offal - cheap and definitely old style

greedygirl

I'm a huge fan of offal, some of the tastiest I have found include:
1) Oxtail - probably my favourite cut of meat, full stop.
2) Haggis - think this contains heart, lungs and liver, great cooked and used as a stuffing for pork loin.
3) Black pudding.
4) Liver - all types, but very fond of chicken livers which make a fantastic pate with shallots, cream, brandy and butter.
5) Kidney - especially really fresh lamb's kidneys, plain or devilled and served on toast.
6) Cheeks - one of the nicest cuts of meat for slow cooking.
7) Bone marrow (does this count as offal?) It's absolutely delicious, but very rich.

I have also tried (and enjoyed) sweetbreads and heart. Caul is also very delicious (the chef used it to wrap up his faggots on the show last night -ooh, I also like faggots!)

Haven't tried tripe, brains or tongue. Neither have I used pig's trotters, ears or snouts (I'm afraid these go to the dogs)

Some of the best offal I have had is from freshly shot game, we fry up the heart, liver and kidney's (normally of a rabbit) in a little bit of butter and eat it straight away. It's very tender with a lovely subtle flavour. I think that freshness and careful cooking are probably the key to enjoying offal. Unfortunately too many people have been put off by dodgy offal (not fresh enough) and even dodgier cooking!

dronid

Happy to eat
Kidneys, Liver, Heart - so long as they're well cooked. We've all had experiences of poorly cooked liver and bacon at school.
I've had tripe - tasted fine, just not keen on messing around with it (and of course sausage skins) Face meat and tail meat likewise.
Tongue is yummy.
However, not fond of
Eyes
Brains
Whole heads!

Haven't tried lung but would give it a go.

rising_from_the_ashes

Liver now & then and I have to admit that one of my absolute most favourite things in the world is Kidney:o (only lambs though)

andygb

greedygirl wrote: »

I'm a huge fan of offal, some of the tastiest I have found include:
1) Oxtail - probably my favourite cut of meat, full stop.
2) Haggis - think this contains heart, lungs and liver, great cooked and used as a stuffing for pork loin.
3) Black pudding.
4) Liver - all types, but very fond of chicken livers which make a fantastic pate with shallots, cream, brandy and butter.
5) Kidney - especially really fresh lamb's kidneys, plain or devilled and served on toast.
6) Cheeks - one of the nicest cuts of meat for slow cooking.
7) Bone marrow (does this count as offal?) It's absolutely delicious, but very rich.

I have also tried (and enjoyed) sweetbreads and heart. Caul is also very delicious (the chef used it to wrap up his faggots on the show last night -ooh, I also like faggots!)

Haven't tried tripe, brains or tongue. Neither have I used pig's trotters, ears or snouts (I'm afraid these go to the dogs)

Some of the best offal I have had is from freshly shot game, we fry up the heart, liver and kidney's (normally of a rabbit) in a little bit of butter and eat it straight away. It's very tender with a lovely subtle flavour. I think that freshness and careful cooking are probably the key to enjoying offal. Unfortunately too many people have been put off by dodgy offal (not fresh enough) and even dodgier cooking!

I would really like to go "rabbiting" and bag a couple, because we have only eaten it in France and it is a really good stewing meat. I bet the liver/kidneys are sweeter than pig or cow.

greedygirl

Hi andygb,

It really does have a very mild, sweet flavour, it's absolutely delicious. Lots of butchers around us (rural Lincolnshire) sell wild rabbit for a couple of £'s each. Not sure if they come gutted though? I read somewhere that you need to gut rabbits asap after they've been killed, so probably not

andygb

greedygirl wrote: »

Hi andygb,

It really does have a very mild, sweet flavour, it's absolutely delicious. Lots of butchers around us (rural Lincolnshire) sell wild rabbit for a couple of £'s each. Not sure if they come gutted though? I read somewhere that you need to gut rabbits asap after they've been killed, so probably not

Some of the best meals I have had have been free, mostly fishing, such as a 4lb sea trout, gutted and scaled in the clean running water, and then pan fried less than half an hour later.
I think the cleaning/gutting of all animals should be done ASAP, particlarly if the meat has to be "hung" to age.
Wild rabbit down here in Kent is surprisingly expensive, I saw them going for £10 last week.
I know where I could shoot them, but it would probably result in me being surrounded by an armed response squad:eek:

debtmess

Sadly I cannot bring myself to eat offal.

had liver once in a while with the rule we ate it or went hungry. I wouldnt know what to buy or how to cook it.

pamsdish

I love ox tongue ,you can only get them here for some reason around Christmas,

My ultimate favourite which I haven`t seen since I left the Black Country,is chitterlings on a sandwich with mustard ,:D, you can only get them at "proper" pork butchers

Popperwell

pamsdish wrote: »

I love ox tongue ,you can only get them here for some reason around Christmas,

My ultimate favourite which I haven`t seen since I left the Black Country,is chitterlings on a sandwich with mustard ,:D, you can only get them at "proper" pork butchers

I have heard of them but never seen or eaten them...What do I know? Until I watched a tv programme this evening I did not know that Pilchards and Sardines are the same fish!:p

Dazi

love lambs liver, with onions and thick gravy and bacon, used to eat hearts years ago, used to get a big bag of frozen hearts from Iceland, really cheap, we were on a very tight budget! used to do them in a casserole, not sure I could eat them now though. Kidney is ok with steak in a pudding or a pie, brains....no thanks