Big offal fan here. When I was growing up on a farm on the Eastern Shore, we would butcher a steer for our home freezer each year, and I learned to love tongue, heart, liver (is liver "offal"?). My mother was not a very creative cook, so the tongue and heart were, as I recall, usually just boiled ... but the both made great sandwiches....

Years ago, I saw a tray of lamb tongues for sale in my supermarket's meat department and asked the butcher if he sold a lot of them. He allowed as how his only customer was a guy who fed 'em to his pet piranha. Given their somewhat disturbing resemblance to human tongues, I wondered if that customer had to be careful not to get *too* close to his pet during feeding time....

Title + Artwork = I ♥ LaVoz

It may be time to overcome that "offal is awful" feeling. We are very fond of sweetbreads (properly prepared). Time to branch out in the name of using the whole beast.

Offal and marrow bones are the darlings of the culinary world now. I dare say in no small part from the combined efforts of Bourdain and Zimern.

Although I did grow up eating chicken hearts, feet, and liver, kishke and whatever other chicken bits went either into soup or into some other tasty concoction, I am loathe to try venison heart.

One the one hand, I'm not overly fond of venison most of the time (too gamey) but yeah, there's that Bambi thing.

Joyce W., I feel the same way about bunny wabbit. Thumper, anyone?

Sous vide-ing? Sous viding? Which is it? I'd hate to tick off the French.)

Zut alors!

"Sous vide" is a noun which translates as vacuum in French. It also functions as an adjective and adverb (as "sous-vide"), but not as a verb. (Of course in English you can make anything a verb and I am a flagrant verbizer and nounenator, not to mention a mild case of conjunctionitis.)

So, I guess the proper form would be sous-vide cooking for a sous-videriste. ¡Olé!

Of course, since you are quoting someone who is coining the word, "sous vide-ing" seems right.

Rabbit is tasty but I would prefer that someone else cook it next time. Too many tiny bones and, yes, the whole rabbit is a little creepy to handle. (Memories of Mister Fluffy) I never had a pet chicken or salmon so those are easier to handle whole.

http://www.offalgood.com/videos/how-to-butcher-a-beef-heart

Ice cream for crow. Beefheart is under-rated.Strong meat indeed.

I like at lot of offal, but have the Bambi thing, as well.

Chicken hearts are quite tasty (Bill Cosby routine, notwithstanding).

I had my first first foie gras (ducking) as the appetizer for my birthday dinner at Sabor. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

This seems like a good place to ask a question that's been on my mind - what the heck do you use chicken feet for? My local Giant often has them and I find it very disturbing to see them in the meat case. More disturbing than pig's feet, not sure why.

Tweety Cat, my grandmother used them in her chicken soup. I assume because back in her day, you bought the whole chicken from the beak to feet.

I've also seen them served as Dim Sum so there are other cultures that enjoy them as well.

And, yes, no matter what you do with them, they still look like chicken feet. I don't find them as gross as head cheese though.

Thanks Joyce. I've never been to Dim Sum, and now I'll think twice before I go!

Tweety Cat, chicken feet are also quite gelatinous, which helped to add body (and/or/if not flavor) to Joyce's grandmother's chicken soup.

You can tie up chicken feet with the whiskers of a black cat and leave it on the doorstep of your arch enemy.

Re: "sous vide-ing."

I never contradict people who have very sharp knives near at hand.

Whew! I always feel unworthy when the Real McIntyre appears.

RayRay, leave my kitty's whiskers alone!

RayRay, maybe you could make a gris-gris for the protection of the blog.

Dahlink,
I only use naturally shed whiskers collected from Kitty's down filled silk pillow. :-)

Aww, how sweet RayRay!

Well, okay, then ... but my kitties prefer my pillow!