# Chicken gizzard recipes



## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

I scored some cheap gizzards today. How do you fix them?


----------



## chickenmommy (Aug 24, 2004)

I have had them deep fried, in quantity, other than my kitchen. I usually just cook them the way (and with) the rest of the bird is cooked, unless I am using them in stuffing and poach them.
I would be interested to see how others cook them. They're good if trimmed well.

That was a horrible first sentence. I meant to say the only way I have had them was breaded and deep fried and not at my own house in any quantity.


----------



## JHinCA (Sep 20, 2003)

Sometimes I cut them into small cubes, simmer in chicken broth til tender, then make the broth into gravy, season with sage and thyme and serve it over mashed potatoes. Tastes like Thanksgiving.

When I was raising meat birds and had LOTS, I would make gizzard confit, which is basically cooking *very* slowly in deep fat (lard or whatever you've got) with seasonings until they are very tender. You can store them refrigerated covered in the fat for months and take out a few at a time. I would chop them up and add to soup or whatever.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Gizzards and livers were a cheap meal way back when I got married. The grocery always had them bagged in bulk and sold for 39 cents a pound.

I roll them in a mixture of seasoned flour and white cornmeal and do a double dip in egg before putting into hot oil almost to cover. If you're frying these for the first time you need to be aware they pop grease very quickly without warning and it can really burn you. 

I always served them with white milk gravy made in the frying skillet and mashed potatoes.


----------



## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

i use to cook them for my husband same way as SS. never tasted them myself but they must have been good. he was able to scarf down the whole frying pan full. ~Georgia.


----------



## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

They go into the broth pot here and the dogs eat them.

I used to buy them pressure fried at a local convenience store and those were good.

They used to be cheap, now I can't even find them.


----------



## memajar (Dec 29, 2007)

This is a dish that I miss the most of my Moms every year at our family reunion my mother would fix and huge pan of this. The family members that where born in the family always jumped on it others might try some. First she always placed them in the crock pot with water and cooked all night till tender. The next day she cut them up with onions and mushroom and sautÃ© till it was done at the end she always add a cup of some wine or what ever she had. Served just like that while warm. Never any left and when they came out you better be in line or you missed out.


----------



## Guest (Sep 24, 2011)

No, no, no, and no. 
Boil them until they're tender enough to mash through with the back of a fork. drain water, saving it for broth/gravy. batter and fry. If you fry gizzards without first tenderizing them, they're tougher than shoe leather. Do it like I said, they're as tender as fried chicken livers.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

If you like the chewy texture of a good tasting gizzard then the tenderizing isn't for you. Boiling gizzards always removes the blood taste that makes them taste good. It's kinda like that with fried squirrel too. You do the chewy to keep the taste intact. 

The best tasting gravy in the world is the white milk gravy made with fried squirrel skillet drippings. The next best tasting gravy is the white milk gravy made with fried chicken gizzard skillet drippings. There's no gravy for a boiled gizzard or squirrel.


----------



## Guest (Sep 24, 2011)

Everybody got their notions. I been eating chicken gizzards for 60 years. I reckon I got a dern good notion about them. My momma used the shoe leather method.


----------



## Minimomma (Jan 5, 2008)

pickled gizzards


----------



## kenworth (Feb 12, 2011)

Pressure cook until tender.

Remove from cooker, making sure all the lining is off the gizzard, then cut into small pieces. 

Use the water that the gizzards were cooked in to make noodles. When noodles are done, add cut up gizzards back in. 

Season to taste.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

zong said:


> Everybody got their notions. I been eating chicken gizzards for 60 years. I reckon I got a dern good notion about them. My momma used the shoe leather method.


I've been eating gizzards for 60 years too. I'm not trying to say you don't understand your gizzards. I'm saying that you don't understand my gizzards. Mine aren't shoe leather, just a bit on the chewy side.


----------



## buck_1one (Nov 26, 2004)

OK, now I'm hungry. LOL I remember as a kid, when Mom was making fried chicken, I'd steal the gizzard, scoot off to the other room and chew away on it. Man o' man were they good. Memories......

To the OP, sorry I have no idea what Mom did with or how she fried her chicken.


----------



## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

Slide a chunk onto a hook fastened to a line and toss into a cat fish pond.


----------



## Guest (Sep 24, 2011)

soulsurvivor said:


> I've been eating gizzards for 60 years too. I'm not trying to say you don't understand your gizzards. I'm saying that you don't understand my gizzards. Mine aren't shoe leather, just a bit on the chewy side.


I'm open for changes. send me some.


