the giblets for two portions.

I'll try to dig up a more specific recipe than my haphazard instructions, but it'll have to wait for tomorrow, because I'm about to go out to a class right now.

Oh, and Sammeybella, what I really love are the necks. Sometimes my butcher saves up a whole package of necks for me, and I roast them and then grab them by hand and gnaw away at them. That's my warm and fuzzy memory! :)

Cheers,
Phoebe

[badunnin]

Originally posted by Ohioan
Oh, and Sammeybella, what I really love are the necks. Sometimes my butcher saves up a whole package of necks for me, and I roast them and then grab them by hand and gnaw away at them. That's my warm and fuzzy memory! :)

Cheers,
Phoebe

Phoebe - I remember doing this with my grandmother. And she always saved the neck for me at Thanksgiving from the turkey. I miss her.

[sammeybella]

My mom was the one who loved the neck. I didn't have the patience to nibble around all the little bones.

Science is a sad and wonderful thing. We don't eat the neck or the gizzards anymore 'cause of all the fat. Mom doesn't even make gravy anymore.

Actually, I just read that last part and thought "you moron, you'll eat a big mac combo with a supersized fries but you won't indulge in a bit of gizzard for ole times sake?" Really, sometimes I wonder where my head is!! Gizzards are BACK on the menu sometimes :D .

T - apparently not too bright

[Luiza]

Thanks Phoebe :)

[Ohioan]

Here's the only Dirty Rice recipe I found in my file. I haven't actually made this version (I've usually worked by "feel"), so I can't vouch for it personally, but it'll give you an idea of the method and proportions. Instead of the 4 oz of livers, you can 2 oz of livers and 2 oz of gizzards/hearts. Myself, I'd add a bit of thyme to this recipe and go a bit easier on the scallions.

Cheers, Phoebe

* Exported from MasterCook *

Dirty Rice

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 2 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Rice

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2/3 c long-grain rice
4 ozs chicken livers -- cut in 1/2" cubes
1 1/2 tsps vegetable oil
4 ozs red onions -- chopped
1 clove garlic -- crushed
3/4 c scallions -- thinly sliced
1/2 whole red bell pepper -- cut into short strips
1/2 whole red chile -- seeded and chopped
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 pinch salt
1/2 c chicken stock -- skimmed

Cook the rice, cover and keep warm. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook gently, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes. Add the chicken livers and cook, stirring frequently, until they change color, about 8 minutes. Add the scallions, bell pepper, chili and parsley, and stir for 2 minutes. Add the salt and mix well.

Place the stock and rice in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the chicken liver mixture and stir to mix. Cook over low heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture is heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Source:
"The World's Finest Pasta and Grains"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 382 Calories; 6g Fat (15.1% calories from fat); 17g Protein; 63g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 249mg Cholesterol; 662mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 Grain(Starch); 1 1/2 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

[newcook]

I made the dirty rice for supper tonight. I put more chicken livers than called for, I just used the whole package because I wanted to make a one dish meal. I also doubled the recipes to have leftovers for lunch and to restock my freezer with ready meals for when I don't have time to cook. I also was not able to find a whole red chili so I used 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes.

I really like chicken livers and have had a craving for them so this was exactly perfect. It really hit the spot and was really tasty too.

Thanks for posting that recipe.

Daniele

[SusanL]

chicken livers wrapped in bacon and broiled!:eek: Talk about heavy duty cholesterol!! But we loved them as well as liver pate (sp?)! I make turkey giblet gravy for Thanksgiving, not using the livers as others have previously posted as well as non-giblet gravy!