Offal..adored or abhorred

[bigrhino2]

My wife keeps telling me I don't HAVE TO eat everthing from the animal.
I love this stuff, except brains.

That have fried rooster testes at the Stockyard Rest. in Nashville.
I was raised on "Puddin Pot" a pig ear and pig liver stew poured over rice.
Is there a better lunch than a Tongue Sandwich? I don't think so!

I wish I had found this thread sooner. This is important stuff for real foodies.

 

[jabbur]

I cannot eat liver. My mother used to make it and it would smell so good but put it in my mouth and the throat closes up and I end up vomiting. Have never tried anything else except chicken gizzards which I didnot care for. I don't think I could eat any of it just because of my nursing background and having watched surgeries. Don't think I could get past the visual/knowledge of what I was eating. I like lobster but don't give me a whole one where it still has the head and eyes. Just can't do it.

 

[Jikoni]

Adored. I think it's offal-ly great, I enjoy most of it, liver, kidneys, tongue etc etc, but have never really tried brain of anything. I love chicken livers for a Sunday breakfast from time to time and love chicken gizzards.

 

[miniman]

I will not touch it at all.

 

[Rom]

Love it, but had not tried tripe or "lights", just because it was never there to try i think.

 

[bigrhino2]

Oh tripe is so gooooood! But it must be done properly!

 

[fireweaver]

nope, there's a reason "offal" sounds exactly like "awful". i'm a veterinarian, so i know *exactly* what i'm eating, which means organ meats are right out. grandma's liver & onions never went over well as a kid, and i thought it both smelled bad and tasted unpleasant. heart & tongue count as ok, being as how they're muscle (though i've never felt the need to seek these cuts out at the store to prep at home). very tiny slices of very good pate are ok, but you hit that 'point of diminishing returns' extremely quickly...it's just so rich, i can't really eat more than one tiny slice. but brains & pancreas? oh, dear lord no.

 

[sattie]

There is so much of it that I have not tried... but I do prefer chicken livers as to cow/calf/ or any other 4 legged mammal. Never tried sweet breads, haggis, brains, I'm sure the list goes on. I have had chicken hearts, but I can live without them. I guess I have not ventrued much into the organ meats. I can't see myself buying anything other than chicken livers and preparing them. And if I did, I could NEVER tell my husband what it is that I am preparing!!!

I have to say that reading through this thread, my curiosity is peaked!!! I would not mind trying some of these exotic treats!

 

[Bilby]

My favourites are ox tongue and lamb's kidneys (although pig and calf are more than acceptable). I like liver pates but not so keen on its own. Lambs brains and sweetmeats are okay and would eat them if they were served to me, but would choose other things off a menu given the option. Never had tripe but would be happy to try. Black pudding, while not strictly offal, is alright. I have had haggis but can't remember anything about it so I guess it wasn't offensive!

 

[Bilby]

Is there a better lunch than a Tongue Sandwich? I don't think so!

Agreed wholeheartedly! I would be the only kid in school with tongue sandwiches and would get riddiculed for it but the taste more than made up for that. Mum used to put either sliced beetroot (pickled) or mustard pickles (a mild form of piccililli) in the sandwich to keep it moist until lunchtime and those sandwiches were just as good.

 

[lulu]

I adore liver. When I'm poorly its usually calves liver I crave. But I love every tye of liver I've tried, pan fried or pate or whatever, I love it. I've had sweetbreads a couple of times and they were ok, I'd eat them again but I've not gone out of my way to have them. Kidneys are fine, a steak and kidney pie is always a winner! Hearty is what my pets get...so I've never tried it, but I would I guess. The other stuff does not appeal, but I'd try it out of curiosity given the oppertunity.

ETA just remembered I tried tongue for the first time two years ago and HATED it. But at least I tried it!

 

[Bilby]

I find commercially made tongue vastly different from home-made. Home-made is far superior. Canned is closest to home. The sliced tongue from the deli is a completely different flavour.

 

[ChefJune]

I find commercially made tongue vastly different from home-made. Home-made is far superior. Canned is closest to home. The sliced tongue from the deli is a completely different flavour.

I dunno, Bilby. The Tongue Sandwiches at Katz's taste remarkably like the ones my Mom and Aunt Ruth used to make.

 

[Jeff G.]

I think they are all named appropriately... Offal--Awful....

I just don't enjoy any of them..

 

[geordie]

If anyone dosn't like the strong taste of Liver soak it in milk for an hour or two.......Tripe cooked in milk and onions to die for.mmmmmmmmmm.........Years ago in North East England you could buy what we called Black Tripe believe Reed Tripe was official name.........but can't seem to get it any where now...it was fantastic

 

[geordie]

If anyone dosn't like the strong taste of Liver soak it in milk for an hour or two.......Tripe cooked in milk and onions to die for.mmmmmmmmmm.........Years ago in North East England you could buy what we called Black Tripe believe Reed Tripe was official name.........but can't seem to get it any where now...it was fantastic...

 

[Bilby]

I dunno, Bilby. The Tongue Sandwiches at Katz's taste remarkably like the ones my Mom and Aunt Ruth used to make.

The commercial ones here are just nothing like a home-made tongue. They are much drier - no softness to them at all. No delicate pink or varying flavours as you eat the different parts of the tongue. Maybe the commercial ones in the US are prepared more to a home recipe than here. If you saw what we get in the shops, you would see what I mean.

 

[Benni]

Lambs Fry cooked up with bacon, onions and mushrooms and served with creamy mashed potato and peas. Just makes me drool thinking of it.

Tripe has to be cooked right. I have had it where it has been cooked to the point of being rubbery which is not a nice effect.

Love steak and kidney pudding especially when it is made with suet. My husband makes a mean brawn from pigs heads. Really tasty.