----------



## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

buck_1one said:


> OK, now I'm hungry. LOL I remember as a kid, when Mom was making fried chicken, I'd steal the gizzard, scoot off to the other room and chew away on it. Man o' man were they good. Memories......
> 
> To the OP, sorry I have no idea what Mom did with or how she fried her chicken.


LOL, me too, I'd steal the gizzard and the heart.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

zong said:


> I'm open for changes. send me some.


I swanee, you've got me thinking how I can best get this to you without giving you food poisoning. Even with an overnight/next day mailing it'd still be a risk because it's not a recipe that's going to pack and keep well with ice or freezing. Even if it were, the ice/freezing would change the taste and texture. 

I know good and darn well there has to be somewhere in NC that serves fried gizzards that aren't first boiled and yet are still tender enough to eat. You find that place and I'll pay for your meal. How's that?


----------



## tallpines (Apr 9, 2003)

Our most popular food at Thanksging/Christmas are the gizzards.

Most all the kids love them so I buy a turkey plus 5 pounds of extra turkey gizzards!

I simmer them for about 3 hours with a large onion and a couple ribs of celery, and S & P.......and then bake them mixed in with the stuffing.


----------



## Guest (Sep 24, 2011)

theres KFC's within 35 miles. gizzards like shoe leather. I'll guarantee that whoever came up with that formula had teeth like an alligator.


----------



## salmonslayer (Jan 4, 2009)

We buy chicken livers frequently and I like to make chopped liver (cooked chicken livers with hard boiled egg and onions chopped in a food processor then spread on a bagel) but we also like gizz---ards as they say. I saute some onions, garlic, and celery in butter then brown the gizzards, add some dry white wine, a little stock, fresh herbs (sage, thyme, celery leaves, Italian parsley) and salt and pepper then cook most of the day adding more liquid as it reduces. Makes the whole house smell good and then we make gravy or dressing out of it.


----------



## Chuck R. (Apr 24, 2008)

Iâm originally from Westerly RI, which has large Italian population, so large that growing up I was a minority being one of the few whose last name didn't end in a vowel.  One of my favorite Italian dishes is called Spezzi, which is a spicy chicken gizzard and heart soup. It really is awesome especially when combined with beer. You can find the recipe and history here:

http://almostitalian.com/spezzi/

Chuck


----------



## mrpink (Jun 29, 2008)

Windy in Kansas said:


> Slide a chunk onto a hook fastened to a line and toss into a cat fish pond.


I agree this is the best way to fix gizzards. I haven't found any other way to eat them myself


----------



## Sanza (Sep 8, 2008)

Best way to prepare them is breaded and fried nice and crisp outside and tender inside,and then sprinkled with some hot sauce


----------



## Use Less (Nov 8, 2007)

A restaurant near us had a specialty item of gizzards cooked in red sauce & served over spaghetti.


----------



## wanda1950 (Jan 18, 2009)

Boil till tender--chop--give to cat!


----------



## Murray in ME (May 10, 2002)

Use Less said:


> A restaurant near us had a specialty item of gizzards cooked in red sauce & served over spaghetti.


They are delicious this way. Just simmer them slowly in your favorite pasta sauce for a few hours. They are delicious and very tender when done this way. They give the sauce a great meaty flavor.


----------



## Jolly (Jan 8, 2004)

Use them along with chicken livers to make dirty rice.


----------



## salmonslayer (Jan 4, 2009)

Chuck R. said:


> Iâm originally from Westerly RI, which has large Italian population, so large that growing up I was a minority being one of the few whose last name didn't end in a vowel.  One of my favorite Italian dishes is called Spezzi, which is a spicy chicken gizzard and heart soup. It really is awesome especially when combined with beer. You can find the recipe and history here:
> 
> http://almostitalian.com/spezzi/
> 
> Chuck


 I bookmarked that one Chuck thanks. Sounds good and it looks like a great site.


----------



## Immaculate Sublimity (Apr 30, 2003)

I just fry them in butter with a little onion till they get crispy on the outside. no breading stuff.


----------



## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

I haven't cooked any in several years, but I would drench them in an egg/milk wash, then dredge them in a flour, salt and pepper (and maybe roasted garlic powder depending on my mood) mixture and then fry them. If you start with a higher flame and brown them first, then lower it and finish cooking them on a lower flame they'll come out with a crispy crust, but tender enough to not be a problem chewing, lol.

Since I moved to the country three years ago, there's a little gas station/convenience store a couple of miles from my house that sells all kinds of pressure fried foods, and they're pretty cheap. They have a little too much salt for me, and I always retain fluid after eating them due to my heart condition, but oh my they're so good! They use some kind of spices that really give them a good flavor and just a hint of heat.

Oh, and I always simmer some in chicken or turkey stock, dice them up and put them in the Thanksgiving dressing and giblet gravy.


----------

